Pacquiao defeated Mosley in an underwhelming fight, but Mark and I were there

Ok, so let's talk about the Shane Mosley v Manny Pacquiao WBC Welterweight bout on Saturday night...

As I mentioned in a previous post, I took my cousin's son, Mark, with me to the fight.  ****  Mark you still owe me the pictures, so please send me them when you get a chance.

There was no question that I was going to bet the fight.  I wasn't going to lay 900 to win 100 though.  Instead, I opted to place a small, $100 bet on the boxing match to go the distance (i.e. all 12 rounds). 

I was at the Margarito v Pacquiao fight in Dallas, and I felt that Manny could've easily knocked out Antonio Margarito ~ but he didn't.  Based on that previous fight, I felt that Pacquiao (i.e. who seemed to be friends with Mosley) would "let" the fight go the distance.  Needless to say, I was right.

By the time Mark and I arrived at the MGM Grand and went to the sportsbook, the Lopez v Pavlik fight was off the board.  This was too bad, because I wanted to parlay my "Will go" with a Pavlik victory to increase my payout.  C'est la vie. 

I like Pavlik (i.e. who's from Youngstown, OH) and he won easily.  I was excited to see him fight "live" since he didn't end up boxing at the last fight in Dallas.

Arce won the next fight.

Finally it was time for the main event and a mini-concert.  Uber-talented Charice (i.e. I know her from watching Oprah) sang a perfect Philippine national anthem. Tyrese sang the US national anthem and Jamie Foxx sang "America the Beautiful".  LL Cool J sang "Mama Said Knock You Out" for Shane Mosley.  ****  This is the 2nd or 3rd time I've seen and heard LL Cool J perform this song live, but for obvious reasons this time it was even more hyped.  Manny Pacquiao came out towards the ring to "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. 

Highlights of the match:

1) When Pacquiao knocked down Mosley in the 3rd round.

2) When Bayless incorrectly ruled that Pacquiao was knocked down in the 10th.  ****  If you ask me, it wasn't a knockdown.  As a result of the bad call, Pacquiao came out with more fire.

In my opinion, the fight was underwhelming.  I sold all my extra tickets and made a tiny profit.  I knew I was bored when I was trying to figure out what brand my water bottle was and was trying to to hold it in the light so I could read the label.  It was a full house in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and you could hear the crowd booing loudly.  Boxing fans wanted to see a FIGHT.  We didn't pay to see Pacquiao and Mosley touch gloves and play it safe. 

It's obvious the two pugilists have a good relationship, but the friendship was overtly obvious and reminded me of when Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson would hug and kiss before the opening tip.  I didn't want to see buddies hang out.  I paid to see a fight.  There's no question that the Margarito fight was better.

I'm happy that Mark enjoyed the fight.  I know he enjoyed it.  I'm also happy that I'll never have to pay for dental again, once he finishes school.

Oh, and it's worth mentioning that the MGM Grand Garden Arena ran out of hotdogs.  Seriously.  That's a huge mistake.

THE WIRK

Dallas bound ~ Margarito v Pacquiao fight tomorrow!

I'm going to Dallas to see friends and family AND for the Antonio Margarito v Manny Pacquiao fight!!!  I cannot wait...  It's going to be a great time at the new Cowboys Stadium :-P

I'm watching the HBO 24/7 Pacquiao-Margarito episodes now, since they're being replayed in preparation for the fight tomorrow.  Speaking of preparation, it's time to charge my camera batteries... 

Lastly, yes, it's also time to channel my "Filipina" side...  Go Manny!!!

It's too bad Kelly Pavlik isn't fighting on the undercard.  It would've been good to see the Youngstown, Ohio native battle live.

This will be my first boxing event.  I might even have a Tecate, for the first time.  The possibilities are endless.  One thing's for sure, the pictures are going to be RIDICULOUS.  I can feel it...

For those of you wondering where you can watch the fight, I recommend (i.e. if you're in the Dallas area) that you ante up and hit Ticketmaster.  Great seats are still available.

Ok, lastly, what to wear?  Maybe I'll wear my SF Giants hat.  What?!?!  Too soon?!?!  Haha, OK.  Maybe I'll wear my new Texas Rangers hat.  Guess, we'll have to wait and see...

Mama Said Knock You Out ~ LL Cool J



THE WIRK

Game 4: Rajon Rondo dominates and the Celtics defeat the Cavs

Rajon Rondo played out of his mind. <--  There's really nothing more that needs to be said, but I will elaborate a little bit more about Game 4 of the Cleveland Cavaliers v Boston Celtics series at the TD Garden.

Maybe LeBronsElbow drank too much Arbor Mist...  I have no idea.  I do know that Rondo basically single-handedly ruined my last day in Boston, and that I have worked hard to try to forget his stellar performance.  The Cavs were down, and then it appeared that they decided to try to make a comeback.  Once the Cavs made it a close game and even caught up, it appeared that the Cavs completely unraveled.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and their fans must've felt like they took a shot to their nuts, and Anderson Varejao actually did.  Check out the video from the game.  The sound is terrible, but the image is priceless.  It's no secret I'm not an Anderson Varejao fan...

I went to the game with Ning, Tom (i.e. Ning's boyfriend), and a guy named Jeff (i.e. Tom's friend).  Tom is a season ticketholder and offered me a ticket.  Even though, a Celtics fan ~ Tom's ok in my book.

View from the seats

At the start of the game  I was handed a "Go Celtics" rally towel.  Yeah, I touched it.  I also couldn't resist taking a picture with "Lucky" the Celtics "leprechaun guy".  Yeah, I admit it.  Needless to say, I think I messed up my Cavs karma with those 2 events.  And yes, as a Cavs fan I know I should be ashamed of myself...

Jay-Z and Beyonce weren't at Sunday's game, but it was Mother's Day and LeBron James' mom, Gloria, was sitting pretty across from the Cavs bench.

At one point the Cavs were on top, but they eventually lost the game by 10 points. 

My crush wasn't happy, but since my text messages were being delivered 3 hours late, I "received" his messages late.  Whatever.  It really didn't matter.  There was nothing to celebrate (i.e. unlike after Friday's game) and I had a flight home to catch.  I didn't have time to drown my sorrows with some Arbor Mist, near the harbor. 

Leaving the arena and heading to the airport, I received text message after text message from Celtics fans (i.e. notice I didn't call them my friends, j/k) i just copied and pasted my same reply:  "Every time I saw the ball it was going through Jamison's hands and bouncing off of his jersey, being shot by Varejao, or part of a short lay-up.  Terrible."  Just what every Cavs fan wants ~ Jamison with butter fingers and Varejao shooting...  GIVE ME A BREAK.

Lucky for me there was Game 4 of the Phoenix Suns v San Antonio Spurs series for me to watch on my JetBlue flight!  I was able to watch the 1st 3 quarters and see Steve Nash catch Tim Duncan's elbow.  I watched Nash walk towards the court after his several stitches, and I watched his eye start to swell shut.  Nash's injury wasn't as bad, but it reminded me of Kelly Pavlik in his last fight...  I also noticed that there was a new hashtag for Twitter that was being used (i.e. #1eyedNash) and that it was gaining popularity! 

By the time I had arrived at home, the game was over and the Suns had swept the Spurs!  At least one of the games ended the way I wanted it to...

Thanks, Ning, Tom and Genghis ~ I had a great time!

That's all for now.

THE WIRK