- Now I’m just getting annoyed with Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Their megafight, tentatively scheduled for March 13 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, has been a contentious mess from the start. Negotiations for a contract were tense and prolonged and even with a deal signed, the camps for the two fighters can’t just make nice and keep things going on a smooth path. The current issue up for debate is how to handle drug testing for the fight, a debate that has spiraled so out of control that the potential biggest money fight in boxing history is reportedly in serious jeopardy. Basically, Mayweather wants Pacquiao to agree Olympic-style testing conducted by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, whose inflexible protocol calls for random urine and blood testing throughout training camps, fight week and even the day of the fight, with the ability to test any time, day or night. Both fighters would be subject to the same kind of testing. In the past, Mayweather’s camp has accused Pac-Man of using performance-enhancing drugs, a claim that has angered Pacquiao to the point that he is threatening to file a defamation lawsuit against Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions in addition to pulling out of the fight because of the drug-testing demands. "Enough is enough. These people, Mayweather Sr., [Mayweather] Jr. and Golden Boy Promotions, think it is a joke and a right to accuse someone wrongly of using steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs," said Pacquiao. "I have tried to just brush it off as a mere pre-fight ploy but I think they have gone overboard." Pacquiao has never failed a drug test of any kind, so he would seem to have validation there. But that hasn’t stopped Floyd Mayweather Sr., the fighter's father, from repeatedly accusing Pacquiao of taking illegal substances to fuel his rise through seven weight divisions to win titles in a record seven divisions while maintaining his speed and power. "I have instructed my promoter, Bob Arum, head of Top Rank Inc., to help me out in the filing of the case as soon as possible because I have had people coming over to me now asking if I really take performance-enhancing drugs and [if] I have cheated my way into becoming the No. 1 boxer in the world," Pacquiao said. Arum has made ominous statements about the fate of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight the past few days while also making plans for an alternative bout for Pacquiao to defend his welterweight title on March 13 against former junior welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi. Given his reasons for not wanting to fight Mayweather now, Pacquiao’s choice of a potential replacement opponent is exceptionally ironic. Malignaggi has also repeatedly accused Pacquiao of using PEDs. Even noted boxing fan and part-time United States Sen. John McCain is weighing in on this dilemma. His attempt to mediate the drug-testing dispute was originally embraced by the camps but later shot down by Pacquiao. That wasn’t good enough for Arum, who then suggested that the Nevada State Athletic Commission oversee the testing. "Manny is pissed off but I think I can bring him back into the fight by having Nevada do it," Arum said. "He's fought in Las Vegas many times and is comfortable with the people on the commission." At the heart of Pacquiao’s resistance to the USADA testing method is a reported aversion to having his blood drawn repeated times leading up to the fight because of concerns over such a process weakening him. Pacquiao prefers the more flexible agencies that oversee testing for American professional sports leagues. His trainer, Freddie Roach, wants a definitive endpoint for any blood testing and also opposes random unannounced tests. HBO, which will televise the fight on pay-per-view, is also involved in trying to save it and thus protect its impending payday. "We're not giving up on this fight," HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg said. "We'll just keep the lines of communication open. That's all you can do." Clearly Pacquiao and his camp believe that more can be done, hence the threatened lawsuit against Mayweather. Pac-Man also has a message for Floyd Jr.: "Pretty Boy Floyd, face me instead on March 13 in Las Vegas and not in some talk show forum or in press releases written for you by people who don't even know me. Face me in a fight where I get to punch back. To Floyd, despite all these accusations, may your Christmas be merry and I will see you in court, soon, too." Way to include that Merry Christmas dig, Manny. Hopefully all of this bluster about canceling the fight will blow over and we’ll get to see a great bout in March…………
- Big news for you, American salsa music fans…..all four of you. Grammy-winning Cuban band Los Van Van are celebrating 40 years of salsa with a long-awaited return to the United States…..or so I’m told. I know nothing about salsa music or Los Van Van, but I am told they are often referred to as the 'Rolling Stones of salsa' and that when the group performs in Key West, Florida on January 28, it will be a big deal. The group’s absence from the United States has been caused by tense U.S.-Cuban relations, especially during the W. administration. But that hasn’t don’t anything to dampen the furor or lessen the cult following for Los Van Van among salsa fans, who credit them with reinventing salsa time and again since their debut in 1969. They are part of a wave of Cuban artists making a return trip to the U.S. since the beginning of the Obama regime. More and more Cuban musicians are being granted visas to perform at U.S. venues, bringing their sound from their Communist-run island to the civilized world. Los Van Van's Key West show will whet fans’ appetite for a 70-concert U.S. tour starting in April. Band leader and bassist Juan Formell is looking forward to the tour and hopes it’s the polar opposite of the group's last U.S. appearance-- a 1999 show in Miami where U.S. anti-riot police had to keep angry Cuban exile protesters from harassing concert-goers. “I was in Miami recently and nobody treated me poorly. On the contrary, people wanted to have pictures taken with me, they asked for autographs," he said. "Miami has changed a lot ... there is a new, younger generation that thinks differently.” They do, but there is still plenty of anti-Cuban sentiment out there and there will undoubtedly be a few whackos who show up for the concert in Miami to protest against Los Van Van’s performance and what they believe it signifies. For the rest of you, especially any of this country’s four salsa fans currently reading this, I hope you enjoy the “Rolling Stones of salsa”…………
- Well played, U.S. military, well played. That new policy calling for punishing soldiers in northern Iraq for becoming pregnant or impregnating another soldier has been dropped after less than a week. That provision was part of a new overall discipline policy and it generated enough controversy and criticism for the military to drop it like a freaking hot potato. The rule would have court-martialed any soldier who became pregnant or impregnated another soldier, but an updated version of the policy "does not include a pregnancy provision," said Maj. Joe Scrocca, spokesman for U.S. Forces-Iraq. Additionally, any unit must get the permission of the commander of U.S. Forces-Iraq before creating new rules restricting the activity of troops. The man directly responsible for this sh*t storm was Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo, who created the rule about pregnancy. Now, the 22,000 people under his command in northern Iraq, including 1,682 women, are free to get knocked up or to knock someone up. But take solace, Maj. Gen. Cucolo; the spirit of your rule can live on. You wanted your soldiers "think before they act" and I’m sure these few short days with this rule will make them do just that…..or not. Predictably, Cucolo had no immediate response and was reportedly spending Christmas Day visiting soldiers. His reception should be much warmer based on this decision, as dude surely wasn’t going to win any fans by sticking with his moronic policy. I can see where he might want to enforce a new rule on this topic, as there have been eight cases of women getting pregnant while deployed under his command. Of those eight, four were given letters of reprimand that were put in their local files, which means the letters wouldn't end up in their permanent files and they wouldn't be a factor under consideration for promotions. Cucolo admitted that he expected some controversy for his stupid new rule. "But I was also willing to deal with this attention because this is important," he said. "I am responsible and accountable for the fighting ability of my task force. I've got to take every measure to preserve my combat power, and that's the reason." Whatever you say, Maj. Gen. Just glad you saw the wisdom in caving in, er, restructuring your policy before you created an even bigger problem………
- Know what makes my holiday weekend even better? The threat of impending violence in…..well, pretty much any place in the world. But if we’re betting on riots and protests flaring up in any one corner of the world, who among us isn't voting for the Middle East? Exactly. Well, needless to say I was thoroughly excited to hear that Iran could see widespread protests this weekend as a day of mourning for the most prominent cleric to oppose the regime coincides with the major Shiite holy day of Ashura. Ashura is always an emotional day in Iran, but this year it falls on Sunday -- which happens to be a week to the day since the death of Grand Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri, a key figure in the 1979 Iranian revolution. Sounds like the perfect recipe for a riot to me! It’s been a week since one of the government's most vocal critics passed away and if that’s not a great time to riot, then I don’t know what is. Yes, I realize that the seventh day after a death is a traditional time for mourning in Islam, but it also seems like a perfect day to speak out against your country’s explicitly Shiite Muslim leadership. In many parts of the world, religion doesn’t play a huge role in the riot/protest/march scene, but it clearly does in Iran. For that reason, having a double-whammy of religious justification bodes well for this weekend’s riot potential. If you are culturally uninitiated, Ashura is a holiday commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, who died in 680 fighting to lead the religion based on the teachings of his grandfather, the prophet Mohammed. That battle was one of the defining points in the split between the two main branches of Islam, the majority Sunnis and the minority Shiites. Shiites are the majority in Iraq and Iran, unlike the rest of the world. Seeing them mark one of the biggest days on their calendar with protests, riots and clashes with police…..it would warm the heart, to say the least………
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