Just finished watching the finals of the Euro Cup 08 which saw the side from Spain defeat Germany 1-0 to win their first European championship since 1964. It was a great tournament that certainly had its share of excitement and dramatics. Not taking anything away from either Spain or Germany, but for me the team of the tourney was the side from Turkey. From their incredible last minutes come from behind win over the tough Czechs, to defeating the heavily favored Croatians 4-2 and their heartbreaking last minute loss to Germany, the Turks certainly won over a legion of fans with their heart and determination and for that I'm going to name them my team of Euro 08. It was a great month of world class football and I'd be interested on seeing later this year how the soccer ratings compared to the upcoming Beijing
Olympics later this summer. I bet that the 2nd largest football tourney next to the World Cup gives the Olympics a run for its money.
With the Leafs doing a major renovating job in house cleaning, I really hope that they don't spend any big money in bringing in any big name free agents. This is the time for rebuilding and smart trades and draft choices are the way to go for the hapless Buds. If they're going to get rid of anyone else, they should start with their useless president, Richard Peddie, who had a big hand in saddling the Leafs with their huge money players with no trade clauses in their contract.
With the never ending headlines regarding professional athletes and their use of performance enhancing drugs, a new scandal has now erupted in the sport of boxing concerning 4-time world champion and 2-time conqueror of Oscar De la Hoya, Sugar Shane Mosley. According to convicted steroid dealer and founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, Victor Conte and ex Mosley trainer Derryl Hudson, Molsley began using the performance enhancing drug, EPO several months before his second fight with De La Hoya in September of 2003. The fight was a 12-round unanimous decision of the Golden Boy by an incredibly fresh Mosley, who seemed to get stronger as the fight wore on. According to Jeff Nowitzky, an investigator connected with the Balco investigations, there seems to be documentation that was seized during raids on the facility that indicated that the boxer received shipments of designer steroids. It'll be interesting to see if Mosley is called in to testify in any upcoming investigations on the use of illegal drugs in sports.
I was talking to some boxing and MMA insiders after last week's controversial Kimbo Slice-James Thompson main event on the CBS inaugural Elite XC primetime fight show on May 31st. Scuttlebutt has it that to give the fledgling organization and their star attraction, the You Tube and internet sensation former street fighter Slice a huge media boost, that they are entering negotiations to feature a block buster between Slice and former heavyweight boxing champion of the world, Mike Tyson. On paper this bout has a lot of appeal especially considering both fighter's histories and reputations, and has the earmarks of being an exciting one round barn burner. Tyson, who is way past his prime can still punch harder than a Mack Truck and truth be told the former champ is broke and millions of dollars in debt
especially to the IRS. Rumor has it that his services could cost promoters a hefty 5 million bucks to enter the ring again in this proposed matchup . Slice looked absolutely average in his premature third-round stoppage win over the tough Englishman, Thompson. If Tyson stays away from an early takedown and lands any of his big money shots on Kimbo, you can call the undertaker because Slice will be knocked out faster than a Maple Leaf run at the playoffs.
Even though the local amateur fight game has spent the last several years in the backround due to little media exposure, be assured that there are fight cards being presented on an almost weekly basis throughout the GTA. Id like to highlight for you my choice for the fighter of the week award. This week's pick is a great little 15-year-old by the name of Jonathon Tello. This 150 lb. dynamo looks like the real thing and is one of the best prospects this writer has seen in a long while. His coaches,the Di Florio twins out of the Bramalea Boxing Club are really excited about this young man's future in the sport. This welterweight has to considered a favorite for this year's provincial or national championships.
Congratulations go out to the premier kick boxing and martial arts promoters in Canada, the Twin Dragons who hosted a 13-fight, sold-out show last week at the beautiful Paradise Convention Centre in Woodbridge. Had the pleasure of doing the ring announcing and TV color commentating for the show and it was one of the best produced events I've seen in the past few years. If any of you are interested in purchasing a full length professional DVD of the event or are interested in classes from these martial arts legends just pick up the phone and call 416-229-1280 or 416-657-8394.
Also wanted to say hi and congratulate my good friend and neighbor Nadia who just opened an amazing establishment by the name of Adagio Hair Design and Spa in Etobicoke. For anyone who wants to pamper themselves give the talented Nadia a call at 416-233-3773. The spa is located at 15 Summerland Terrace and is located only 20 minutes from downtown and a short stroll from either Kipling or Islington subway station. Let me tell you, if she can make a mope like me presentable for TV just think what she can do for you
It is with a heavy heart that I write tonight that sportscaster, ‘King of Fight’ Eddie Zawadzki is gone. Eddie’s sister, Christine called to tell Canada Free Press (CFP) that Eddie died this morning of a massive heart attack, age 55.
