Former Orioles pitcher Pat Dobson, second from left in the picture, died today at the age of 64. Dobson was one of that fearsome foursome of pitchers for the ’71 Orioles (along with Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally and Jim Palmer) to win 20 games, which has only happened twice in history. Dobson also threw a no-hitter against the Yomiuri Giants on an Orioles tour of Japan in 1972. His curveball was legendarily filthy. In 1969, before his tenure with the O’s, he was traded with Dave Campbell from the Tigers to the Padres for Joe Niekro. So Brother Dave, where you are son, watch your back. Seems like that trade might have had a 2006 hex on it.
As you lay back on your couch tonight with your pants loosened to watch the Miami/B.C. game, take a moment to think back 22 years when you sat there on that same couch, probably wearing those same pants…
We have a new feature here at No Mas, the knockout of the week, and we kick things off with Iron Mike’s pulverization of Trevor Berbick to become the youngest heavyweight champion in history. That fight was twenty years ago today, and if you’re like me, you’ve watched it on Classic maybe a hundred times since then. So scroll down to this post and check it out on You Tube once again, or just sit back and replay it in your mind, watch as Berbick does the dance of dances, the Monster Mash, trying to stand up after that last Tyson barrage of fury.
Looking for some fresh leadership to steer their squad into the new century, France hired Napoleon Bonaparte as head coach and Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of the French Republic on this day in 1791.
Of course, Bonaparte, who was equal parts Bum Phillips, Buddy Ryan and Bill Walsh, proceeded to almost immediately catapult France into the top-tier of the European division. A first-ballot Hall-of-Fame commander, he pretty much conquered the shit out of all of Europe during his tenure leading the French, acquiring the elite ‘Emperor†status for himself along the way. Russia finally fucked up his team in 1812, mostly because of Bonaparte’s hubristic decision to play it as an away game, and the Russians brilliant strategy formulated by their Hall-of-Fame commander, Prince Barclay de Tolly. Barclay’s plan pretty much boiled down to a straight-up ‘rope a very cold dope†and the shit worked like frostbite.
Napoleon got exiled to Elba in 1814, but he still had some fight left in him and made it back to Paris where he put together a ragtag squad of ex-All-Stars and ham-and-eggers. He hung on for a while, but eventually got his medicine from Wellington at Waterloo, definitely a top five all-time showdown, one that I wish they would show more often on Classic.
The Little General died in exile in 1821. His last words were ‘Tete d’Armee!†Head of Army. Motherfucker loved the game till the very last. Respect.
It was the left hook so nice it layed him out twice…
In celebration of the twentieth anniversary of Tyson v. Berbick, No Mas and 5Boro are releasing ‘Self Destructâ€, a limited edition (250) skateboard set with art by Mickey Duzyj, which pits the young Kid Dynamite of ’86 vs. the aging ear-biting Iron Mike of ’97. No Mas is also releasing a poster edition of the “Kid Dynamite Montage” by Mickey Duzyj.
There will be two release parties. One in Boston on Monday the 20th 6-8Pm at Bodega (6 Clearway street) and another back in New York on Wednesday the 22nd 6-8PM at Boundless in Williamsburg (143 Roebling at Havermeyer).
There will be 8 sets of the boards available at both functions, and a special package which includes a poster and an extremely ill Tyson inspired CD mix by DJ Monk One with purchase of a set. There is strong demand for the boards and very limited quantities, so come early if you want to cop.
Look at that shot over there. Manny’s like, “aight, I’ll stop, but truth be told, I would sincerely like to keep hitting this motherfucker.”
A little earlier than Large predicted, Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao KO’ed Erik Morales on Saturday with an impressive display of hand speed and all-out, Tasmanian-devilicious fury. Props to El Terrible for conducting himself like a true Mexican warrior even though he knew he was overmatched. He stood in there and fought like a man and took his medicine. Motherfucker is a living legend and hopefully he will now retire with dignity.
Pac Man, on the other hand, is in the prime of his career and his life. A rematch with Barrera is in the offing, but right now he’s on his way home to the Philippines to meet with the President, presumably to discuss what he should do when he takes over her job by popular demand. In the meantime, he will travel the country taking his pick of luscious virgins and local produce. Holms is a god these days in his homeland, and he should be approaching that status here in the States. He’s hands down the most exciting attraction in the sport. We here at No Mas look forward to Pac Man/Barrera II with at least as much gusto as we do Oscar/Floyd, if not more.
November 20, 1982 – A last-second kickoff, about a dozen laterals, a most unlikely touchdown, and one sorryass bandgeek about to get decked. On its 24th anniversary, we here at No Mas invite you to relive the glory of The Play about 20 times.
Duk Koo Kim died on this day 24 years ago at the age of 23, five days after a brutal beating in the ring from Boom Boom Mancini. Days before the fight, Kim had written “kill or be killed” on the mirror of his Las Vegas hotel room.
The fight led to a number of reforms in boxing – most notably, the reduction of title bouts from 15 to 12 rounds.
Kim’s death haunted Mancini for the rest of his career and continues to haunt him to this day. As for the fight’s referee, Richard Greene, he killed himself three months after Kim died. Kim’s mother killed herself soon after that.
Trust me No Masians, I love me some El Terrible, but I think holms is in trouble. He looked shot to me in that last Pacquiao fight, and before that there was the Zahir Raheem debacle. I know he didn’t train, blah blah blah, but look, Zahir Raheem, despite being a Philly boy who I give all respect, is also a straight-up b-level fighter. If you’re Erik Morales and you can’t skate past the Zahirs of the world, no matter how much time you been spending in the gym, then you have definitely lost a lot from your glory days, from the days when you whupped up on folks like Barrera and Chavez and Pocket Rocket Wayne McCullough.
So I’m betting this one goes much the same way the last one did, with El Terrible getting some quality work in early but eating a lot of those Pac-Man straight right hands and wearing down quickly. I say Pacquiao gets the stoppage in the eighth.
Lot of talk on ESPN the past few days about where Pac/El Terrible will rank with the great boxing trilogies of all time. Personally, my feelings are… Graziano/Zale it aint. But then son, what is right? What is… Below, the two old battle-axes head down memory lane and narrate their third fight, from back in the days when men were men and sheep were nervous.
Former Orioles pitcher Pat Dobson, second from left in the picture, died today at the age of 64. Dobson was one of that fearsome foursome of pitchers for the ’71 Orioles (along with Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally and Jim Palmer) to win 20 games, which has only happened twice in history. Dobson also threw a no-hitter against the Yomiuri Giants on an Orioles tour of Japan in 1972. His curveball was legendarily filthy. In 1969, before his tenure with the O’s, he was traded with Dave Campbell from the Tigers to the Padres for Joe Niekro. So Brother Dave, where you are son, watch your back. Seems like that trade might have had a 2006 hex on it.
