On December 31st, 1990, the Ali/Frazier chess rivalry of the 20th century saw its last title bout in Lyon, France, as Garry Kasparov narrowly squeaked by Anatoly Karpov, 12.5 – 11.5 to remain the FIDE world champion. It was their fifth career showdown for the crown, and the two foes would never meet for the world championship again.

Karpov was one of the great prodigies of the 70′s and held the world championship from 1975 to 1985. He was initially awarded the world championship by FIDE after then-champion Bobby Fischer refused to play him for the title because FIDE would not meet the eccentric Fischer’s laundry list of demands concerning the match.

Kasparov and Karpov first played for the world title in 1984, when Kasparov was only 21 years old. The match ended in controversy when it was stopped by FIDE president Florencio Campomanes after 48 exhausting games. Karpov was ahead 5-3, but Kasparov was surging, having won the 47th and 48th games. As the reason for the stoppage, Campomanes cited the health strain the games had made on the two players, when it was clearly only Karpov, the popular champion, who was suffering from the strain. Most agreed the stoppage was to save Karpov’s crown.

Nothing could save him, however, the following year, when Kasparov, then 22, became the youngest FIDE champion ever by beating Karpov 13-11 in a taut contest. Kasparov won another nail-biter, 12.5-11.5, in 1986, and then the two drew, 12-12, in 1987. The ’87 match is remembered for its dramatic finish, with Kasparov needing the full point in the last game to retain his title and managing the win on an historic blunder by Karpov.

The two met again for the world championship in 1990, with 12 games held in New York and then the final 12 in Lyon. When they left New York for France, the match was all squared at six points apiece. Kasparov got the decisive win in the 16th game, the margin by which he would retain his title with another 12.5-11.5 victory.

Since that match ended 16 years ago today, these two chess legends have remained fierce rivals, but have never again played for the world title, largely due to the fact that Kasparov broke from FIDE in 1993. In their 235 official matches to date, Kasparov holds the edge at 33 wins, 23 losses, with an amazing 179 draws between them.

Of all of Wayne Gretzky’s records – and there are a shitload of them – but of them all, the one that may never ever be broken was set on this day 25 years ago in positively shocking fashion.

The Great One, only 20 years old at the time and already a two-time winner of the Hart Trophy, was well on his way to 50 goals in 50 games in the ’81-’82 season when he erupted for four goals in his 38th game, putting him just five shy of 50 with 12 games to play. It was a fait accompli for sure, and yet no one expected what would actually happen, which is that Gretzky would pour in five goals against the Flyers in his very next game, December 30, 1981, to set a mark that will probably stand until the end of time – 50 goals in 39 games.

Just the season before Mike Bossy had become the first player to match Maurice Richard’s record from the 1944-45 season of 50 goals in 50 games, a feat that many had thought was impossible in the first place. So for Gretzky to waltz in and do it in 39 games (39 games!… think about that) was just unfathomabo.

Below is a YouTube recap of the record including all of the goals against the Flyers. As an aside for all you Uniwatch fanatics out there and just the rest of our astute No Masian faithful, I’m sure the Flyers leg-wear will not go unremarked upon.

Is this news to anyone? I mean, seriously – at this point, doesn’t it seem like drunk-driving and cocaine possessing should be legal for our boy Mike given the circumstances? The man is coping as best he can. Shit hasn’t exactly gone his way for the last, oh, sixteen years or so.

Tyson arrested on DUI, cocaine possession charges (ESPN.com)

12/25
No Mas Book Review – “Tunney”
A Large review of the new bio about the boxing intellectual who twice outpointed Jack Dempsey.

12/26
The Shot Heard Round the World
The anniversary of Jack Johnson defeating Tommy Burns in 1908 to become the first ever black heavyweight champion of the world. “In the 14th, Johnson wearied of clowning and stepped up his attack on Burns with an intent towards ending the fight. The beating he administered was so severe that the police stepped in to stop the contest. Burns was mercifully spared any more punishment, and Jack Johnson was the new heavyweight champion of the world.”

Take it back, doo doo doo doo
Large reviews Rocky Balboa. You will perhaps be less than surprised to learn that he likes it.

12/27
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Lot of infidelity going on down in Philly with their superstars these days. First A.I. sent packing and now we’re cheating on DMac? “Our All-World quarterback is on the schneid and suddenly we are goo-goo-eyed, seeing-stars, is that a sausage in your pants or are you just glad to see me in LOVE with a full-on ham-and-egger named Jeff Garcia.”

12/28
Game of the Century
The anniversary of the greatest NFL game ever played, the 1958 Championship Game between the Giants and the Colts.

12/29
The No Mas Fight and Fighter of the Year
No Mas gives mad respect to our fight of the year, Pacquiao/Morales II, and our fighter of the year, the living Rocky himself, Carlos Baldomir. “…before 2006, Carlos Baldomir was next to nothing in the fight game, and he may return to that status in the coming year. Nevertheless, we fight fans will remember his name for a long long time, and that is solely because of two bouts in 2006 when he shocked the world.”

Ken Burkhart, a former major leaguer and then a longtime ump in the bigs, died on this day two years ago at the age of 89. He was the last of a dying breed – the major league umpire who had also played major league baseball.

Burkhart was a promising pitcher when he came up with the Cardinals in 1945, and he proved himself instantly by going 18-8 with a 2.90 ERA. Unfortunately, he began having arm troubles that year that would prematurely end his career. Over the next four years, he worked mostly from the bullpen, and left the game at the end of the 1949 season.

He got back to the bigs almost immediately as an umpire and had a distinguished career in blue, working three World Series and four All-Star games.

As an ump, he forever will be remembered for two things. He worked back-to-back no-hitters in September of 1968, first on the 17th when Giant Gaylord Perry blanked the Cardinals, and then the very next day when Ray Washburn of the Cards returned the favor to San Fran.

But unfortunately for Burkhart, his most famous moment was one of infamy. On a bang-bang play in Game One of the 1970 World Series, he got caught up between Orioles’ catcher Ellie Hendricks and the Reds’ Bernie Carbo, who was sliding into home plate. Burkhart was knocked to the ground when Hendricks dove to make a tag on Carbo. Clearly out of position, he called Carbo out, but replays showed that Hendricks had tagged him with an empty glove. It was the sixth inning, and the score was tied 3-3. The Orioles went on to win the game 4-3, and then the Series in five games. A much loved and respected figure throughout baseball, Ken Burkhart was never much welcome in Cincinnati after that.

NO MAS FIGHT OF THE YEAR
Manny Pacquiao v. Erik Morales
WBC Super Featherweight Title
January 21, 2006
Thomas and Mack Center, Las Vegas

We watched this fight again last week on HBO and it left no doubt in our minds that this was the Fight of the Year. The handspeed, the rapid-fire combinations, the power, and the will on display in this showdown were simply beyond belief. It featured two of the best and most exciting fighters of this era, one of them an aging Mexican legend, and one a rising Filipino superstar, both household names in the boxing world. The legend, Morales, gave it all he had, and led the bout early on the strength of his indefatigable jab and some courageous toe-to-toe pounding. But he lost steam in the middle rounds, at which point Pac Man avenged his only loss of the millennium by handing Morales the first legitimate knockdown of his career, and then his first stoppage with a tenth-round TKO. If we were awarding a No Mas Round of the Year, it would have been a tie, rounds two and six from this bout, in each of which either one of the principals could have been knocked out if he were a lesser man. In the end, it was a punishing fight with two distinct chapters, it was the second leg of an historic trilogy, and it was the beginning of the end for one great warrior, and the beginning of the next phase of mega-stardom for another. For all of these reasons, it is the No Mas Fight of the Year by unanimous decision.

NO MAS FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Carlos Baldomir

Pacquiao is the obvious choice for Fighter of the Year, and trust us, we have no problem with Pac Man winning that honor from Rafael at ESPN, from SI, and probably from The Ring. But the No Mas Fighter of the Year is Carlos Baldomir. Think of it this way – if you take 2006 away from Pacquiao, what do you have? Still one of the most electrifying, most talented and most recognizable athletes in the sport, still someone who does great PPV numbers every time he laces up his gloves, still someone shaping up to be one of the all-time greats. But before 2006, Carlos Baldomir was next to nothing in the fight game, and he may return to that status in the coming year. Nevertheless, we fight fans will remember his name for a long long time, and that is solely because of two bouts in 2006 when he shocked the world. We all love the Rocky movies, but in our hearts we also know they’re a modern fantasy, a Cinderella cartoon of sport. And yet for ten months of this year, Carlos Baldomir was the real deal, Rocky come to life, an Argentinian hack with slow feet and next to no skills, with nothing really but an incredibly hard head and the will of a rhinoceros. On that alone, he went from retired feather duster and human punching bag to welterweight champion of the world and a huge payday against Floyd Mayweather. Of course, Floyd pantsed him – after all, this ain’t Hollywood. But still, what a run, what a year, what a story. It’s the kind of thing we live for in boxing, a genuine triumph of the spirit, and with that in mind, we are proud to call Carlos Baldomir the No Mas Fighter of the Year.

On December 28, 1958, the Colts met the Giants in the NFL Championship Game at Yankee Stadium. In a rare occasion, NBC televised the game nationally, a fact that changed the future of the sport and turned Johnny Unitas into an instant legend. Forty-eight years later, this showdown is still referred to as “the greatest game ever played,” and cited as the beginning of pro football’s boom in popularity.

The game also features prominently in Frederick Exley’s epic tale of personal dissolution, A Fan’s Notes, a memoir/novel that, although it is far more than a football book, still may be the best football book ever written. The narrator is obsessed with Frank Gifford, and identifies his own fortunes with the Giants’ star to the point of insanity.

Of course, this particular game devastates Exley’s drunken hero, as two Gifford fumbles figure prominently in the outcome, allowing the Colts to score their two first-half touchdowns.

Down 14-3 at the half, however, the Giants staged a comeback, scoring a touchdown in the third and then another in the fourth quarter (on a Gifford reception). With two minutes to go, New York led by a field goal, and the Colts had the ball on their own 14-yard-line.

That’s when Johnny U. went to work on becoming a household name. He deftly led the Colts down the field, connecting three times to his favorite target Raymond Berry to set up a game-tying field goal with seven seconds remaining.

In what was the first sudden death overtime in NFL history, the Giants punted on their first possession and Johnny U. and crew took over at their own 20. Once again, Unitas marched Baltimore down the field, an eighty-yard scoring drive capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by Alan Ameche. The Colts had their first of two consecutive NFL Championship victories over the Giants, although the 1959 affair would be a 31-16 romp, breaking the hearts of Giants’ fans like Exley once again.

You know when you’re after some really hot chick for a long time and then you finally get her and you’re strutting around all “I am a mack yo a straight-up PLAYA f’real.” And then everywhere you go it’s like you’re carrying around a baseball card of your girlfriend on your arm with All-Star emblazoned across the top. That’s what it feels like right there. It’s like you have a living All-Star card for a girlfriend.

But then somewhere along the line you realize that for all her obvious All-Star qualities, she’s just not doing it for you anymore. It takes a long time for that to sink in. It’s hard to admit it to yourself. You meet some not-so-hot paralegal at the bar one night and she presses your buttons and you realize, hey, maybe I don’t need an All-Star at girlfriend… maybe what this team needs is a ham-and-egger at the girlfriend position, someone to get in there and muck it up a little, show a little emotion.

It’s hard, though, because you got yourself an ALL-STAR yo! You gonna just put her back on the market like that? Some macklicious team will snatch that shit up in a second and then how will you feel?

This is what kind of winter we’ve been having over here in Philly. First A.I., the flashy chick that’s been wrong for us for years but we just kept dating her because damn she is fine… finally, we broke that shit off, and it was the right thing to do, but seeing the man in that fly Nuggets jersey, and just the idea that he and Carmelo might go get a ring… it’s tough yo, very very tough.

And now, NOW, we’re having an affair behind one of our superstar’s back and it feels so right but I’m telling you the guilt is killing us. Our All-World quarterback is on the schneid and suddenly we are goo-goo-eyed, seeing-stars, is that a sausage in your pants or are you just glad to see me in LOVE with a full-on ham-and-egger named Jeff Garcia.

You can hear the shame in people’s voices on WIP. They don’t want to say it, they’re not ready to make the full break yet, but it’s in the air: Donovan you are crazy fine, no one is finer… you got all the tools, you got that megawatt smile, you are the next generation QB I know, but yo… yo we think you might be all wrong for us Donovan… we’re seeing someone else… we think we might be in love… aw don’t cry now… damn DMac this is hard on us too!

I saw Rocky Balboa today with my mom and my girlfriend in a theater just outside of Philly. It was the 2:35 matinee and the place, a veritable airplane hangar of a movie theater, was packed to capacity. Up in the Illadelph, I swear, it’s like the man never went away.

I remember we had Antonio Tarver (the former light heavyweight champ who stars in the movie as Mason Dixon) on Classic Now last year just after they’d finished shooting the film. He talked to our host, Josh Elliott, about the movie off camera, and he seemed really proud of it in a way that made me think it was going to be good. And this was at a time when the Geritol Rocky jokes were flying left and right on the tube. I wrote a few of them myself, believe me.

All jokes aside, though, I couldn’t wait to see this thing, and given the reviews going in, I was prepared for it to be decent, better at least than Rockys IV and V, which as we all know were travesties. I was hoping for something that ranked with Rocky III, and in fact, I came away thinking it’s a little bit better than that movie, in a minor-key sort of way. Tarver is no Clubber Lang, but hey, who is right?

One of the things you’re going to dig if you’re a Rocky fan is how referential Rocky Balboa is to the first movie. I don’t want to spoil too much of the plot, so on that front I’ll just leave you with two words – “Spider Rico” – which should say it all.

The movie also does an excellent job of capturing the pathos of the ex-athlete. In this film, the Rock owns his own restaurant in South Philly (where, as Paulie points out, “a bunch of Mexicans cook Italian food”) and he spends his nights there working the floor, taking the obligatory pictures, telling the obligatory stories. He’s still a hero in the eyes of his clientele, and yet long past that point in his own eyes, now just a working man trading on his past.

At that level, the success of the whole Rocky enterprise lives and dies with Stallone’s performance, and in this outing he’s right on the mark. Whatever you think of the guy and his whole Rocky/Rambo universe, he’s got this one character down perfectly with all the right touches of tragicomic earnestness and punchy insouciance. He breathes real life into the Rock for one last go-round and finishes the story with the quiet dignity it deserves. Also, Philly is once again a living character in the movie, and you know I raise my glass to that. So the No Mas card reads 8 out of 10 boxing gloves for the Rock, a winner by unanimous decision.

Rocky Balboa
In wide release
Rated PG
Starring – Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Tarver, Burt Young

Other than perhaps Joe Louis’s first-round KO of Max Schmeling in their 1938 rematch, there is probably no one fight in history with as much cultural significance as the one that took place 98 years ago today in Sydney, Australia. It was there that Jack Johnson, the Galveston Giant, finally got his shot at the heavyweight title, becoming the first black man to vie for that crown and, after stopping Tommy Burns in the 14th round, the first black man to win it. The impact of that victory would continue to be felt throughout the rest of the 20th century.

Johnson had been arguably the best heavyweight in the world for at least five years, but at the time, letting a black boxer fight for the heavyweight belt was considered tantamount to the most diabolical treason against the white race. No upstanding white champion would dare cross that color barrier, least of all the mighty Jim Jeffries, who held the title until he retired undefeated in 1905.

After Jeffries’ abdication of the throne, a bout was held for the vacant title between two uninspired duffers of the heavyweight ranks – Marvin Hart and Jack Root. Hart won that contest with a 12th-round stoppage and Jeffries himself was on hand to anoint him the new heavyweight champ. A year later, Burns, a scrappy, 5’7″ battler who fought out of Detroit, defeated Hart and became the lineal champion.

For the next two years, Johnson would pursue Burns around the world, ultimately shaming him into becoming the first heavyweight champion ever to grant a black man a shot at his title. Over the course of 14 rounds, Johnson battered the much-smaller Burns, all the while laughing and joking with the audience, as was his style when he was not being tested in the ring, which he rarely was. In the 14th, Johnson wearied of clowning and stepped up his attack on Burns with an intent towards ending the fight. The beating he administered was so severe that the police stepped in to stop the contest. Burns was mercifully spared any more punishment, and Jack Johnson was the new heavyweight champion of the world.

The world would never quite be the same again. To get the proper respect for Johnson and his awesome influence on the American landscape, I can’t recommend enough Geoffrey Ward’s Unforgivable Blackness, the companion book to the Ken Burns series on PBS. It’s the best boxing book you’ll ever read about the turn-of-the-century era, the inherent racism that tainted boxing as it tainted everything, and the rampant corruption that made the sport the nationwide province of outlaws and hucksters. It’s also a detailed and intimate portrait of the most outrageous, controversial, and courageous athlete of the 20th century.