SPORTS NEWS

NICE: Magic Johnson Part Of Group Buying L.A. Dodgers For Record 2 Billion Dollars [Video]

Continue reading “NICE: Magic Johnson Part Of Group Buying L.A. Dodgers For Record 2 Billion Dollars [Video]” »

Usher To Play Sugar Ray Leonard in New Roberto Duran Film

Continue reading “Usher To Play Sugar Ray Leonard in New Roberto Duran Film” »

CBS RESPONDS TO RETIRED NBA BULLS SCOTTIE PIPPEN LAWSUIT: YOU'RE BROKE

Scottie Pippen has ADMITTED he was a walking financial disaster ... and has NO right to sue over reports that he was dead broke ... this according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ.  Continue reading “CBS RESPONDS TO RETIRED NBA BULLS SCOTTIE PIPPEN LAWSUIT: YOU’RE BROKE” »

NY Mets owners settle Madoff case, avoid trial

The owners of the New York Mets agreed to pay $162 million to settle a lawsuit by the trustee seeking money for the victims of Bernard Madoff's fraud, a deal that eases pressure on the owners of the cash-strapped baseball team. Continue reading “NY Mets owners settle Madoff case, avoid trial” »

Peyton Manning picks Broncos

Peyton Manning will become the next quarterback of the Denver Broncos, barring a snag during intensified contract negotiations that have commenced under the instruction of the four-time MVP to his agent Tom Condon, according to multiple sources. Continue reading “Peyton Manning picks Broncos” »

NBA TRADE UPDATE : NENE, NICK YOUNG, JAVALE MCGEE, DERRICK FISHER

NBA TRANSACTIONS: WHICH PLAYERS DID YOUR TEAM GET? Continue reading “NBA TRADE UPDATE : NENE, NICK YOUNG, JAVALE MCGEE, DERRICK FISHER” »

Moss, 49ers agree to one-year deal

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- Randy Moss is ready to show the world he can still be that dynamic deep threat who once dominated NFL defensive backs. Continue reading “Moss, 49ers agree to one-year deal” »

NBA trade deadline Moves could be minor

The formidable tag-team variables of time and money could make this NBA trade deadline week -- the official trade deadline week of the Dwight Howard Relocation Project -- relatively meek. Continue reading “NBA trade deadline Moves could be minor” »

BREAKING NEWS: NFL COACHES UNDER INBVESTIGATION

The NFL will investigate claims that the Washington Redskins had a bounty program when Gregg Williams was the team's defensive coordinator, The Washington Post reported Sunday. Continue reading “BREAKING NEWS: NFL COACHES UNDER INBVESTIGATION” »

Floyd Mayweather a 'racist' according to UFC owner Dana White, over Jeremy Lin comment

UFC president Dana White called WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. a racist Tuesday night for comments the boxer made recently about New York Knicks point guardJeremy Lin. Continue reading “Floyd Mayweather a ‘racist’ according to UFC owner Dana White, over Jeremy Lin comment” »

QB Peyton Manning cleared to resume NFL career

Peyton Manning has been medically cleared by two doctors, one of whom performed the most recent surgery on the Colts quarterback's neck, to resume his NFL career, sources told ESPN's Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter. Continue reading “QB Peyton Manning cleared to resume NFL career” »

Sources: Lakers eye blockbuster trades

Hoping to pull off a pair of blockbuster moves that would rock the NBA, the Lakers are willing to trade anyone on their roster outside of Kobe Bryant to bring Howard and Paul to Los Angeles, two sources said.

Whether the Lakers are able to make it happen remains to be seen, but with stars Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom on the roster, they have the talent and the financial capacity to make the trades work.

The Lakers have had cursory discussions with New Orleans about Paul within the past few days. It is not clear whether they have spoken with Orlando.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak would not comment when asked about the Lakers' intentions to trade for both superstars, but in addressing general trade rumors surrounding his team, he gave the company line, saying the Lakers are happy with their current squad.

"This time of year, there are a lot of rumors going around," Kupchak said in a telephone conversation. "I'm aware of them and I'm not going to comment. Our comments have been pretty consistent -- this group can contend, so we'll just play it out. Nothing is about to happen. It's much too early in the season.

"We don't even have a collective bargaining agreement to refer to."

While Paul's first choice is to join buddies Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire on the New York Knicks, he would sign a long-term contract to stay with the Lakers, according to a source with knowledge of Paul's thinking. And Howard's fondness for Los Angeles is well-known, leaving no doubt that he would commit to the Lakers long-term.

Sources say Paul and Howard have had several conversations with each other about the possibility of playing together on various teams.

Several trade combinations would work for the Lakers. For instance, they could send Gasol to New Orleans for Paul, and Bynum to Orlando for Howard. If the Lakers threw Odom into the trade to Orlando, they could sweeten the offer for the Magic by taking back the contract of Hedo Turkoglu.

"The Lakers are interested in trying to do something for both (Paul and Howard)," a Western Conference executive said. "I would hate to see it happen. I want Howard to stay in the East and Paul to go to the East.

"If it does happen, it'll make things much harder for us."

The Lakers are not the only team in Los Angeles that's thinking big.

Sources say the Clippers also have intentions to go after both Howard and Paul. And like the Lakers, the Clippers are positioned -- financially and talent-wise to make such a move.

Unlike the Lakers, the Clippers would not have to make two trades. They could use their wealth of young talent to trade for either Paul or Howard and then sign the other as a free agent next summer when they'll have enough cap room to offer a maximum-salary contract. The one player the Clippers will not offer in a trade is Blake Griffin.

"The Lakers have company (in going after Howard and Paul)," another Western Conference official said. "The Clippers are doing the same thing." SOURCE

COTTO VS MARGARITTO 2 POST FIGHT INTERVIEW(SPANISH)

STEP 1: CLICK HERE

INTALL THE FLASH PLAYER AND ENJOY THE FIGHT :0)

NBA SEASON RETUNRS

NEW YORK (AP) -- After nearly two years of bickering, NBA players and owners are back on the same side.

"We want to play basketball," Commissioner David Stern said.

Come Christmas Day, they should be.

The sides reached a tentative agreement early Saturday to end the 149-day lockout and hope to begin the delayed season with a marquee tripleheader Dec. 25. Most of a season that seemed in jeopardy of being lost entirely will be salvaged if both sides approve the handshake deal.

Barring a change in scheduling, the 2011-12 season will open with the Boston Celtics at New York Knicks, followed by Miami at Dallas in an NBA finals rematch before MVP Derrick Rose and Chicago visiting Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

Neither side provided many specifics about the deal, and there are still legal hurdles that must be cleared before gymnasiums are open again.

"We thought it was in both of our interest to try to reach a resolution and save the game," union executive director Billy Hunter said.

After a secret meeting earlier this week that got the broken process back on track, the sides met for more than 15 hours Friday, working to save the season. Stern said the agreement was "subject to a variety of approvals and very complex machinations, but we're optimistic that will all come to pass and that the NBA season will begin Dec. 25."

The league plans a 66-game season and aims to open training camps Dec. 9, with free agency opening at the same time. Stern has said it would take about 30 days from an agreement to playing the first game.

"All I feel right now is `finally,"' Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade told The Associated Press.

Just 12 days after talks broke down and Stern declared the NBA could be headed to a "nuclear winter," he sat next to Hunter to announce the 10-year deal, with either side able to opt out after the sixth year.

"For myself, it's great to be a part of this particular moment in terms of giving our fans what they wanted and wanted to see," said Derek Fisher, the president of the players' association.

A majority on each side is needed to approve the agreement, first reported by CBSSports.com. The NBA needs votes from 15 of 29 owners. (The league owns the New Orleans Hornets.) Stern said the labor committee plans to discuss the agreement later Saturday and expects them to endorse it and recommend to the full board.

The union needs a simple majority of its 430-plus members. That process is a bit more complicated after the players dissolved the union Nov. 14. Now, they must drop their antitrust lawsuit in Minnesota and reform the union before voting on the deal.

Because the union disbanded, a new collective bargaining agreement can only be completed once the union has reformed. Drug testing and other issues still must be negotiated between the players and the league, which also must dismiss its lawsuit filed in New York.

"We're very pleased we've come this far," Stern said. "There's still a lot of work to be done."

The sides will quickly return to work later Saturday, speaking with attorneys and their own committees to keep the process moving.

When the NBA returns, owners hope to find the type of parity that exists in the NFL, where the small-market Green Bay Packers are the current champions. The NBA has been dominated in recent years by the biggest spenders, with Boston, Los Angeles and Dallas winning the last four titles.

"I think it will largely prevent the high-spending teams from competing in the free-agent market the way they've been able to in the past. It's not the system we sought out to get in terms of a harder cap, but the luxury tax is harsher than it was. We hope it's effective," deputy commissioner Adam Silver said.

"We feel ultimately it will give fans in every community hope that their team can compete for championships."

The league hopes fans come right back, despite their anger over a work stoppage that followed such a successful season. But owners wanted more of the league's $4 billion in annual revenues after players were guaranteed 57 percent of basketball-related income in the old deal.

Participating in the talks for the league were Stern, Silver, Spurs owner Peter Holt, the chairman of the labor relations committee, and attorneys Rick Buchanan and Dan Rube. The players were represented by executive director Billy Hunter, president Derek Fisher, vice president Maurice Evans, attorney Ron Klempner and economist Kevin Murphy.

Owners locked out the players July 1, and the sides spent most of the summer and fall battling over the division of revenues and other changes owners wanted in a new collective bargaining agreement. They said they lost hundreds of millions of dollars in each year of the former deal, ratified in 2005, and they wanted a system where the big-market teams wouldn't have the ability to outspend their smaller counterparts.

Players fought against those changes, not wanting to see any teams taken out of the market when they became free agents.

"This was not an easy agreement for anyone. The owners came in having suffered substantial losses and feeling the system wasn't working fairly across all teams," Silver said. "I certainly know the players had strong views about expectations in terms of what they should be getting from the system. It required a lot of compromise from both parties' part, and I think that's what we saw today."

Even the final day had turbulent patches. It required multiple calls with the owners' labor relations committee, all the while knowing another breakdown in talks would mean not only the loss of the Christmas schedule but possibly even the entire season.

"We resolved, despite some even bumps this evening, that the greater good required us to knock ourselves out and come to this tentative understanding," Stern said.

He denied the litigation was a factor in accelerating a deal, but things happened relatively quickly after the players filed a suit that could have won them some $6 billion in damages.

"For us the litigation is something that just has to be dealt with," Stern said. "It was not the reason for the settlement. The reason for the settlement was we've got fans, we've got players who would like to play and we've got others who are dependent on us. And it's always been our goal to reach a deal that was fair to both sides and get us playing as soon as possible, but that took a little time."

It finally yielded the second shortened season in NBA history, joining the 1998-99 lockout that reduced the schedule to 50 games. This time the league will miss 16 games off the normal schedule.

Though the deal's expected to be approved, it may not be unanimous as there are factions of hard-liners in both camps who will be unhappy with substantive portions of the deal.

"Let's all pray this turns out well," Pacers forward Danny Granger wrote on Twitter.

But getting what the owners wanted took a toll. Stern, after more than 27 years as the league's commissioner, hoped to close a deal much sooner but was committed for fighting for the owners' wishes even at the risk of damaging his legacy. Hunter dealt with anger from agents and even questions from his own players about his strategy, wondering why it could so long for the players to use the threat of litigation to give them leverage that had otherwise eluded them.

The sides met just twice in the first two months of the lockout before stepping up the pace in September, when it was already too late to open camps on time. The sides tried meeting in small groups, large groups and even mediation, but nothing sparked compromise.

Things changed this week with the entrance of Jim Quinn, a former NBPA counsel who had good relationships on both sides. The meeting Friday was held at the office of his law firm, though he did not take part.

Hunter said the terms of the deal would come out shortly, preferring to keep them private until they could be shared with the players. They might not like the deal, but it will be better than what many of them feared. Resigned to possibly missing the season, some had signed deals overseas so they would have some paycheck.

Instead, they're a step closer to returning home.

SOURCE

MLB TEAM MOVING FROM THE NL TO AL: Houston Astros sold after price cut

Baseball owners unanimously approved the sale of the Houston Astros from Drayton McLane to Jim Crane on Thursday, which will lead to the team moving from the NL Central to the AL West for the 2013 season.

The decision will give each league 15 teams, baseball's first realignment since the Milwaukee Brewers switched from the AL to the NL after the 1997 season.

As part of the Astros' agreement to switch leagues, the sale price was cut from $680 million to $615 million, a person at Thursday's meeting told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details weren't announced,

Major League Baseball will make up part of the $65 million difference, paying McLane $35 million over three years, the person said.

Commissioner Bud Selig said owners also approved two additional wild-card teams for the postseason, meaning 10 of the 30 teams make the playoffs. Selig said he hopes the expanded playoffs can start next year, but he said the specifics are being worked out. The players association favors the move.

''You do things for a long period of time. The addition will really help us in the long run,'' Selig said.

Owners also approved longtime San Francisco Giants executive Larry Baer to replace Bill Neukom as the team's controlling owner.

In addition, MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred said progress was made on a new collective bargaining agreement to replace the deal that expires Dec. 11.

Selig saluted McLane, who bought the team in 1992 for about $117 million. The Astros struggled mightily on the field last season, losing 106 games.

'Drayton should have a wonderful legacy of what he did for the Astros, got them a new ballpark and did all these things,'' Selig said. ''He sure left a much better franchise than when he came in.''

Crane founded a Houston-based logistics company in 2008. He is chairman and chief executive officer of Crane Capital, a private equity fund company. Two years ago, he attempted to buy the Chicago Cubs, and last summer he tried to purchase the Texas Rangers.

In September, Crane expressed frustration at how long it was taking MLB to move on the sale and noted there is a Nov. 30 deadline.

In 1997, employees of Crane's former company, Eagle USA Airfreight, filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission saying there was discrimination. Eagle settled the case in 2005 for about $900,000.

Selig acknowledged the long vetting process.

''I'm very comfortable today telling you he has put together a good group in Houston,'' the commissioner said.

SOURCE

NBA SEAON LOOKING LIKE IT WONT HAPPEN: LAWSUIT ON THE RISE

The 2011-12 NBA season, both men conceded Monday, is legitimately in jeopardy.

That was actually the consensus conclusion all over the league after Hunter announced that the team representatives in attendance at a morning meeting in Times Square voted unanimously to file a "disclaimer of interest" that will dissolve the union and signals the players' intent to take their battle with the owners into federal court.

Following a weekend of unusually-aggressive public lobbying by Stern in support of a take-it-or-leave-it proposal issued by owners Nov. 10, Hunter and NBPA president Derek Fisher announced that -- with negotiations between the sides essentially hopeless at this stage -- they planned to file an antitrust lawsuit within 48 hours. The suit will seek a summary judgment that deems the NBA shutdown which began July 1 to be illegal.

Hunter then acknowledged in an interview with NBA TV that, even though the NBPA pushed for disclaiming its status as the players' collective bargaining representative over decertification to get into a courtroom faster, there is a "high probability" that the entire 2011-12 season will be lost because of the lengthy nature of court proceedings.

Said Stern in a subsequent interview on ESPN: "The union decided in its infinite wisdom that the proposal would not be presented to membership [for a vote]." Referring to union lawyer Jeffrey Kessler, Stern added ominously: "Obviously Mr. Kessler got his way and we are about to go into the nuclear winter of the NBA."

"If I were a player," Stern continued, "I would be wondering what it is that Billy Hunter just did."

The two union leaders explained themselves further in a letter to all players Monday night. The letter spelled out the reasons they've opted to transform the NBPA into a trade association that will keep its New York headquarters open but can no longer negotiate with the owners.

According to a copy of the letter, which was obtained by ESPN.com, Hunter and Fisher wrote: "For two and a half years and through more than 50 collective bargaining sessions, we sat at the table and attempted to negotiate a fair labor agreement with the owners. Last week, with the issuance of yet another ultimatum -- a take-it-or-leave-it final offer of a long-term agreement with unacceptable terms -- Commissioner Stern and the owners left us with no other option. It has become clear to us that we have exhausted our rights under the labor laws and continuing in that forum (collective bargaining) would not be in the best interests of the players."

The letter continued: "With no labor union in place, it is our sincere hope that the NBA will immediately end its now illegal boycott and finally open the 2011-12 season. Individual teams are free to negotiate with free agents for your services. If the owners choose to continue their present course of action, it is our view that they subject themselves to significant antitrust liability."

But Hunter and Fisher also acknowledged the "enormous consequences" of the move, telling players -- beyond the unknowns tied to going to court -- that the union will no longer be able to take up grievances on behalf of players, regulate player agents or defend the players' labor-law rights. Disclaiming interest also requires the union to withdraw the unfair labor practice charge filed earlier in the summer with the National Labor Relations Board, which the NBPA once regarded as one of its trump cards for much of the summer.

Although it's not inconceivable that Hunter and Stern could talk again this week to negotiate before the NBPA officially files its anti-trust lawsuit, Stern did his best to downplay the notion that the fear of the unknown might coax some 11th-hour concessions from the owners.

Calling it "an irresponsible action at this late date," Stern dismissed the "disclaimer of interest" plan as a transparent "negotiating tactic."

"But it's not going to work," Stern said on "SportsCenter." "If they were going to do it, they should have done it a long time ago, then maybe we would have had a chance to save the season. But they seem hell-bent on self-destruction and I think it's very sad."

It was widely expected coming out of the weekend that Hunter would respond to Stern's ultimatum offer by announcing that the deal would be presented to the full membership for a vote as long as the league consented to 3-to-5 key amendments. But the disclaimer route likewise surprised many of the agents who have been at the forefront of a push for decertification that has collected an estimated 200 signatures from frustrated players looking to dissolve the union through alternative means.

Sources briefed on discussions in Monday's meetings told ESPN.com that Hunter successfully convinced the players in the room that disclaiming interest would get their case to the court system faster than decertification and enhance the chances that a 2011-12 season of a representative length. Yet sources close to the decertification movement said Monday night that the agents behind the push were still weighing the feasibility of filing the petition with the NLRB, which would lead to a formal vote on decertification for the entire membership roughly 45 days later.

Decertification backers, according to sources, still see some value in going ahead with their petition separate from Monday's action and ultimately filing a flurry of antitrust lawsuits of their own in addition to the union's filing. The idea would be to apply a significant amount of legal pressure to the owners in hopes that the prospect of dealing with multiple lawsuits at once would finally lead to a negotiating about-face from Stern and company.

"We're looking at multiple fronts of havoc," said one source from the decertification faction.

Whether any of that has any impact on league officials in terms of convincing the owners to back off their summer-long hard-line stance remains to be seen. Stern was quick to insist that the strategy "won't work" and accused Hunter of depriving his union members "of an enormous pay date," insisting that the league will indeed soon revert to a far more onerous "reset" offer if no deal was done this week.

"There's some mixed emotions but this is what's best for the league, it's what's best for our players," All-Star guard Rajon Rondo told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard on Monday. "We have to stand together. It's not about the Boston Celtics selfishly wanting to play this year, it's about what's best for us as a unit."

The players' key leaders going forward are two high-profile lawyers who had actually worked on opposite sides during the NFL labor dispute in the summer. Joining Kessler now is David Boies, who months ago represented the NFL in its antitrust case against the NFLPA. Unless he and Kessler are ultimately ousted as part of the decertification movement, Hunter will continue to serve as the head of the players' new trade association.

"The fact that the two biggest legal adversaries in the NFL players dispute over the NFL lockout both agree that the NBA lockout is now illegal and subject to triple damages speaks for itself," Kessler said in an email to The Associated Press. "I am delighted to work together with David Boies on behalf of the NBA players."

The proposal rejected by the players called for a 50/50 split of annual revenue and a 72-game season starting Dec. 15. But the sides have clashed for days about the various "system" issues that put restraints on teams that stray into luxury-tax territory which, according to the union, will severely hamper free agency and restrict overall player movement.

"We understand the consequences of potentially missing the season; we understand the consequences that players could potentially face if things don't go our way, but it's a risk worth taking," union vice president Maurice Evans said. "It's the right move to do."

Said Fisher: "To imply that as players we've somehow been misled by Billy ... it even implies that we don't understand or we're not capable of understanding the details that were presented to us in [last week's] proposal. And as players we resent that type of implication. We're very aware of what we did not accept and we made a choice with our eyes open."

The NBA's only previous work stoppage to bleed into the regular season reduced the 1998-99 season to 50 games. Monday marked the 137th day of the lockout, one day longer than the NFL's lockout in the summer.

"It's really a tragedy," Stern said.

Usain Bolt Is Athlete Of The Year!!

Usain Bolt is the 2011 World Male Athlete of the year, becoming only the second man in history to win the prestigious award on three occasions.

Australian sprint hurdler Sally Pearson was also presented with the Female World Athlete of the year award at last night’s International Athletics Foundation Grand Gala, which was held at the Salle des Etoiles in Monaco.

Bolt, who won ahead of countryman Yohan Blake and Kenyan 800m specialist David Rudisha was happy with the award and says it will serve as motivation for the upcoming season.

“I am extremely proud of myself this means a lot to me and it has motivated me even more to work harder and to enter this coming season with even greater fight,” Bolt told The Gleaner.

The double world record holder won the 200m at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea earlier this year with the fifth fastest time in history, while also posting the fastest time for the year over 100m, 9.76 seconds. Bolt was also a member of Jamaica’s world record breaking 4x100m relay team from Daegu.

Pearson, the world 100m hurdles champion, is hoping that her success can inspire athletes from her region and help to push the sport forward.

“Its pretty amazing because we struggle in Australia with our sport so when I can do this for my country and my region it means a lot and hopefully it can inspire other athletes from my region at the junior level and senior level,” said the Pearson.

The Australian won in Daegu with the fastest time in 19 years – 12.28; also setting a national and area record in the process. She won 15 of her 16 races over the last season, getting the nod over Valerie Adams (New Zealand) and Vivian Cheruiyot (Kenya).

SOURCE

JOE FRAZIER DEAD AT 67

PHILADELPHIA -- He beat Muhammad Ali in the Fight of the Century, battled him nearly to the death in the Thrilla in Manila. Then Joe Frazier spent the rest of his life trying to fight his way out of Ali's shadow.

That was one fight Frazier could never win.

He was once a heavyweight champion, and a great one at that. Ali would say as much after Frazier knocked him down in the 15th round en route to becoming the first man to beat Ali at Madison Square Garden in March 1971.

But he bore the burden of being Ali's foil, and he paid the price. Bitter for years about the taunts his former nemesis once threw his way, Frazier only in recent times came to terms with what happened in the past and said he had forgiven Ali for everything he said.

Frazier, who died Monday night after a brief battle with liver cancer at the age of 67, will forever be linked to Ali. But no one in boxing would ever dream of anointing Ali as "The Greatest" unless he, too, was linked to Smokin' Joe.

"You can't mention Ali without mentioning Joe Frazier," said former AP boxing writer Ed Schuyler Jr. "He beat Ali, don't forget that."

They fought three times, twice in the heart of New York City and once in the morning in a steamy arena in the Philippines. They went 41 rounds together, with neither giving an inch and both giving it their all.

In their last fight in Manila in 1975, they traded punches with a fervor that seemed unimaginable among heavyweights. Frazier gave almost as good as he got for 14 rounds, then had to be held back by trainer Eddie Futch as he tried to go out for the final round, unable to see.

"Closest thing to dying that I know of," Ali said afterward.

Ali was as merciless with Frazier out of the ring as he was inside it. He called him a gorilla, and mocked him as an Uncle Tom. But he respected him as a fighter, especially after Frazier won a decision to defend his heavyweight title against the then-unbeaten Ali in a fight that was so big Frank Sinatra was shooting pictures at ringside and both fighters earned an astonishing $2.5 million.

The night at the Garden 40 years ago remained fresh in Frazier's mind as he talked about his life, career and relationship with Ali a few months before he died.

"I can't go nowhere where it's not mentioned," he told The Associated Press. "That was the greatest thing that ever happened in my life."

Bob Arum, who once promoted Ali, said he was saddened by Frazier's passing.

"He was such an inspirational guy. A decent guy. A man of his word," Arum said. "I'm torn up by Joe dying at this relatively young age. I can't say enough about Joe."

Though slowed in his later years and his speech slurred by the toll of punches taken in the ring, Frazier was still active on the autograph circuit in the months before he died. In September he went to Las Vegas, where he signed autographs in the lobby of the MGM Grand hotel-casino shortly before Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s fight against Victor Ortiz.

An old friend, Gene Kilroy, visited with him and watched Frazier work the crowd.

"He was so nice to everybody," Kilroy said. "He would say to each of them, 'Joe Frazier, sharp as a razor, what's your name?' "

Frazier was small for a heavyweight, weighing just 205 pounds when he won the title by stopping Jimmy Ellis in the fifth round of their 1970 fight at Madison Square Garden. But he fought every minute of every round going forward behind a vicious left hook, and there were few fighters who could withstand his constant pressure.

His reign as heavyweight champion lasted only four fights -- including the win over Ali -- before he ran into an even more fearsome slugger than himself. George Foreman responded to Frazier's constant attack by dropping him three times in the first round and three more in the second before their 1973 fight in Jamaica was waved to a close and the world had a new heavyweight champion.

Two fights later, he met Ali in a rematch of their first fight, only this time the outcome was different. Ali won a 12-round decision, and later that year stopped Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire.

There had to be a third fight, though, and what a fight it was. With Ali's heavyweight title at stake, the two met in Manila in a fight that will long be seared in boxing history.

Frazier went after Ali round after round, landing his left hook with regularity as he made Ali backpedal around the ring. But Ali responded with left jabs and right hands that found their mark again and again. Even the intense heat inside the arena couldn't stop the two as they fought every minute of every round with neither willing to concede the other one second of the round.

"They told me Joe Frazier was through," Ali told Frazier at one point during the fight.

"They lied," Frazier said, before hitting Ali with a left hook.

Finally, though, Frazier simply couldn't see and Futch would not let him go out for the 15th round. Ali won the fight while on his stool, exhausted and contemplating himself whether to go on.

It was one of the greatest fights ever, but it took a toll. Frazier would fight only two more times, getting knocked out in a rematch with Foreman eight months later before coming back in 1981 for an ill-advised fight with Jumbo Cummings.

"They should have both retired after the Manila fight," Schuyler said. "They left every bit of talent they had in the ring that day."

Born in Beaufort, S.C., on Jan 12, 1944, Frazier took up boxing early after watching weekly fights on the black and white television on his family's small farm. He was a top amateur for several years, and became the only American fighter to win a gold medal in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo despite fighting in the final bout with an injured left thumb.

"Joe Frazier should be remembered as one of the greatest fighters of all time and a real man," Arum told the AP in a telephone interview on Monday night. "He's a guy that stood up for himself. He didn't compromise and always gave 100 percent in the ring. There was never a fight in the ring where Joe didn't give 100 percent."

After turning pro in 1965, Frazier quickly became known for his punching power, stopping his first 11 opponents. Within three years he was fighting world-class opposition and, in 1970, beat Ellis to win the heavyweight title that he would hold for more than two years.

It was his fights with Ali, though, that would define Frazier. Though Ali was gracious in defeat in the first fight, he was as vicious with his words as he was with his punches in promoting all three fights -- and he never missed a chance to get a jab in at Frazier.

Frazier, who in his later years would have financial trouble and end up running a gym in his adopted hometown of Philadelphia, took the jabs personally. He felt Ali made fun of him by calling him names and said things that were not true just to get under his skin. Those feelings were only magnified as Ali went from being an icon in the ring to one of the most beloved people in the world.

After a trembling Ali lit the Olympic torch in 1996 in Atlanta, Frazier was asked by a reporter what he thought about it.

"They should have thrown him in," Frazier responded.

He mellowed, though, in recent years, preferring to remember the good from his fights with Ali rather than the bad. Just before the 40th anniversary of his win over Ali earlier this year -- a day Frazier celebrated with parties in New York -- he said he no longer felt any bitterness toward Ali.

"I forgive him," Frazier said. "He's in a bad way."

SOURCE

BEARS RUNNING BACK FORTE REQUEST CONTRACT EXTENSION

T.O. NFL PLAYER TERRELL OWENS SUICIDE ATTEMPT

CLICK HERE FOR 911 AUDIO

TMZ has obtained the 911 call placed moments before Terrell Owens was rushed to an L.A. hospital for a possible pill overdose on October 6 -- and according to Terrell's assistant, T.O. was trying to kill himself.

During the call, placed at 11:02 PM, the dispatcher asks the assistant on the phone, "Was this a suicide attempt?" -- and she responds, "Yes, I believe so."

While she was on the phone with the dispatcher, the woman claims T.O. was "talking to his girlfriend, ex-girlfriend ... [I]don't really know what you wanna call it."

T.O.'s rep declined to comment.

T.O. was famously hospitalized back in 2006 for a similar incident -- when he insisted he had a bad reaction to painkillers ... despite reports he tried to commit suicide by swallowing 35 Vicodin pills.

T.O. later held a news conference on the matter and stated, "The rumor of me taking 35 pills, I think is absurd. I don't think I would be here if I had taken 35 pills."

SOURCE