Author: Chris Przybyszewski

LENNOX LEWIS’ MEDIA NO-SHOW

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother.

No, really, I mean it. Why pay attention to the debacle of the upcoming Lennox Lewis/Mike Tyson fight?

Has there ever been such a hyped-up affair involving two more insignificant players? Maybe the last presidential election (or maybe Bush-Dukakis), but even those had some import, considering there was something at stake.

Let’s face it, boxing long ago became more about the personalities of the fighters in the ring, rather than about who has a better upper-cut. The guys on ESPN or HBO might still think there is something to training and desire, but the rest of us just want to see colorful peacocks strutting and stutter-stepping, blustering and bleeding.

But no. I had to ignore all of these ideas. I had to think, oh why not? This fight might be one of the most important in Memphis sports history. Cover the dang fight like a good reporter. I don’t have too much time at the Flyer, so why not go out with a bang?

So, I join in this national conference call featuring one Lennox Lewis. He was supposed to have been involved in a media-only exchange, much like what Tyson offered in person in Maui, of all places.

But when I got to the line, a Lewis representative tells us that there is no call, that Lewis is “completely focused” on his upcoming match, and that Lewis doesn’t want to talk with the press.

“I’m sorry I can’t join the media at the conference call. I look forward to meeting the media in Memphis,” Lewis told the rep to say, and so the rep did say, and the disgusted sports news people placed their phone back on their respective hooks and en masse scrambled to find new material for tomorrow’s columns.

On the one hand, I understand Lewis’ reluctance to talk with media. I personally hate talking to the media as well.

But on the other hand, boxing is not just about getting in the ring, and beating the crap out of someone else. The fans have to care about the fighters. Could you throw any old schmo’ in the ring with Apollo Creed and get Rocky? No, you needed the antithesis of Creed, the hard hitter compared to Creed’s style. You need the working-class Joe compared to the millionaire Creed. Hell, you needed blue-collar Philadelphia against the glitz of Creed’s L.A. In short, Creed needed a Rocky Balboa to make a movie. Rocky might have been a punching bag, but the crowd loved that damn punching bag. Until he made Rocky III and up, but I digress.

Lewis-Tyson has that sort of polar-opposite appeal. Tyson’s antics and explosive fighting style clashes nicely with Lewis’ demeanor and caution in the ring. But that only matters if the crowd can see that Lewis is more than just a dignified Brit defending his title. The fans have to see that Lewis is more than his quiet nature.

Lewis will not have another press conference until he gets to Memphis. That’s only a little ways off, and Lewis has had other media availability, but why waste this opportunity to make a fool of himself like Tyson does on every occasion? Better yet, why not use the time to show a champion’s class, for which the boxing world has starved?

That’s why I wonder why I do bother. Lewis could have at least said something cool about how mad he was at Tyson, or how he was going to stomp the guy’s testicles. Instead, he remained silent.

Let me ask you this, was Muhammad Ali known for his work in the ring, or his words outside the ring? I think it’s a combination of both, and Lewis has once again — just by not saying a thing — shown why he is a mediocre champion.

I mean, really. Do we care about fighters who can fight? Sure it’s nice to watch some skills, but the fun part is to listen to these overpaid warriors rant and rave at each other, and then for the bastard to be put into his place by the shining knight victorious again. (disclaimer: Tyson might or might not be a bastard, but I’m not necessarily saying that Lewis is a knight.) Tyson at least is answering that call of institutional buffoonery that has been boxing’s trademark for the last half century.

So why bother? If only half this pair care about putting on a show, who needs the aggravation? Not this reporter, though the words sure did fill up a desperately-needed column space left vacant by a silent champion. In the end, Lewis’ gloves might decide the match, but his silence has already secured his place in history.

IT’S GOOD TO BE A KING

For lack of better reference, think of the Central Hockey League like a Double-A baseball club. The guys on the team might have played in college, come from all over the known world, and — realistically — only a fraction have a chance to move up to one of the larger hockey leagues, including the NHL.

But the CHL is definitely a league, and the Memphis RiverKings, for the first time in its ten-year franchise history, are the CHL-league champions on the strength of Michal Stastny’s goal at 5:48 into overtime. That game-winning shot lifted the King’s 4-5 over the Austin Ice Bats. The Bats had home-ice advantage, and the better league record. The Kings beat the Bats 4-1 in a best of seven series, at home.

The final game of the series had everything any sports lover could want — except a capacity crowd. The DeSoto County Civic Center sported a meager attendance of little over 4,000. But the acoustics of that newly furbished round dome and the interest of the fans made the place feel full. In all sections one could see heads painted red and green, jerseys for the Kings and for their NHL affiliate the Toronto Maple Leafs, taped hockey sticks with multiple player signatures, and even teenagers sporting large black wigs in honor of one of the team’s mascots, Thing.

There was also the play on the ice. These teams had not met each other during the regular season, but were old “pals” by the time Game Five rolled around. The trash talk was endless, the body checks were relentless, and no punches were pulled.

Alternately, both teams showed the skill that got each to the finals. Shifts flowed on and off the benches without falter, multiple substitutions flickered past the score table. The crowd could barely tell who was on the ice since the players moved on and off so fast. Like a human chess match at lightning speed, the Kings and the Ice Bats skated across the ice, waiting for that one moment to score.

In the second period, when the Kings went up 3-2, the Memphis squad formed a tight wedge down the right side, found numbers on the defense, and then shot the goal by Don Parsons (his 14th of the playoffs) to put the team up by one. The Ice Bats rallied with two of their own to start the third period, and the Kings would be heading back to Austin if not for King Kahlil Thomas, evening the score at four apiece.

Then came sudden-death overtime. No shoot-outs, no flip of the coin. Just out and out, whoever scores goes home a winner. For the Ice Bats, their backs were on the wall. For the Kings, this shot was their last to close the President Cup Finals at home.

“I just said, hey, if we lose the game, we had our second chance,” Kings coach Doug Shedden said after the game. “Let’s not sit on our heels. Let’s go for it.” Shedden, moments after winning his third CHL title, stood in his small office 20 feet from the ice rink, and next door to the sweat and champagne-drenched Memphis locker room. With a couple reporters in the room, Shedden had no problem ripping off his shirt and tie, and pulling on his championship tee-shirt. He then (and with as much enthusiasm) pulled out a Miller High-Life Beer from the fridge under his desk.

As any champ coach, Shedden was reflective. “When you look back, the problem is that time flies and you don’t remember when you last won. But it just gets sweeter. No one gets tired of winning, that’s for sure. It’s not easy going into a championship series and winning, you know? That was a great team that we played. We were short of hands, Holy Christ, we lost a lot of players, and we just kept going. We had a chance to win every night É I just said to our guys between the two periods that somebody in white was going to be a hero, and it’s going to be a goal you’re never going to forget.”

One reporter asked coach what he had to say about the condition of the ice. Shedden’s response was heart-felt, if not politically correct. “It was playoff hockey, what are you going to do?” he asked in return. “The ice was bad tonight, there were a lot of bouncy pucks. I don’t know what to say. I’m just fucking happy we won.”

Outside, his players each celebrated by holding the President’s Cup overhead, and the crowd cheered each in turn. Parsons had traded his cup for his baby daughter, who slept in his arms. Stastny, bewildered by his game-winning goal but still professional with the press, said all the right things. “I shot from the right side,” he said in accented but good English. “I could have made the pass, but I decided to send it in. It was a good decision. When it goes in, it’s always a good decision. There are a lot of things in life. In sports, this is the greatest thing in my life.”

Stastny was ever the gracious hero. “I want to thank my coach, my manager, my trainer, everybody,” he said. “Without them, I couldn’t be scoring that goal.”

Outside of the DeSoto County Civic Center, SUV’s and trucks took their sweet time rolling through the parking lot. Fans held hockey sticks in juxtaposition to three-hundred years of Southern history like victorious swords after battle. And everyone — everyone — pressed on horns, and drove slowly. These moments — no matter how minor league — make the strong into a sports fan, and the weak into a sports junkie. Last Sunday night, everyone who watched at the DCCC was definitely a King.

ALL SORTS OF STUFF

There’s too many things this week, so here’s a collection of bits and pieces.

• First, congrats to Grizzlies forward Pau Gasol for his Rookie of the Year selection. The NBA just announced the honor Wednesday morning, though no one had any doubt. Gasol, a native of Spain and the first European player to win the Rookie of the Year Award, averaged 17.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.1 blocks and 36.7 minutes while starting 79 of the 82 games in which he played this season. He finished the season ranked fourth in the NBA in field goal percentage (.518), sixth in total blocks (169), ninth in blocks per game and tenth in double-doubles (35).

  Gasol also set four Grizzlies rookie records this season, including 169 blocks (old record: 163 set by Roy Rogers in ‘96-97), 730 rebounds (old record: 570 by Bryant Reeves in ‘95-96), .518 field goal percentage (old: .505 by Roy Rogers in ‘96-97) and 79 starts (old: 71 by Shareef Abdur-Rahim in ‘96-97). Gasol’s blocks record for rookies also establishes a new overall team record. Finally, Gasol set a new team record for offensive rebounds with 238 for the season (old: 227 by Shareef Abdur-Rahim in ‘97-98).

  Gasol racked up 117 of the possible 126 votes for the award. Also receiving votes were Richard Jefferson of New Jersey (3), Jason Richardson of Golden State (2), Jamaal Tinsley of Indiana (2), and Andrei Kirilenko of Utah (2).

• But what is wrong with forward Shane Battier? Battier received no votes for ROY. Battier averaged 14.4 ppg, and 5.4 rpg. Jefferson, the second most vote getter, averaged 3.5 ppg, and collected 5 rpg. Of course, the difference is that while Battier started for the NBA’s third worst team, Jefferson came off the bench for the Eastern Conference’s best team. Still, something smells in New Jersey (well, something always smells in New Jersey, but that’s a different story).

• So the Commercial Appeal says that NBA legend Jerry West will be a Griz next year, and ESPN.com says (as did Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley at the ROY press conference) that the deal is not nearly done. Here’s to hoping that the CA’s potential jumping the gun won’t spook West, a known advocate of secrecy on deals not yet finished. Still, Heisley might be in the position to pull off one of the biggest coups in NBA history, and would well erase any doubts about his ability to own a team affectively.

• But here’s a problem: what to do with recently replaced team president Dick Versace? Reports say that Versace will be GM, and West will be president. But one wonders what exactly — if anything — Versace would do as GM since West would be pulling all the triggers. Versace could run the day-to-day operations under West’s orders, but will Versace handle that situation well? Granted, Billy Knight — as GM of the Grizzlies under Versace — did the job admirably, but Knight could also put his foot down to get results (as when Knight drafted Gasol over Versace’s objections). But a Jerry West is not a Dick Versace, to put it mildly, and Versace will never be able to have such an impact.

  One scenario has Versace firing current head coach Sidney Lowe and then putting himself up as GM and head coach. Will West concede to that? Or will West recognize that the three years left on Versace’s contract be enough to build the Grizzlies to playoff contention, leaving him the ability to fire Versace and then get a good coach? Fun stuff.

• According to the University of Memphis’ student paper, the Tiger basketball club is in for more headaches. Front page of Wednesday’s paper talked about how team stars Dajuan Wagner, Chris Massie, and Antonio Burks have been seen riding around campus in luxury-level vehicles. Granted, Wagner and Massie will leave campus for the NBA (Massie can still come back, as long as he doesn’t get himself an agent), but an official NCAA investigation is the last thing the Tigers need.

• What’s up with these Memphis/Mid-South Xplorers? The team that won only a handful of games last year is now 3-0 and atop the Central Division. One of the big reasons is the Tim Lester-Russell Copeland QB-Receiver connection. In the Xplorers’ 61-51 win over Bossier City, Lester threw seven touchdowns in the game, which was good for a new team record. Lester went 22-30 for 314 yards. On the season, he has 18 touchdowns and only two interceptions. In the game, Copeland caught five passes for 82 yards and the score, and is the AFL2’s top receiver with 26 catches for 322 yards so far this season. The Xplorers play again on Saturday, April 27, at 8:30 p.m.

• And finally, the Memphis RiverKings will host the Austin Ice Bats for a three game stretch in the CHL finals for the President’s Cup. The Ice Bats recently evened the series 1-1, which is fine anyway since the Kings have effectively stolen home ice advantage from the Bats with their win at Austin. With luck, the Kings can sweep the best of seven series from here on out, and win the whole thing in Memphis on Sunday. Here’s the schedule: Thursday, April 25, 7:05 p.m., Friday, April 26, 7:05 p.m., and then Sunday, April 28 at 6:05 p.m. Go to these games.

  (Care to respond? Write mailonthefly@aol.com.)

Grizzlies general manager Billy Knight — a good guy and a good GM — just got canned. Welcome to the real “Big Time,” Memphis. In pro sports, changes can occur at any moment and the public gets little — if any — insight into the situation. The Grizzlies brain trust has shut out everyone, including members of its own staff who might leak information anonymously. Simply put, the Grizzlies management is wearing a poker face right now. So are they hiding a royal flush (i.e., does owner Mike Heisley know what the hell he is doing?) or are they bluffing?

Much of the spotlight has fallen on president of basketball operations Dick Versace. Versace has a spotty career record at best and is widely disliked by many members of the media. His most notable accomplishment was a coaching stint with the Indiana Pacers. According to the Grizzlies’ media guide, Versace “developed” Pacer Reggie Miller to All-Star status. (One can only wonder what Reggie thinks about that.) He got the job with the Grizzlies because then-new owner Heisley was a longtime buddy. Here are some of Versace’s Grizzlies career highlights:

n According to Craig Daniels of The Toronto Sun, Versace tried to make the Grizzlies PR staff pay his $10,000 NBA-instituted fine for saying that the Toronto Raptors would tank in Canada. Versace reasoned that the staff did not prep him on the question of Toronto’s viability and so were personally (and fiscally) responsible. The good thing is that since PR personnel get paid so much more than team presidents, no one on the staff would have felt the pinch. Not that much, anyway.

n Versace hired head coach Sidney Lowe (which was a good thing). But then, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer‘s Stephen Smith, he bragged to people in the stands of Vancouver’s GM Arena about how he would coach the team, should he (humbly) get the opportunity to do so. Versace started such antics after only 20 games into Lowe’s career. Lowe would go on to record the two best regular seasons in Grizzlies history and played a major role in developing the team’s young talent.

n During the 2001 draft, Versace wanted Eddy Curry, who eventually went to the Chicago Bulls. Billy Knight insisted on Pau Gasol. According to veteran NBA writer Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune, Versace went so far as to threaten Knight’s job if Gasol didn’t pan out. Knight won the battle and Memphis drafted the eventual 2002 rookie of the year. Chicago, to put the matter delicately, did not.

* After the 2002 season, Versace fired GM Billy Knight and blamed the firing on owner Michael Heisley. Rumors from insiders say that Versace was furious that Knight got the credit for drafting Gasol.

And Versace may not be done. So here’s a word of warning to Grizzlies head coach Sidney Lowe: Watch your back. Any number of scenarios could develop that would leave him out in the cold. One is that Versace could fire Lowe, “demote” himself to coach, and then let Lakers mogul Jerry West run the head office as GM and president. Another scenario is that West could become president (West has said he doesn’t want to be GM), and Versace would become GM and coach.

Give this to Versace: He’s opportunistic. If either of these scenarios happen, he would take control of a team that should easily win over 30 games next year. Versace would also benefit from West’s presumably adroit touch in the front office. Versace would be known as the man who turned the Grizzlies into winners, even though he’d be using the talent acquired by Knight and developed by Lowe.

But will Lowe really get fired? Heisley has said publicly that while he wants Lowe on the team and he would be surprised to see the coach go, that decision is not in his hands. Heisley charged Lowe with developing talent this year, not winning ballgames. Lowe has one more year on his contract, and here’s hoping he gets to fulfill it. But if Lowe can’t pull off 35 wins or so next year, don’t count on him being around the following season.

Peter Vescey of NBC says that West is leaning toward coming to Memphis. But in what capacity, no one seems to know. Change, power struggles, good guys getting fired. It’s all part of the big leagues, Memphis. Get used to it. The best — or worst — may be yet to come.