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Muhammad Ali appears onstage at the Las Vegas gala with wife Lonnie and Sean "Diddy" Combs.

LAS VEGAS -- They gathered in the bowels of the arena where most of the great fights of the past two decades have taken place, old men now all sharing one shining moment from years gone by. They had come to honor The Greatest, though whether Muhammad Ali remembered who they were or knew what it was all about was a matter of speculation that on this night would go unanswered.

Some, like Chuck Wepner, couldn't stop talking about the night they won their personal lottery - a spot across the ring from Ali. Nothing new there, because the Bayonne Bleeder has been talking about it to anyone who will listen almost every day since then.

Others, like Leon Spinks, weren't able to talk much at all.

"Leon Spinks is here, and he needs help," Wepner said. "There are a lot of fighters who need help."

This was a night supposed to bring that help, both to fighters such as Spinks and those fighting today. Millions would be raised in Ali's name for the Cleveland Clinic's new Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in downtown Las Vegas, where researchers are busy trying to unlock the puzzles of damage to the human brain.

A seat for dinner and the show at the MGM Grand hotel started at $1,500. UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta spent $1.1 million in an auction for the gloves Ali used against Floyd Patterson in 1965 in the first heavyweight-title fight in a city that would become synonymous with boxing. President Obama wished Ali well in a video greeting, and Stevie Wonder was among those on hand to sing birthday wishes to the former heavyweight champion, who turned 70 last month.

At the center of it all was an elderly man, mute and his face seemingly frozen as he sat at a table with his wife, Lonnie, and several other family members. Whether boxing caused Ali's Parkinson's is the subject of debate, but it was clear on this night that the disease he has fought for three decades has taken a terrible toll on him.

He was once a magnificent man with a sculptured body and a mouth that wouldn't stay shut. He's still magnificent in the way that his very presence envelops and engulfs an arena as it did Saturday night, hushing high rollers and the elite of this gambling town in a way no other man could - and all without saying a word.

They used to trot out Joe Louis like this in his final years, too, a heavyweight great and an American hero reduced to drooling in his wheelchair at ringside. With Ali, though, it seems different in a way if only because you get the feeling that the man who was the ultimate people person still enjoys being around people.

Doctors say not many people survive 30 years of Parkinson's, a debilitating brain disease for which there is no cure. That Ali has lasted this long is, perhaps, a tribute to the great athleticism that served him so well in the ring. Still, the death of his trainer, Angelo Dundee, a few weeks ago and Joe Frazier a few months before that is a reminder that even The Greatest has a limited time on Earth.

This article appeared on page B - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle

See original here:
COMMENTARY / Ali speaks loudly without saying a word

CHICAGO - A 48-year-old Chicago public school teacher used the "n-word" as part of a lesson on the perils and pitfalls of racism, and it landed him a five-day suspension from his job. Now the teacher is fighting back, filing a federal lawsuit against the district and claiming that his civil rights have been violated.

Lincoln Brown, a 21-year veteran teacher and native of Chicago's Hyde Park, used the word in his sixth grade classroom at Murray Language Academy on Oct. 4, 2011 after discovering a note that a female student was passing, which had the slur written on it citing some rap lyrics. Brown, who is white, used the note as an opportunity to teach a lesson about racism in the context of Huckleberry Finn.

theGrio: Why the n-word should stay in 'Huck Finn'

In almost impeccable timing, as soon as Brown said the "n-word," the school's principal, George Mason, walked into the room, and the trouble started.

"This cannot be apart of who I am," Brown said during a press conference with his attorney. "My character has been assassinated."

Mason gave a different account of the incident and charged Brown with "using verbally abusive language to or in front of students" and "cruel, immoral, negligent or criminal conduct or communication to a student, that causes psychological or physical harm" which is in violation of the Chicago Public Schools policy. Mason disputed the context in which Brown used the n-word.

"We've talked about racial stereotyping and how words really shape people's ideas of who you are," Brown said. "I cannot tell you how much it hurts me to say that word."

theGrio slideshow: The top 10 n-word controversies of the decade

Following a disciplinary hearing, Brown was suspended for five days without pay. CPS denied Brown's appeal of the suspension on grounds that he "engaged in inappropriate discussions with sixth-grade students during instructional time."

See more here:
White teacher sues to use n-word in class

In the eyes of many opposition supporters, only those who have whole-heartedly abandoned themselves to opposition flackery are seen as “independent” journalists. They are just as corrupting as the politicians and businessmen who put aside little envelopes or ang pows, or expensive souvenirs, as thank-you-for-coming takeaways.

UpperCaise

Did you like that fancy word DAP superman Hew Kuan Yau is supposed to have used instead of “prostitute” to describe Malaysia’s journalists? “Enjo-kosai“. So exotic, so tempting, like the Japanese schoolgirls who go on dates with strange men, have sex with them, get money for it, and then go back to school, or go shopping for expensive brand-name clothes, or handbags, or a trip to Disneyland.

That’s what “enjo-kosai” means — amateur schoolgirl prostitutes.
Enjo-sokai is an aspect of the Lolita complex in Japan: middle-aged men fascinated by young girls in uniform, especially schoolgirls.

So superman Hew has dished out a double-whammy: not only are Malaysian journalists prostitutes, but they are a bunch of Lolita-like amateurs.

The press seem to be falling over themselves to say he had said and meant “compensated dating” and to avoid that P word

Bull.

“Compensated dating” is just a euphemism, a softer roundabout way of avoiding a blunt, direct word that might offend; saying “he passed away”* instead of “he died”; buying a “pre-owned” car instead of a used one. Or saying “money politics” instead of “vote buying”.

It’s bullshit (or “bovine manure” if you prefer) to avoid saying prostitute, that people took  money for coverage.

That’s a cover-up, and as cover-ups go, a form of prostitution itself; it surely isn’t journalism. Name them instead — and name and shame the politicians who paid, and the publishers who’ve allowed it to happen.

A free press? Or just free publicity?

Someone who wants the press to make him look good and sound mature and not a boor, cannot be relied on merely by his making a verbal commitment to a free press.

Do they want a free press? Or just a press free to give them publicity? Will they stand up for the independent journalism that comes with a free press? Will politicians help establish an ethical press by themselvges not corrupting the journalist? Or do they just want to “turn over” journalists to be their poodle instead of a poodle of the other side.

There is no free press without an ethical press. And all the bluster of loud mouth media critics means nothing until they put their money where their mouths are by attacking and exposing the cause of unethical journalism:

    owners and publishers who expect journalists to work for peanuts;     owners and publishers who expect journalists to sell advertising space to pad up their meagre salaries;     businessmen who advertise and expect favourable coverage and cover-ups in return     politicians who corrupt journalists by trading on information     politicians who turn journalists into their publicists     politicians who use their position to intimidate and harrass

And he can expose the politicians who not only routinely pay out “attendance money” but demand and expect that journalists take their shilling and do their bidding.

...read more

Read more:
How about prostitution, for Hew’s sake

In just over five minutes of discussion with the press, Mark Gottfried used the word better nine times.

We have to be better late in the game.

We’ve got to do a better job.

We’ve got to find a way to be a little bit better.

We’re going to get better.

We’ve got to get better.

At the end of his press conference, Gottfried let out a huge sigh and then retraced those 128 steps, a little slower this time, muttering with his small entourage about what might have been. When he got back to the Wolfpack locker room, Jim Harrick, Gottfried’s former boss at UCLA, was waiting for him. Harrick, dressed in a bright red sweater, draped his arm over Gottfried’s shoulder and gave him the kind of consoling hug that only a coach can give another. Then Harrick said, “It happens to the best of them.”

If we learned anything from Thursday night, it’s that the Wolfpack isn’t the best, but they are better than they’ve been in a long time. Clearly Gottfried’s next goal is to make them better than better.

The rest is here:
Crothers: Pack getting better

February 17th, 2012

By Hans Olson

Jesus Gonzales, who fights Adonis “Superman” Stevenson tomorrow night in Montreal, was put into question after a heated press conference in Montreal on Wednesday where Stevenson accused him (via social media) of using a racial slur.

Prior to that accusation, Gonzales had spoke of Stevenson’s criminal past during the press conference.

“I know his past. He likes kids and girls,” said Gonzales at the presser. “If you’re poor and rob a bank, you can be forgiven. Or even if you kill—if someone has threatened you. But when you rape and beat-up little girls…what kind of guy is that? He’s a piece of shit. You can’t forgive that. It’s an issue that bothers me. But that’s his past, not mine.”

Later on in the day, Stevenson posted the following statement on his Facebook page:

“Gonzales is a fucking racist and a fucking lier. He called me a stinking n—–. Saturday night Im gonna knock this motherfucker out.”

Friday, Boxing Insider caught up with Jesus Gonzales to get his side of the story in which he emphatically denies what Stevenson posted on Facebook.

________________________________________

Boxing Insider: First off, thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions Jesus. Can you share your thoughts on the statement Adonis Stevenson posted accusing you of calling him the N-word?

Jesus Gonzales: “He’s a liar. The people at the press conference know it’s a desperate lie.”

Boxing Insider: So you can confirm 100% that you did not use a racial slur against Adonis?

Jesus Gonzales: “No, of course not. He was very smelly at the press conference and I said he stinks like shit. [You can] confirm I didn’t say the n-word.”

Boxing Insider: Why do you think he accused you of saying that? It’s pretty bold for him to accuse you of that…

Jesus Gonzales: “Yeah, he just has a big mouth and I got under his skin. So he went and I guess, posted the lie that I called him the n-word. Everyone that was there, knows it’s a lie.”

Boxing Insider: Was it your intention to “get under his skin” by bringing up his criminal past?

Jesus Gonzales: “No, I never brought the issue up. A journalist asked me the question and I just told him what I know. I just want to fight, I don’t get into that drama. Hopefully he’s sorry for his past. He’s a dramatic guy.”

Boxing Insider: Can you tell me about Natalie’s House and your involvement with them? I understand you’ll be wearing their logo on your ring trunks Saturday…

Jesus Gonzales: “Yes, while I was in training camp, I was contacted and asked if I would wear it on my trunks. I work with lots of charities in AZ, so it don’t hurt me to wear their logo. It looks like Adonis is taking kindness for weakness.”

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Jesus Gonzales: “I Didn’t Say the N-Word” | BoxingInsider.com - Boxing | Boxing News