The Sports Alley

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Roy Jones Jr. says Cotto-Canelo up in the air, GGG beats both






Bernard Hopkins: Canelo will shock people with how he beats Cotto




Bernard Hopkins is confident that his Golden Boy fighter will take care of Miguel Cotto.


Teddy Atlas: Canelo looks drained, Cotto will take advantage


Teddy Atlas believes Canelo Alvarez may have beaten himself already, and he's switched his pick to Cotto.


Teddy Atlas' thoughts on Cotto-Canelo:

"I came here to say Canelo was too big, too young, too strong, and I don't know if I can say that anymore, because I watched the weigh-in. Canelo was drawn. He really was. That concerns me. I understand those dimensions of this business. I think the pendulum just swung on the side of Cotto a little bit.

"When you're as drained and gaunt looking to make weight, as Canelo showed himself to be- I know you got a day to put it back, and maybe at 25 years of age you can survive those sins. And they're sins, you pay a penalty for that. Maybe you can survive at 25, but it's not a good thing. And it definitely gives some help to Cotto, who came in here a 3-to-1 underdog.

"I think Cotto can win the early rounds. We've already seen Canelo exposed in the area of slow feet. I know if I was a trainer, and I know that obviously Roach is going to do a great job of having the right fight plan and having Cotto ready for what he needs to do, and for me what that would be is to use your legs a little bit. I'm not confusing Mayweather and Cotto, but I'm saying, Mayweather showed, exposed, if you will, one of the flaws of Canelo: slow feet. He doesn't close gaps really well. He really doesn't.

"Now Cotto, he's not gonna be Pernell Whitaker or Mayweather in there, but Cotto can box a little bit, keeping Canelo off balance, keeping him at bay, being able to do things before that gap is close, take advantage of his cement feet. I think that he's gonna- I'd be shocked if he didn't do that, and I'd be equally shocked if Cotto doesn't get a big lead early.

"I didn't come here thinking that, but I think he's gonna get a big lead early. Then it's gonna be down to Canelo, the pressure and burden being on him, where he's gonna have to come down the stretch. You know what it's gonna come down to? Being the bigger guy, the younger guy, the stronger guy, but is he gonna be the stronger guy? Is he gonna have enough in his tank after he killed himself to make weight? That's gonna be the X factor. I'm gonna say right now, maybe not. Maybe the tank's gonna be a little empty and Cotto can pull off a nice upset."



Big Names Weigh In On Cotto vs Canelo: Marquez, Chavez, Manhoef, More Discuss Fight


Fighters, promoters, and referees give their thoughts on Cotto-Canelo matchup.


With Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez set to meet in one of the biggest fights of 2015, everyone has a prediction, and that includes people in the fight world, from boxers to former boxers, MMA fighters to judges. Here's a rundown of some notable names discussing the big fight, including Oscar De La Hoya, Julio Cesar Chavez, and Juan Manuel Marquez.


Daniel Ponce De Leon:





Julio Cesar Chavez:





Juan Manuel Marquez:





Joe Cortez:




Melvin Manhoef:




Leo Santa Cruz:




Oscar De La Hoya:



Thursday, November 12, 2015

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Believes Ronda Rousey's 'The Ring' Cover Makes Boxing "Look Bad." Blames Oscar De La Hoya (Video)


Video Below


Ronda Rousey became the first mixed martial arts fighter to cover The Ring Magazine in the publication's 93-year history. In fact you have to go as far back as 1978 to find the first and only time a female boxer, Cathy "Cat" Davis, was featured on the cover of "The Bible of Boxing," according to FightHype.





The concept does not sit well with retired former boxing champion, Floyd Mayweather Jr. In a recent interview with FightHype, Money May had a lot to say about the topic.




"Well, you know, congratulations, but you know the sport is starting to look bad when a female fighter from a whole other sport is on the cover of a boxing book," the future Hall of Famer said.



Mayweather believes the timing is not a coincidence.

Oscar De La Hoya acquired The Ring Magazine 9 years ago. He's also the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. 

In Mayweather's opinion, De La Hoya, is trying to put himself in a position to add Rousey to his team, that right now can only count Canelo Alvarez as it's only young star.

"You gotta realize this, we all know Oscar De La Hoya owns the Ring Magazine," Mayweather told Ben Thompson of Fighthype. "That shows you; he has no fighters but Canelo. Basically, it's like he's trying to steal her from Dana White. Richard Shaefer, he built Golden Boy from the ground up, helped them make tons and tons of money, and what did this guy do? This is real talk, how can Canelo or any fighter hold their head up high and say, 'You know what? I'm proud for Oscar, a guy that dressed in drag and been on coke.' I mean, the world knows this. How can you hold your head high and say, 'You know what? I'm proud for this person to be my promoter.'

Pretty harsh words coming from Mayweather, but he and De La Hoya's relationship is strained at best and has been that way for years.

What's your take on all this? Do you think Rousey should be on the cover of a boxing magazine?


Monday, November 9, 2015

Why Lebron James Attracts So Many Haters

Since another NBA season is going to tip off with Golden State owning the trophy after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2015 NBA Finals, we head right into examining the "Lebron James Haters." He has a great deal of haters and there are many reasons people use to try and substantiate them. We take a look at why people love to hate on the King.



He was charged as the second coming since he was in diapers

LBJ was a needed prospect since his first days in discretionary school and had the advancement predicted onto him as the next Jordan at a very early age. That quickly drew out the haters. Basketball sticklers weren't going to permit some adolescent to uproot Jordan just like that. Considering all things, there's never going to be another Jordan, and we could look right to Kobe Bryant to display that point. In any case, the kicker was the time when Lebron's mother purchased him another out of the plastic new Hummer before he was even a specialist. That rubbed certain people the wrong way.


From the start he had his eyes on a "Billion Dollar Brand"

Around the start of his expert calling, he was immediate about how he expected the Lebron Brand to be a billion dollar empire. He was put on a stage as just a novice, and that put off many fans. Whereas Kobe came into a relationship with Shaq as a youth with boundless potential, obligated to digress for a few years before taking the spotlight away from O'neal. He earned his stripes first. Lebron has totally earned his charging as the best player on the planet, yet the media overhype and being the "overdog" right out of the gate bothered individuals.


"The Decision" and after that the going with his choice of team

"The Decision" was something that exasperates each sort of fan out there. Relentless Cleveland/Lebron fans were impacting jerseys. The media lit him up. Stickler basketball fans couldn't trust the dauntlessness of it, and even non-basketball fans bashed him at an alarming rate because of the PR move. He got out for Miami and another tremendous three was considered. Different fans felt denied by Lebron taking the path of least resistance to get a title as opposed to keeping an eye out and staying in Cleveland to complete it there.



When he got his rings, James shot out of Miami and returned to Cleveland. That may have made Cleveland fans feel recovered, yet it positively didn't sit well with Pat Riley and Heat fans. One thing you can show is the brand-centered business approach. Changing the jersey number from 23 to 6 to 23 again was cunning for pay rates, a move he most likely grabbed from MJ and his brief change to #45 and Kobe in his #8 to #24 change. Keep in mind that he put a deal to change his number to 6 before he changed into a free agent, and before "The Decision."



Boastful is as Cocky does: "I'm The Best Player In The World"

In the post diversion meeting after redirection 5, James incited us that he was the best player on the planet. He isn't reluctant to say it either. Since he is in his 30s, he has most likely 3-4 years left with that title before he's removed and the light shines on someone else (Curry?). Notwithstanding, the brashness of his declaration could maybe be in light of seeing the sunset years not far away. Whether it is or isn't, Lebron James will always have haters no matter what he does.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Lamar Odom Promises To Beat His Drug Addiction After Nearly Dying


They say that addicts have to hit rock bottom before they come to the realization that they can't continue living life that way.

For Lamar Odum, that moment came after his recent scare. The former NBA player was found unconscious on Tuesday, October 13, following a weekend of partying at Dennis Hof's Love Ranch South in Pahrump, Nevada.



He fell into a coma for several days. Now that he is awake and recovering at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Odum is determined to beat his addiction, believed to be cocaine.

TMZ reports that decision is the reason Khloe Kardashian decided to give their marriage a second chance, although some members of her family remain skeptical.




We wish Lamar luck.



Monday, October 19, 2015

Ray Lewis: I Feel Like Going On (Life, Game and Glory)



My twin sisters had my mother's name- anyway, they had the name Jenkins, which was the name of my blood grandfather on my mother's side. My mother went by McKinney, which was the name of her stepfather, Gillis McKinney, a man I grew up knowing as my maternal grandfather. My baby sister had another name- my brother too. We were a mismatched set, and I wanted to know who was who, what was what, who had the same name as me.

     One day, my mom took the time to explain it all to me- some of it, at least, and here it helps to know that we never talked about my father. He wasn't a part of our lives, wasn't even a part of our thinking, but there was no way to have this conversation without bringing him up. Come to think of it, this was the first conversation I can remember where we talked about him at all. My mother said,"Baby Ray, I will never say one bad thing about your father. Ever. Never. He's your daddy, after all."

     I said,"Okay, but whose name do I have? We don't know no Lewis'. "She said,"I'm about to tell you, if you let me finish." I didn't know much, but I knew to stay out of my mother's way when she got going on a story. She continued, plain talk: "Your father, he's chosen not to be in your life, so you're gonna have to figure that out. There is no one to teach you how to be a man. That one's on you. But when it comes to your name, that's a whole other story."

     That whole other story went like this: My mother was a good looking young woman, stunning- hazel eyes, hair down to her freakin' butt, a smile to light up the night sky- just crazy beautiful. I look at pictures from when she was thirteen, fourteen years old, and I'm knocked out. My father was, too. That's why he'd come around in the first place. He was just a couple years older, but he used to babysit my mom when she was little; he knew our family; he took notice as she grew up- kept comin' round, long past the time she needed minding. Let me tell you, it was hard not to notice my mother. Those pictures don't lie. She turned heads. Folks around town, they knew who she was, too. The boys, they lined up just to talk to her, to be near to her. So when she finally got around to telling my father about me the day I was born, the day he turned tail, there was this other young man next in line, and he stepped up and helped my mother with her hospital bills. Wasn't like he was fixing to hang around, wasn't like there was any kind of relationship between them, but the young man had taken a shine to my mother, said it was his privilege to help in this small way. And it was. To him, it was a small kindness; to my mother, it was big beyond big. He was a military man, and here he'd done my mother this great good turn, so she reached out to him a second time. She asked him to sign the hospital paperwork, where it asks for the name of the baby's father- and  happily, mercifully, he agreed.

     That young man's name was Ray Lewis, so my name became Ray Lewis. Just like that. My mother hardly knew this man, but it was a way to honor him. I was a way to honor him.
I didn't meet him until many  years later, when my own name was becoming well known. I'd been having some success on the football field and on the wrestling mat in high school. And this man, Ray Lewis, found a way to reach out to me, tell me who he was. He'd had no contact with my mother once he'd helped her out just after I was born, but he introduced himself- said, "My name is Ray Lewis, son. I used to know your mama."

     I made the connection right away. "Thank you for giving me your name, sir. I will make it great."



Sunday, October 18, 2015

Lebron James To Sell Miami Mansion


Baller's Pad

Basketball star Lebron James made headlines when he announced he was leaving the Miami Heat for his hometown team the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now, he's making headlines again as his Miami estate sits on the market for a jaw-dropping $15 million. Check out this luxe Spanish-style mansion with sweeping coastal views and plenty of room to spare. 



First Impressions
The Florida mansion houses a three-car garage and a paved brick driveway.



Welcome Home
Marble floors cover the home's grand entryway, where a sweeping staircase leads to the second story.




Cook's Corner
Two massive islands stretch the length of a kitchen big enough to feed an entire basketball team.




Lounging Around
Rich ceiling details compliment a minimalist gray sectional in a casual living space.




Bar None
A trio of pendant lights hover above a laid-back wet bar and kitchen area.




Movie Night
No NBA star's house is complete without a home theater.




Spa Soak
A freestanding tub enjoys a corner view of the surrounding bay.




Fashionista's Dream
Fashion lovers, take note: getting dressed is a breeze in this well-organized walk-in closet.




Symmetrical Soak
Symmetry is at play in another beautiful bathroom, where black-framed French doors open up to a deep soaking tub.




Seeing Stripes
Red, tan, and black stripes adds a pop of color to an otherwise neutral bedroom.




Curious Courtyard
Stucco archways and tall hedges surround a hidden cloister.




Endless Sea
An infinity edge pool overlooks the warm waters of the bay where large yachts can park at the home's private dock.




Miami Nights
Fringed palms line the entrance to the basketball star's palatial pad.




Cool Compound
The tropical private estate sits behind a secure wall and is monitored by state-of-the-art security.




Evening Swim
Bubbling waterfalls and bright lights adorn the infinity swimming pool.



Monday, October 12, 2015

Classic NBA Throwbacks: Grant Hill




Classic NBA Throwbacks: MJ and Gary Payton Go Chest To Chest




Classic NBA Throwbacks: Kevin Garnett




Classic NBA Throwbacks: Hakeem Schooling Shaq...1995 NBA Finals




Classic NBA Throwbacks: Dr. J. Throwing Down On Bird and McHale




Classic NBA Throwbacks: Wilt Chamberlain versus Bill Russell




Classic NBA Throwbacks: Kobe Battling Allen Iverson




Classic NBA Throwbacks: The Answer...Allen Iverson




Classic NBA Throwbacks: Shaq Battling Dennis Rodman




Classic NBA Throwbacks: MJ Preparing The Dagger For Championship #6