Boxing: Antonio’s Reliable Source on Green Day, Lady Gaga, Dwayne Johnson, Tiger Woods... and Yes, Boxing!

Boxing: Antonio’s Reliable Source on Green Day, Lady Gaga, Dwayne Johnson, Tiger Woods... and Yes, Boxing!

By Antonio Santiago, Doghouse Boxing (Feb 17, 2010)

It’s been an interesting week for me in that it actually has been devoid of any particular highlights. Played my NBA Live ‘07 on the Xbox, went to Pure Fitness gym, then walked to Safeway supermarket, bought something at the Goodwill store and at the Family Dollar, exchanged telephone numbers with many ladies, then returned home. That was it. That was basically the schedule the entire week, except Sunday, when my sister in law had to go to the emergency room at the ungodly hour of about 1AM and I stayed at my brother’s house to make sure that my nieces and nephew and my sister in law’s sister were safe and secure. I stayed there until 6AM!

As I sit here talking to you, I am sipping on a hot cup of coffee. It’s the best drink I’ve taken in the last 24 hours. Let me tell you something. I never intended to become a writer. In my imagination’s world, I am a professional boxer who is one night away from lifting the world Heavyweight Championship from Mike Tyson, or an oversexed entertainment celebrity with huge record and movie deals, or a commercial airline pilot like Chesley Sullenberger, who saved US Airways flight 1549 from catastrophe. Certainly not a writer. But here I am, and I will make the best out of it. I will make sure that I will go to the top because I have to. You always have to strive to be the top at what you do. One time, during the heyday of my family’s autograph collecting days, I asked Seattle Supersonics NBA center Jim McIllvaine if he ever looked at a game they’d lost and thought “well, at least I know I did all I could”, and he said “Never. It’s all about winning here”.

Now when I was a kid, we used to play basketball in a “league” down there at my apartment complex in Puerto Rico (Bonneville Apartments, Caguas, Puerto Rico) where head butts, injuries, elbows and throw downs were very common. My team lost 80 percent of our games, not for lack of talent or desire but because the other teams had a huge size advantage on us most of the time. Nevertheless, I ended up scoring about 18 points a game and collecting a broken nose, a couple of black eyes, one collapse and many other things for my efforts. I collapsed during one of my very last games there before moving to the USA, right after losing it by something like 60-58, despite my 38 point effort. Because of things like that, I became convinced, at age 17, that sometimes you just have to be happy with your effort and go on. But As the ABBA song says, “the loser’s standing small”.

Take Rachael Ray and Donald Trump as examples. They are not movie, music or sports stars. But they are there, aren’t they? And they are there because they made their way up (the fact Ray is a fine babe notwithstanding). Kobbo Santarrosa from Puerto Rico is another person like that. He had slim talent as an actor, so he became the best gossiper-disguised-as-a-puppet-doll in Puerto Rican television history, and thanks to that, he has enjoyed a long, 25 plus year career as a Puerto Rican television celebrity.

So, why then don’t we promise each other, you the reader and I your writer, that we will follow these people and become the best we are at whatever it is we do?

I think it will be worth a try!!

The Winner…!!!

I have to admit, I am gaga for Lady Gaga. She IS pretty darn hot and I imagine that she is the kind of girl who’d be willing to try all kinds of stuff in bed. But, I never imagined that Elton John would be gaga for her too! I mean, let’s get real, this being Elton John we are talking about, one is much more likely to see him have something for Boy George or George Michael instead!

Well, artistically speaking, at least, John is an admirer of the Lady, so it seems. And because of that, those lucky enough to be watching the Grammy Awards were treated to a duo between The Lady and The Lady-wannabe. I wasn’t watching, because to me, all these shows are like the four rounder televised fight between two boxers with negative records: avoid watching it at all costs.

And so there they were, Gaga and John, playing piano while belting out “Speechless” and “Your Song”, after Lady Gaga opened the show with her great song, “Poker Face”, according to Popeater.com.

At least, they weren’t trading jabs instead!!

In other Grammy related news, Gaga won two Grammys, while Taylor Swift took home four, including Album of the Year for “Fearless”. Beyonce Knowles, who must have no room left for more Grammys, broke a record she shared with Alicia Keys, Lauryn Hill, Norah Jones, Alison Krauss and Amy Winehouse by winning sis Grammys, becoming the first person to win five in one night twice during the process.

One of my favorite groups of all time, Green Day, earned the Best Rock Album Grammy award, for “21st Century Breakdown”.

The most controversial writer you’ve known wants to congratulate all the winners! And, oh, hey, Taylor Swift, I was awaiting for you to show up after the show to “celebrate” with me alongside a few bottles of wine and used condoms!!

The Comeback Kid

Fighting sports, specially boxing, seem to be where comebacks always happen. Well, 2010 will see another large comeback in a fighting sport, both because of the name of the come backer, and because of his body size. The only thing is, it’s not a boxer we are talking about. Nope, Lennox Lewis is staying put as far as we know. It’s none other than Dwayne Johnson, alias “The Rock”, who, according to John Gholson of Cinematica.com, is planning to re enter the Wrestling rings.

Johnson, who according to an internet source does not like to be called “The Rock” by fans and asks to be addressed as Mr. Johnson instead, told Live Audio Wrestling recently: “I am doing another movie, but, after that, we’re going to create something special, unique, something badass for the fans. If the matchn was right and we could create something really unique and cool for the fans and for my opponent and for the company, I would do it in a second”.

Now, Wrestling’s fake as much as Jack Dempsey is dead, but don’t Johnson’s words remind you of any boxer who is trying to rebound into the big picture?

All I have to say is, maybe he should ask Sugar Ray Leonard and George Foreman how to return. They are, after all, the kings of comebacks!!

Morning Woods Out

Have you ever envisioned yourself as being somebody else, someone who is famous? Because I have. When I was a kid and I listened to music, I envisioned myself being Paul McCartney of The Beatles. When I played hoops, I imagined I was wearing the Boston Celtics’ white home jersey with “a certain Bird’s” number 33 on my back. And when I went at bat playing baseball, I felt like a Strawberry. As in Darryl Strawberry. One person I would never envision myself as, however, is Tiger Morning Woods. Specially now.

You see, in the middle of all the scandals that have followed the PGA Golf legend the way autograph collectors follow celebrities, the golfer has yet another scandal released to public light: he apparently went through sex addiction rehab.

According to USMagazine.com, Tiger Morning Woods was at the Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Addiction Services clinic in Hattiesburg, Missouri, as informed them by RadarOnline.com. His wife Elin Nordegren as well as an army of security guards were also there.

Now, that’s an addiction I’d personally never go to rehab for! Why would you want to go to rehab to “cure” the best addiction of them all?? It’s just like if you loved boxing and movies and decided to cancel your memberships to HBO and Showtime!!

On the other hand, I wonder, since we’re talking about Tiger anyways, whether he’ll be able to “keep up the woods” after his visit to the clinic!

Bye Bye Love!

It’s been quite a while since I last saw an episode of Hannah Montana, now that my eleven year old niece is more into Twilight and my five year old niece into Spongebob Squarepants. But as the lead entertainment gossiper at Doghouseboxing.com, I get quite a fill of Hannah Montana-related news, what with all the pedophiles interested in finding out even the color of Miley Cyrus’ panties.

Well, the latest news related to that show are not very good to me. You see, according to popeater.com, actress Tiffany Thornton, who has appeared on The Hannah Montana Show, is about to marry court officer Christopher Carney. The couple got engaged in December, the site says.

Thornton is better known for her work on another Disney Channel show, “Sonny With a Chance”, and she is a hot blond babe who, along with Beyonce and with me, would complete a perfect fantasy threesome in my not-so-humble opinion!!

Hey Christopher, dude you just scored a knockout!!!

Congratulations to the couple and many years of happiness to them!!!

Thank you!

I want to publicly acknowledge two special people for their kindness to me in recent days: one of them is Mr. Harrison Foster, from Florida. Mr. Foster is none other than the son of legendary model and boxing personality Vicky LaMotta, the courageous and heroic former wife of former world Middleweight Champion boxer Jake LaMotta. Mr. Foster sent me a cancelled check signed by his mother, one which I put on a display immediately after receiving it, and it is a honor for me to have this great woman’s autograph.

Also, on February 6th, I received a photo signed by Jake LaMotta, all thanks to Mr. Foster.

The other person I want to thank publicly is former world Middleweight Champion Gene Fullmer, whose autographed card I received on the mail about 5 days after I sent a request for it. Very soon, I will follow suit by asking his brother, former world Middleweight title challenger Don Fullmer, for an autograph also. The Fullmer brothers live within walking distance of each other in West Jordan, Utah.

Once a champion in life, always a champion in life!!

Boxing Anniversaries

To many Puerto Rican boxing fans, the name Salvador Sanchez is synonymous to the way the New York Giants are to hardcore Buffalo Bills fans. But not to this one writing right here.

Even as Wilfredo Gomez-along with Wilfred Benitez- is one of my two favorite fighters of all time, I gained wide admiration and respect for Salvador and also became a huge fan of his after he beat my countryman Gomez. And so it is with deep honor that I can say that I spent the 30th anniversary of Salvador’s WBC world Featherweight title coronation at the same city Salvador won the title, Phoenix, Arizona.

On February 2nd, 1980, not far from where I was at on February 2nd, 2010, Salvador Sanchez claimed the WBC world Featherweight title with a 13th round knockout of defending Champion Danny Lopez, at the Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. Coincidentally, Sanchez trained for that fight at a gym that I later visited to meet Yori Boy Campas to get Campas’ autograph. I know because they keep the t-shirt Sal used for his training on the gym’s wall, and I also felt honored to see that object itself in person. Perhaps no as coincidentally, also on the 30th anniversary of their bout, it was announced that Lopez would join Sanchez in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, a well deserved honor. Now, I’m still awaiting for other well deserving fighters like Bennie Briscoe, Alfredo Escalera, Jose Luis Ramirez, Santos Laciar and Luis Estaba to be inducted as well!!

R.I.P.

Jack Brisco, 68. Mr. Brisco was a famous wrestler who won the NCAA amateur Wrestling title as well as the NWA world Heavyweight championship. In 1973, Brisco beat Harley Race for the NWA championship. He kept the title until 1975, when defeated by Terry Funk.

Brisco’s rivalry with Terry Funk’s brother Dory Funk Jr. was notable and they fought about 400 times, according to Dory Funk Jr. Along with his brother Gerardo Brisco, Jack Brisco also won some tag team titles.

Mr. Brisco died, according to fanhouse.com, of complications from a heart surgery on Monday, February 1st.

Dick McGuire, 84. Mr. McGuire was a basketball legend, who was a member, for 53 years, of the New York Knicks NBA basketball franchise. As a player, he led the Knicks to the NBA Finals from 1951 to 1953, and he had 2,950 assists. His number 15 was retired by the team and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was also a coach, assistant coach and scout at different times with the Knicks.

According to Fanhouse.com , he died on Wednesday, February 3rd, of natural causes.

Betty Lou Keim, 71. Ms. Keim was an actress who played teen girls in the 1950’s, famously acting in “Teenage Rebel” and as a pregnant kid in “These Wilder Years”, as well as alongside Frank Sinatra in “Some Came Running”. She was signed both by MGM and by Fox. In 1949, at the age of 10, she acted in her first Hollywood film, “Texas Lil’ Darlin”. She also acted in Broaadway, and on television’s “The Philco Television Playhouse” and “The Deputy”, the latter of which paired her with Henry Fonda.

Ms. Kleim also shared credits with Ginger Roberts.

According to Moviefone.com, she died on January 27th after a battle with lung cancer.

Sandro, 64. Sandro, born Roberto Sanchez, was an Argentine singer whose fame crossed borders and reached all of Latin America. During the 1960’s, he was a teen idol, and he got nicknamed “The Argentine Elvis” and “Sandro of America“. Sandro also acted in a number of films and television soap operas in other Latin American countries like Puerto Rico and Venezuela.

According to Wikipedia.org, the iconic singer and actor passed away on January 4th, of septic shock, mesenteric ischemia and disseminated intravascular coagulation resulting from a double, cardio-pulmonary transplant 45 days before, at Mendoza, Argentina.

May they rest in peace.

Please send all Questions and comments to Antonio at TJ69662094@aol.com.

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