Your new pony just arrived at your place, and you wonder: “Hmm, how can I make sure that my new pony will fit well with the rest of the herd?”. Well, here are a few things to know before we get started. Ponies (as well as horses) are authoritative, dominating animals, with a strict herd hierarchy. So your new pony will most likely be bullied or, even worse, injured, if you introduce him too suddenly. Keep in mind that he’s the “new guy”, so he has the least authority in the herd. He’s the guy that everyone’s picking on. So without further ado, here are some tips that, if you follow, will insure your pony’s well being:

1. Get him in the stable, with the others, but in an enclosed space. That way they meet, but they can’t hurt him. They will not like him, at first, and he’s last in the pecking order.

2. When you get him in the field, remember to only get one or two of the other ones, that way he gets to meet them one by one.

3. Gradually introduce him to more of the other ponies, until you can see that they’re used to him, and aren’t trying to attack him.

4. Enclose an area of the field with a wire fence then put the new pony there. Afterwards, release all the other ponies. That way they’ll meet him, but won’t be able to hurt him.

5. When feeding them, make sure the hay stacks are equal, and each pony has enough space to eat, and won’t invade the space of the others. This will insure that no bad things happen at feeding times.

If you follow these 5 easy tips, you’ll be sure to have a happy new pony in your stable, and a valuable addition to your herd. After all, you’re trying to keep him healthy and happy for as much as possible, otherwise you wouldn’t be dealing with these adorable creatures.

Peter Sauber had spent his time as a tween racing with a Volkswagen Beetle which entailed looking after it and keeping it in prime form. With 26 he made a career decision to become a racing car designer. In 1970, he founded Sauber Motorsports. Together with a friend, he built the first Sauber racing car in the garage of his parents’ house in Zürich.

The decision to build racing cars in Switzerland was not in keeping with the much vaunted Swiss common sense but proved to be the right one for Peter Sauber. The first car was called C1 after Peter’s wife Christiane; all Sauber cars since then sported the C in the name as well. Peter Sauber drove his car to win the Swiss Championship the same year. In his own estimation, his car was far advanced over the competitions’ cars as he admits to being an average driver at best.

In 1982, Sauber Motorsports received a contract to build a car for the Car Racing World Championship. Sauber went into a working joint venture with Mercedes; Mercedes had shunned car racing since being involved in a horrendous accident at Le Mans in 1955. In 1985, Sauber started using Mercedes motors in his racing cars as well. In 1988, Sauber became the official Mercedes Team. In 1989, they won the Car Racing World Championship in both the team and driver categories.

At the same time, the Sauber Junior Team came into being. Peter Sauber chose and contracted three drivers, Michael Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, and Karl Wendlinger. Sauber would become the starting point for other winning racers as well; Kimi Räikkönen, Felipe Massa, and Sebastian Vettel all started off in a Sauber car.

In 1993, Sauber started off in Formula 1 without Mercedes but with the backing of Petronas. The first race in Kyalami at the Grand Prix of South Africa saw driver JJ Letho ranked fifth at the end of the race. In 2001, Sauber Motorsports started to build a high tech centre in Hinwil containing the most advanced wind channel in use in Formula 1.

In 2005, BMW announced the takeover of the team and Peter Sauber went into semi-retirement. He was still an advisor to the BMW Sauber Team but not its head anymore. 2008 saw the only ever Sauber Grand Prix win in Montreal with Robert Kubica winning ahead of Nick Heidfeld also in a Sauber.

When BMW announced their snap decision to abandon Formula 1 in 2009, Peter Sauber retired from semi-retirement and bought back the team. That the 40 years celebration would take part with him back at the helm of Sauber Motorsports was not what he had planned but he may be rightfully proud of the one man show he has run in a billion dollar business environment.

By Joseph Parish 

With the enduring peril of the Artic icecap melting and the unremitting fears of the oceans rising in level, it may be time to consider a Bug Out Boat over a Vehicle. It was not long ago that the tsunami created havoc in several Indian Ocean nations while we ourselves stand vigilantly on each of our coasts for a comparable incident. In cases such as these there is much that can be said for using a boat as a BOV. A suitably equipped boat would have all the same benefits that you would find if you were to use an RV as your get away vehicle. In fact, during a typical bug out situation one could perhaps survive on the craft even if your retreat location was land locked with no water access at all.

The choice it seems would be not so much whether to select a boat over an RV, but rather the appropriate size vessel to use. One significant facet of boat selection has to be the choice of materials by which the boat is composed of. If it is constructed of a fiberglass base chances are it may possibly deteriorate with age, whereas if built of an aluminum alloy it is foreseeable that your vessel could survive for many years if properly cared for. There are many pros and cons in both directions on this issue and maintenance seems to be the key factor to the materials longevity.

Both the boats made from plastic and those constructed of aluminum should last for many years with the proper maintenance applied. The major upkeep item in the case of the aluminum boat would be averting corrosive salts from destroying the hull of the boat. It will require a good washing after each use in order to prevent this from occurring.

Gel coating on the fiberglass boat is another vital maintenance feature that must not be ignored in order to provide you with as maintenance free boat as possible. An additional question that you may wish to ask yourself is can you repair your boat in the event that the balloon goes up? Will fiberglass supplies be available to fix any hole that develops in the plastic boat? Can you find equipment and supplies to weld the aluminum boat if necessary?

Now that we have covered the basic questions, let’s briefly consider a major negative factor in selecting a boat as a BOV. Unless you intend to remain relatively close to the shore you risk the devastating effects of what are known as Rogue Waves? These unusual ocean waves have been know no make huge ocean liners disappear within minutes. The waves used to be fairly rare, however in recent years their frequency of occurrence has been increasing. It would not take much for one of these waves to completely eliminate a small craft such as we are discussing here.

Pirates are another concern that must be considered. Not only are these scoundrel of the sea a concern now, but in times of serious crisis they will be even more of a hindrance to those wishing to survive. The water ways will be loaded with pirates who want nothing better then to lout and plunger all your supplies or even worse.

So as you can readily see there are advantages as well as disadvantages to using a boat as a BOV and only you can decide if your equipment, demure and location could survive using the Boat as a bug out vehicle?

Copyright @ 2010 Joseph Parish

www.survivial-training.info

The Private Energy Solarboateam won the Frisian Solar Challenge. The team navigated their solar powered boat 220 kilometers (137 miles) in 11:26:32.

www.frisiansolarchallenge.nl

The race starts in Leewarden, the capital of Friesland, and follows the classic route of the Eleven City Tour, following canals, rivers, and lakes. Fascinatingly, the distinctive terrain of 220 km of canals means that there are sometimes bridges and dykes which require the boats to be lifted from the water and carried by teams of people.

The race is divided into three classes: the A class is for one-person boats, the B class is for two-person boats, and the open or C class can have a crew of any size. To keep costs down, entries in the A and B class can borrow solar panels from the race’s sponsors, Sharp and The Sun Factory.

The Frisian Solar Challenge marked the inaugural event in 2006. The week long solar boat race was developed by the Dutch government has grown exponentially since its inception. Around 50 teams will start the challenge, mainly universities and specialist companies from Europe with teams from Brazil, England, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Poland.　

Photos via http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Frisian%20Solar%20Challenge&w=all

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It will be remembered that there was a loud out cry for goal-line technology during this year’s South Africa 2010 World Cup when England’s Frank Lampard’s shot appeared to cross the line, against Germany only to be ruled out by the match officials. Valcke went on to say that “I would say that it is the final World Cup with the current refereeing system.

Goal-line technology in Football was recently rejected by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) in March 2010 and the current FIFA president Sepp Blatter has always insisted that human error was part of the game. The leading contenders for the right to install the technology, if approved, are Cairos – which use a microchip inside a football and magnetic fields around the goal line, and Hawk-Eye, which uses six television cameras positioned around the goal.

By Joseph Parish

It all started when a news reporter covering the World Cup games had nothing better to do then to undertake connecting the loses experienced by several teams to the appearance of a name rock star who was attending as a fan. I would hope the reporters agent would make an apology for the wasted time and space that the correspondent has done for his readers. It appears that Rock ‘n’ Roller Mick Jagger has supported several teams which are participating in the World Cup and they have all lost the match. In light of these defeats the articles writer has deemed Mr. Jaggers to be the World Cup Angle of Death.

On June 26th Mick Jagger’s attended the United States verses Ghana game in South Africa. He provided his unyielding support to the American team and was blissfully enjoying the game and the attention of his fans. Of course, history now confirms to us that America lost that game 2-1. Not much was made of that issue at that time although I believe he was in attendance with Bill Clinton at that game. Should we also accuse Mr. Clinton of this evil as well?

The following day on June 27th Mick observed another live game at Bloemfontain between his own country of England and Germany. It stands to reason that he would support England at this time Needless to say another lose was caulked up to Mr. Jagger’s selection with a 4-1 victory as Germany took the win.

On the next day which was June 28th, Mick Jagger’s ex-girlfriend provided a warning to the press stating that Jagger’s would be attending the game. A major American Sports network at that time took a cue to grab some free publicity and warned the Brazilian viewers that the lead singer for the popular Rolling Stones was developing a negative reputation for supporting losing teams. Naturally, the superstitious Brazilian fans became terrified that their team was now jinxed. Here is the part that the original journalist left out about the singer. If Mr. Jagger was such a threat to the teams that he supported then by all rights that day the Brazilian team should have lost the game but instead the team reached a score of 3-0 over Chile. Now is that such bad luck?

Once again on July 2, Mick Jagger attended the Soccer games with his young son as he brooded over the lose of Brazil to the Netherlands with a 2-1 score. Naturally after what a thoughtless newspaper writer had initially written the Brazilian fans quickly took to the blogs to blame Mick Jagger for their sudden lose. Oh yes, let’s not forget the Argentina and Germany game where his supported squad lost 4-0 in favor of Germany.

Although the post made by the writer was supposedly done in jest many people have since taken the entries to be a serious possibility. Many soccer fans are starting to label the Rolling Stones front man as an omen of bad luck for any team that he supports. It is sheer stupidity on the part of the readers to even consider that this could ever seriously have a chance of happening. Come now, no self respecting fan could ever believe that to be the case.

The article was nothing more then a joke created from the mind of a writer with a poor sense of humor and too much time on their hands. No one for a second could possibly believe that anyone let alone Mick Jagger could “cause” these teams to lose games. To those who do believe such nonsense then they need to seek some professional help ral quick.

It doesn’t help the game any when a member of the press places the blame for a team lose on a fan. Perhaps that is why Soccer has had a hard start in America. You won’t find in the history of American sports whether its baseball, basketball, football, or ice hockey any sort of accusation indicating a fan as the cause of a teams downfall.

Those fans that believe Mick Jagger caused the team to lose may very well believe that I myself did the same thing, as my teams have lost as well. I supported the American team, England, Brazil and Argentina during the same games. It’s a sad day in the pages of Journalism when a reporter has to fabricate such garbage as this to keep a job. I personally would be ashamed were I a professional journalist to tote his article as an example of the quality of my work. Once again, I view a melodramatic headline followed by a story that lacks any sort of substance. Gee, Mr. Brooks Peck (the Journalist) should I believe that I am also an Angel of Death?

Copyright @2010 Joseph Parish

www.survival-training.info

Charles “Sonny” Liston was born sometime in January, 1928, the 12th of 13 children of a poor sharecropper from Johnson Township, Arkansas. His early life was one of great poverty and he quite literally had nothing but the clothes he stood up in. His parents had split up when he was still young and Sonny would often go hungry and have to endure beatings from his alcoholic father. When he was 13 he fled his father’s clutches to live with his mother but by this time he had already turned to crime. Responsible for a string of robberies he was eventually caught and sentenced to 8 years in prison. It was while he was in prison that he was taken under the wing of a Catholic priest who taught him how to box. He worked hard, was a model prisoner, and with the priests endorsement was paroled after two years. Liston never complained about his time in jail saying that it was one of the few times that he had never gone hungry and that he had been guaranteed three meals a day.

Upon his release from prison Liston turned professional. Standing at just over six feet, Liston was a large burly man who earned the nickname “The Big Bear.” With his stripped down simplistic style of boxing devoid of any thrills, Liston brought a brutality into the ring that reflected his background; and it was a background that would not go away. He would be tainted with accusations of mob connections for the rest of his life.

He made his professional debut on 2 September, 1953, and won 13 of his first 14 fights losing only to journeyman fighter Marty Marshall who broke his jaw. Many of those who had been present saw this as justice for Liston’s constant taunting of Marshall between rounds. He could be as coarse in his language as he was brutal with his fists. This was a defeat that he was to avenge, however.

In May, 1956, events outside the ring temporarily derailed his career when he was jailed for 6 months for beating up a police officer. This served only to make Liston more determined to succeed. On his return to the ring he set about cleaning up the division. The leading heavyweights of the day one-by-one succumbed to his strength and power: Mike DeJohn, Nino Valdez, Eddie Machen and Zora Folley, all fell, most by knockout. He also defeated the No1 contender Tennessee “Big Cat” Williams, twice. His claim to a title shot could no longer be ignored. 

Floyd Patterson’s trainer, Cus D’Amato, who would later mentor the young Mike Tyson, tried to use Liston’s apparent mob connections to delay taking the fight. He feared Liston’s power and didn’t believe Patterson could beat him. The Civil Rights Movement also feared having Liston as the most visible face of black America. Patterson, who through sheer force of personality alone, had done much to advance the black man’s cause was determined to take the fight. He had been the youngest ever world champion and the first ever to regain the title, for him it was a matter of personal pride and honour. He believed his speed and agility would prove too much for the more ponderous Liston. It was to be a big mistake.

The fight took place on the night of 25 September, 1962, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, after Madison Square Garden had been ruled out because New York refused to give Liston a boxing licence. Patterson, all fast footwork, nervous energy, and hiding behind his peek-a-boo style high guard, surprisingly took the fight to Liston. But it wasn’t long before Liston’s power forced him onto the backfoot. With almost a minute stilll remaining of the first round it was all over. As Patterson lay on the canvass, Cus D’Amato’s fears had come to fruition. Just under a year later on 22 July, 1963, they fought again in Las Vegas. This time the fight lasted only 4 seconds longer than had the first. The world had a new heavyweight champion and it was beyond dispute.

On his return to his hometown of Philadelphia Liston had expected a hero’s welcome. When there was no one there to greet him he packed his bags and moved to Denver with the scornful remark, ” I would rather be a lamppost in Denver than Mayor of Philadelphia.” Liston was hated, only one man could make him a hero, and that man was the young Cassius Clay.

Cassius Marcellus Clay, was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on 17 January, 1942. He came from a stable, hard-working family and was raised a Baptist, though this was later to change. He took up boxing at the age of 12 after being encouraged to do so by a white police officer. He went onto have an outstanding amateur record and in 1960 he won the Olympic gold medal fighting at light-heavyweight. He later claimed that he threw his medal into the Ohio River in disgust after being refused service in an ”all whites” restaurant.

On 29 October, 1960, he won his first professional fight defeating the Fayetteville police chief Tunney Hunsacker, in six rounds. At 6′3″ tall, slim and handsome, he was a sensation almost from the start. He shunned boxing orthodoxy refusing to adopt a guard and instead relying on speed and evasiveness. With his hands kept low he danced around his opponents throwing out swift and accurate jabs before closing in to unleash a series of often deadly combinations. He very quickly notched up an impressive record of victories but the only name of any note was the ageing ex-light heavyweight champion Archie Moore whom he defeated easily.

Brash, self-confident and loud, the intelligent, articulate, fast-talking Clay was the very antithesis of the surly, brooding, Liston. Though Liston was loathed he was a black man that the white community could understand. Clay, they treated with trepidation. He was someone they feared, and they hated him for it. Neither was he loved within his own community. When it was revealed that he intended to convert to Islam and change his name to Muhammad Ali, the animosity reached fever pitch.

The public were crying out for him to be defeated and on 18 June, 1963, at Wembley Stadium in London he very nearly was. He was there to fight the British and European champion, Henry Cooper. In the dying seconds of the 4th round, Cooper nailed Clay with his trademark left hook, “Enery’s Ammer,” Clay was out cold. In those days the count did not continue after the bell. There has since been much debate about the so-called “torn glove” controversy with which Clay’s trainer Angelo Dundee, supposedly bought his fighter extra recovery time. Whatever, when Clay re-emerged for the 5th round he fought brilliantly Exploiting the cuts on Cooper’s face, and with blood streaming down his face, the the referee was forced to stop the fight.

A defeat could have derailed Clay’s career, but it never happened. He would fight Sonny Liston for the World Heavyweight Title. To us now the outcome of the fight seems inevitable but at the time this certainly was not the case. Liston was seen as the most brutal world champion since Jack Dempsey, he had twice destroyed the well-thought of Floyd Patterson, and to be frank the fight itself was a hard sell. Clay was not much-thought of by either boxing aficionados or the public at large. But he was the only man who could unite a nation behind Sonny Liston.

When Cassius Clay fought Sonny Liston for the World Heavyweight Crown in Miami, Florida, on 25 February, 1964, few people gave him a chance. Despite his bravado, and unwavering belief in his ability to win, few shared it. Clay was style over substance, he flattered to deceive, he was all mouth and no trousers, and he was the 7 to 1 underdog. 

In the run-up to the fight Clay mocked and derided his opponent whenever and wherever he could, and he always made sure the television cameras were there to capture it. He even turned up at his training camp to taunt him. He predicted a knock-out in seven. Liston, unable to compete verbally simply looked upon all the shenanigans with scorn.

As he stepped into the ring on the evening of 25 February, Clay was roundly booed by almost everyone present. But he didn’t allow it to distract him from the business at hand. From the first bell he was on his toes dancing around Liston using the full width of the ring to nail the champion with quick jabs and fast combinations. The cumbersome, lumbering Liston, slow to react and with his punches hitting thin air, could not get near him. In the 5th round Clay felt a burning sensation in his eyes which distorted his vision, and for a short time it seemed as if Liston would find a way back into the fight ( it has since been suggested that a substance had been sprinkled on Liston’s gloves ) but it wasn’t to be. By the 6th round he was flat-footed, thrashing about, and seemed as if a man drowning. The once fearsome Liston was being was being humiliated. As the bell sounded for the start of the 7th round, Liston refused to come out claiming a shoulder injury. The scene descended into pandemonium as people crowded into the ring and Clay leapt onto the ropes and declared to the world, ” I am the greatest. 

Not long after the fight Clay announced that he had converted to Islam, joined the Black Muslims (later the Nation of Islam) who advocated the separartion of the races, and was henceforth to be known as Muhammad Ali. People from both the white and black communities found this difficult to take. As indeed they did his association with the black militant Malcolm X.

If Ali was disliked for his arrogance and bravado prior to the revelation of his conversion to Islam and political radicalism then the animosity towards him now reached fever pitch. The nation cried out for this cocky young negro to be put in his place. Was Liston still the man to do it? On 25 May, 1965, in Lewiston, Maine, in front of only 2,434 people (the lowest ever crowd for a world title fight) they fought again. The events of that night would always be remembered for the “phantom punch.”  

In the opening round with Ali again dominating Liston was sent to the canvass by a punch that had barely seemed to register. Many in the the crowd had not seen it and even Ali himself expressed his uncertainty. The referee, former world champion Jersey Joe Walcott lost track of the count as Ali, refusing to return to his corner, stood over his opponent and demanded that he get up and fight. After more than 20 seconds an unsteady Liston rose to his feet and resumed the fight, at which point Walcott waived it all over and pronounced Ali the winner. It had been a shambles.

Had Liston taken a dive? Certainly there had been a punch but had it really been enough to send the tough and grizzled ex-champion sprawling? It has been suggested that Liston took a dive on the orders of a mob-connected betting syndicate or that, aware that he was outclassed, he simply wanted to avoid any further humiliation. Liston always denied both scenarios.

As much as many people hated the thought there was now no doubt that Ali was the undisputed champion of the world. And he went on to prove it with a series of mostly untroubled defences. First against another ex-champion Floyd Patterson. Patterson, who for so long had been the darling of the boxing public had refused to accept Ali’s change of name and continued to refer to him as Cassius Clay. To refer to him by his old “slave” name was for Ali the height of disrespect. In a one-sided affair it was said that Ali refused to knock out Patterson so he could prolong the punishment. A similar accusation was made when he fought Ernie Terrell. He had also referred to the champion as Clay. In another one-sided fight he mercilessly punished Terrell mouthing at the same time for everyone to hear – “what’s my name?” There was no doubt that the eloquent, graceful and beautiful new champion, had a mean streak.

In fairly short order Ali defeated the Canadian champion George Chuvalo, laid the ghost of Henry Cooper, crushed the British champion Brian London, had the fright of his life against the German Karl Mildenberger,  beat Cleveland “Big Cat” Williams and defeat Zora Folley. The Folley fight, however, was to be his last for three years. 

Ali was not just a boxer he was fast becoming a major political figure. In 1964, he had failed the Army’s literacy and numeracy test. Since then, however, the criteria had been altered and Ali had been passed A1. As such, he would now be eligible for the draft. At a time of heightened political tension and with the Civil Rights Movement straining society to its limits it would be naive to believe that there was not a political agenda behind the decision to call up Muhammad Ali to serve in the American Armed Forces. What better way to alleviate the threat posed by Ali than have him serve his country. They had, after all, done similar to Elvis Presley who had been perceived to be a corrupting influence on American youth. But Ali was not so supine and refused to accept the draft or take the oath of allegiance. He would not fight in Vietnam. As he said, ” I ain’t got no argument with the Vietcong. No Vietcong ever called me nigger.”  

Ali was arraigned but released on bail. He was also stripped of his world title and refused a licence to box anywhere in America. Ali, appealed the decision. In the meantime, a new champion had to be found. There was no obvious candidate and a series of eliminators were devised to come up with one. There was one man, however, who firmly believed that he was the best around and he refused to participate. That man was Smokin Joe Frazier.

Joseph William Frazier, was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, on 12 January 1944. He was a farm boy but one with ambition. Told as a young boy that he could be a boxer he was determined to make it happen. Single-minded and focused he trained every night after work. Shorter than most heavyweights of the time being only 5′ 11″ he had a low crouching style that made him appear shorter and something of a brawler but which in fact disguised great technique and ringcraft. Taught to bob and weave by his trainer Eddie Futch he became very difficult to hit and possessed a venomous left hook. 

Frazier, who had followed in Ali’s footsteps by winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 (though this time at heavyweight) turned professional on his return in 1965. His rise through the heavyweight rankings was meteoric. In 1966, he defeated the leading contenders Oscar Bonavena, George Chuvalo and Jerry Quarry. He was already being lined up as an opponent for Ali when he was stripped of his title in 1967. The series of elimination bouts that had been arranged to find a successor was a long-winded affair and in the meantime there was stil no champion. To fill the gap the New York State Athletic Commission arranged for a fight between Frazier and leading contender Buster Mathis. Frazier won by an 11th round knockout. The title was not widely recognised but with successful defences against Dave Zyglewicz and again, in the fight of the year, Jerry Quarry, Frazier began to be acknowledged as the champion. At last, on 16 February, 1970, Joe Frazier fought Jimmy Ellis (who had won the final elimination bout against Jerry Quarry) for the undisputed heavyweight crown. Frazier knocked out Ellis in just 5 rounds. There was now no question that he was the heavyweight champion but many believed that he was not the best in the world. The shadow of Muhammad Ali loomed large. 

In early 1970, though his case was still under appeal, Ali was permitted to box again. In October, he fought Jerry Quarry in the southern State of Georgia. Quarry was white and in front of an overwhelmingly white and hostile crowd Ali gave him a fearful battering. More than once he indicated for the referee to stop the fight but the brave Quarry refused to quit. Finally, the referee was obliged to step in with Quarry a bloodied but unbowed mess. Ali’s next fight was against the awkward and stubborn Argentinian Oscar Bonavena, who was ahead on points when he was knocked out by Ali in the 15th and final round of what was an often scrappy and ugly fight. After three years away from boxing Ali was ring rusty and it showed. Even so, everything was set up for the fight of the century. No unbeaten heavyweight champions had ever met in the ring.

They met at Madison Square Garden, New York, on 8 March, 1971. The fight was a celebrity fest with actor Burt Lancaster playing host and Frank Sinatra taking photographs for Life magazine.

From the first bell, Frazier was the aggressive one, and even though he lost the first few rounds his energetic, all action style soon built up a tempo that forced Ali onto the defensive. It seemed that his reflexes had slowed, he was second to the punch, and was often caught flat-footed. Frazier was building up a substantial points lead. In the 11th round he staggered Ali with a left-hook. It was forerunner of what was to come. In the final round with Ali retreating towards the ropes Frazier leapt at him and connected with that same left-hook sending Ali careering to the canvass. He struggled to his feet, dazed but able to complete the fight. It was, however, a unanimous points decision in favour of the defending champion. Frazier, who had been regularly bad-mouthed by Ali outside the ring had let his fists do the talking, as he always said he would. After the fight Frazier went out to celebrate, Ali went to hospital.

Smokin Joe Frazier went on to successfully defend his title twice in 1972, against Terry Daniels and Ron Stander. The road back for Ali, however, was to be a lot tougher. On 31 March, 1973, he lost by a split decision to the serious title contender (and future world champion) Ken Norton, who broke his jaw in the process. In the re-match on 10 September, Ali was again taken all the way. Level on points going into the final round Ali was judged to have won it. It was a controversial decision and remains so to this day. It was an essential victory for Ali who was desperate for a re-match with Frazier. To get a re-match with Frazier was not an easy task, however. Frazier had no love for Ali whom he felt had abused and disrespected him, and anyway he had made his point. As it turned out, before any re-match could be arranged Frazier was to meet his own nemesis in the considerable frame of the brooding and bad-tempered George Foreman.

George Foreman was born in Marshall, Texas, on 10 January, 1949. He did not have an overly impressive amateur record but even so represented the American boxing team at the 1968 Mexico Olympics where he won the heavyweight gold medal. He caused a stir when in response to the black power salute given by the sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos given at their medal winning ceremony he waved two small American flags. 

George Foreman was a boxer with attitude who could be as mean outside of the ring as he was lethal in it. A concussive puncher few fighters went the distance with him. Turning professional on his return from the Olympics in 1969, he defeated every opponent put him front of him in very short order including the tough and durable George Chuvalo. In 1972, alone, he won all five of his fights within 3 rounds. In no time at all he was the No1 one challenger.  

He met Joe Frazier for the world heavyweight title in Kingston, Jamaica, on 22 January, 1973. Despite his impressive record few believed that Foreman would beat the recent conqueror of Muhammad Ali, and he was a 3/1 underdog. The much taller Foreman, with his upright stance, long reach, and with power in both hands, he found Frazier’s crouched low, aggressive, all-action style made for him. In two scintillating rounds he took apart the champion, sending him to the canvass six times in an impressive display of power-punching before the referee mercifully stepped in to stop the fight.

The new champion defended his title twice knocking out the Puerto Rican Jose Roman in just 2 minutes of the 1st round, and then stopping the impressive Ken Norton in just two, knocking him down three times in the process. Foreman was earning the epithet awesome. The power of his punching took the breath away and he was one of those fighters whom others feared to get into the ring with.

The emergence of George Foreman meant that when Ali next met Frazier it would be in a non-title fight, but this did little to diminish its significance. A victory was essential to earn the unenviable right to meet the new champion in the ring. Prior to the fight Al i was up to his old tricks of bad-mouthing Frazier calling him both ugly and ignorant. So riled was Frazier by this that they actually came to blows in a recording studio and had to be separated. When they fought on 28 January, 1974, the fight lacked the fireworks of the first. Ali had learned his lesson and was on his toes from the first bell, keeping his distance from Frazier whilst nailing him with accurate jabs and combinations. When they did meet to trade blows it was done on Ali’s terms. After 12 uninspired, if not exactly dull, rounds, Ali was awarded a unanimous points decision, and it would be he who would go on to meet George Foreman for the world title.

George Foreman was not exactly fazed at the prospect of meeting the aged and bruised ex-champion, Ali. It was widely acknowledged that he was not the fighter he had once been, his footwork was leaden, his reflexes had slowed, and his power had diminished. Against a fighter almost ten years his junior, in prime condition, and at the peak of his career, surely Ali didn’t have a chance? 

The politics of what became known as the “Rumble in the Jungle” is a story in its own right. Don King, who’s first major boxing promotion it was, had arranged for the title bout to be fought in the sweltering tropical heat of Kinshasa in Zaire, then governed by the vile dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. Throughout his time in Zaire, Ali was at his brilliant best, grandstanding, hogging the press, manipulating the crowd, and stealing the limelight until he had the whole world on his side. Foreman, on the other hand, was unsmiling, bad-tempered, and uncommunicative. It has been suggested that Ali had psyched Foreman out even before the fight began, but he also had a plan for the fight itself.  

The fight took place on 30 October, 1974, before a crowd already whipped into a frenzy by the always psychologically savvy, Ali, who took the fight to Foreman from the first bell landing a number of heavy blows that seemed to surprise the champion, but this was to be the extent of his aggression. From then on he was on the defensive as with hands raised high he leaned heavily on the ropes weaving from side to side as the champion rained down blows upon him. Some missed, many were blocked, but some heavy blows did get through but they seemed to have little impact as Ali constantly repeated, “I thought you could punch, George. I thought you could punch.” As a round neared its conclusion Ali would emerge from his defensive posture with a series of deadly combinations that rocked the champion on his feet. As the fight wore on Foreman’s punches became increasingly desperate and he was seen to be visibly tiring. Even so, the outcome seemed inevitable. The 8th round started like all the others with Ali retreating to the ropes and Foreman still searching for that knock-out blow. Again, Ali tried to take the play away from Foreman but this time the champion backed away into the centre of the ring. Suddenly he looked spent. Ali, seized his opportunity and staggered the champion with a left hook before following up with a straight right that sent Foreman crashing to the canvass. He failed to make the count of ten. The unbelievable had happened, Ali’s rope-a-dope tactics had worked, and in one of the most intelligently fought title bouts of all time he had regained the world crown. He was again the greatest. 

For the boxing public there was still one issue that had to be settled, however. Ali and Frazier both held a victory over the other. It was time for a decider. The fight guaranteed a large payday for both fighters and Ali was happy to go through with it if only because he believed that Frazier’s devastating defeat by Foreman had finished him as a fighter. As champion Ali did not take it seriously. For Frazier, however, it would mean everything. The fight that would take place on 1 October, 1975, far away from America in the Philippines  would go down in history as the ”Thrilla in Manilla.” 

Smokin Joe, trained tirelessly for the fight. Ali’s preparation, on the other hand, was a shambles. With his huge entourage in tow he embarked on a very public affair, humiliating his wife in the process and turning his training camp into soap opera. At the same time he continued to verbally insult Frazier referring to him as the Gorilla in Manilla. Frazier was hurt by all the insults that were hurled at him. Particularly, as he had campaigned for Ali to have his boxing licence returned and had spoken up on his behalf. He also felt that he had never been given any credit for beating Ali in their first encounter. He had a score to settle.

When the fight began it soon became evident that Ali was looking for and expecting a quick victory. Instead of getting on his toes and using his jab he strolled confidently into the centre of the ring and traded punches with Frazier. The challenger was rocked but much to Ali’s surprise Frazier, adopting his familiar crouched style, continued to come forward. He was here to fight. He pursued Ali relentlessly, forcing him to retreat, and landing some heavy blows. Throughout the early and middle rounds he dominated building up a substantial points lead and for a time it seemed as if the champion would wilt; but in the airless and seering heat of Manilla it was Frazier who began to suffer. His constant aggression was sapping his energy. As his pace began to slow Ali perked up and using the ring more his jab became increasingly effective. By the 11th round he had begun to find Frazier increasingly easy to hit. The challenger was staggered more than once and his eyes began to close. In the 13th round Ali, for the first time, forced Frazier onto the backfoot, one heavy blow meant that he lost his mouthpiece and had to fight most of the round without it. He was beginning to take a fearful beating and in the final seconds of the round Ali came close to stopping him. By the start of the 14th round Frazier’s eyes had effectively closed and he was fighting almost blind. Still, he stubbornly refused to quit and continued to try to take the fight to Ali. But he was desperately tired and increasingly helpless as Ali continued to dish out punishment. Sitting on his stool for the bell to sound for the 15th and final round, Frazier’s trainer, Eddie Futch, told him that he was throwing in the towel. Frazier tried to get Futch to change his mind, ” I want him, boss,” he said. Futch replied, ” It’s over. No one will forget what you did here today.” Ali too, who had also been close to quitting, rose briefly from his stool to acknowledge the victory before slumping down exhausted. He later said that it was the closest he had come to death.

It had been a brutal, unrelenting affair, and for a time it seemed as if both fighters would die in the ring. Two proud old warriors both past their prime had given it their all. Though further glory and disappointment lay ahead for both men it marked the end of greatness. It marked the end of an era. 

Following his second defeat to Cassius Clay, Sonny Liston took time out from fighting. He returned to the ring just over a year later and quickly notched up a series of impressive knock-out victories, but it was to be a long, hard road back. On 5 January, 1971, his body was discovered at his home in Las Vegas by his wife. He had been dead for sometime. The autopsy stated that he had died of a heroin overdose. There has always been some doubt as to the exact circumstances of his death. Liston had no record of drug abuse and was already in negotiations for his next fight. It has since been suggested that he was murdered by the mob.

On 15 June, 1976, in Uniondale, New York, Joe Frazier fought George Foreman for the second time. He still dreamed of a Frazier/Ali 4. It wasn’t to be. As always he gave it his all but was battered to defeat in five rounds. The dream was over. After the fight he announced his retirement from the ring. He attempted a brief comeback in 1981, but after an uninspiring draw decided to focus on training, establishing his own gym and taking his son Marvis to a world title shot against Larry Holmes. In recent years he appears to have had a reconciliation with Muhammad Ali.

George Foreman remained out of the ring for over a year following his defeat to Ali. He returned to notch up a string of victories but did not appear to be the same fighter. On 17 March, 1977, he lost a decision to Jimmy Young and announced his retirement. Ten years later on 9 March, 1987, he returned to the ring. Slower and not quite the physical specimen he once was he had not lost the power of his punch. After a series of victories against mostly journeyman fighters he fought Evander Holyfield on 19 April, 1991, for the heavyweight title losing on points. Three years later on 5 November, 1994, he again fought for the world title knocking out Michael Moorer in the 10th round to become the oldest ever champion at the age of 45. In retirement he has become a successful businessman with his eponymous grill and an ordained Baptist Minister with his own Church.

It now seems likely that Muhammad Ali was already suffering from the onset of Parkinson’s Disease even before he had retired from fighting. Following the Thrilla in Manilla, Ali remained remained champion for a further three years before losing his title to the little known Leon Spinks. In October, 1978, he won the re-match to regain the title for an unprecendented third time. But it was to be his last hurrah. Embarrassing defeats to Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick finally led to his retirement. Heralded and feted wherever he goes his illness has, however, made this once magnificent man mute. In a peculiar way his silence only serves to engender increased debate.

Was Muhammad Ali the greatest heavyweight champion of all time? He was possibly the quickest, probably the smartest, and certainly the greatest showman. But did he have the power of Joe Louis or the endurance of Rocky Marciano? The debate goes on.    

The thrill of speed, now accomplished in many school and racing center throughout the world. Putting the metal to the pedal in a safe environment. Many of these schools are for the weekend racing warrior just looking for a thrill, but some schools offer a full developmental course for the serious wanna be racer. Warning its not cheap if you wish to fulfill a dream of becoming a full fledged racer.

Many a racing legend started the careers in kart racing. There are many tracks throughout the world that offers different age groups for racing karts.

If you have a desire to race some form of automobile, the list below will, very well, set you upon your dream.

Tennis has created its own share of language contributions; I want to present just some expressions to you in case you get lost in translation when listening to others talking about tennis.

·         Bagel: Winning a set without dropping a point, making the score 6-0. The Double and Triple Bagel should be self-explanatory. As opposed to figure skating, we are spared the effort of going into quadruple (and soon to come) quintuple.

·         Big Mac: John McEnroe

·         Boom-Boom Becker: Boris Becker

·         Breadsticks: Winning 6-1, 6-1.

·         Choking: Throwing away a clear winning position in match or set due to nerves.

·         Doing a Becker: Being unable to string more than three words together in an interview without intercepting them with an ‘ehm’, ‘erh’, or other meaningless sound; exemplified by Boris Becker throughout his tennis career.

·         Doing a Hewitt: Clawing back from match point for the opponent to win the match in the end. What Lleyton Hewitt does best of all, in fact.

·         FedEx: Federer Express; when Roger Federer plays in a league of his own during a tournament to reach the final.

·         Hollywood: Risky, flamboyant shots that might look spectacular if they succeeded; in 99.9 percent of cases they end in embarrassing failure. A waste of energy.

·         Hot Dog: A shot hit between the legs executed while having the back to the net. Doomed to fail and just shows the lack of anticipation in the player.

·         Jam Serve: Service shot aimed at the body of the opponent making a return highly difficult.

·         Kick Serve: Service shot hit with lots of top and side spin to make it bounce high after impact. Often used in second service.

·         Martina: Always Martina Navratilova, never Martina Hingis.

·         Moonball: A return played so high it gets lost in the moon. Usually an invitation to the opponent to deliver the smash of their lives.

·         Painting The Lines: Hitting the ball onto the lines or marginally beside them.

·         Roland Garros: Always the tournament, never the player. (And never call the tournament Paris; that is a different event and not a slam.)

·         Safinating: Destroying a racket in the style of the great frame busting mode of Marat Safin.

·         Shining The Torch: Completing a full follow-through on a forehand shot. The racket butt points towards the opponent after completion of the swing.

·         Sister Act: Serena and Venus Williams.

·         Tanking: Throwing away a clear winning position in a set due to lack of interest (too tired, too dispirited, feeling petulant, booked return flight, loads of other reasons).

·         Henmanising: Artificially building up pressure on a player by means of press and media coverage; most efficiently applied in press conferences. Makes sure the player can’t reach his potential during the tournament as shown by British media over Tim Henman.

·         Tomahawk: Throwing the racket with a service motion to spin end over end to crash into the back or side of the court.

·         Treeing: Sending down serves from a great height.

·         Wimbledon: Always the tournament, never the place.

Now that you have all this useless information, there is just one life changing fact you need to know as well: Andy Roddick is the leader in the boys’ locker room putting competition.

As always I am up early and wanted to leave early. My wife on the other hand thinks mid day is up early.  Beyond a doubt, one of my faults is always being in a hurry. My wife is the exact opposite of me in that regard. But when fishing is involved I am a firm believer that early is better.

Of course, their plans didn’t exactly match mine. I was barking for them to get up and get ready and to make it snappy. Rolling out at 8:30 AM was not my idea of early but they seemed not to have a care in the world as to what time we got there. I on the other hand, became very impatient.

Their first order of business was to stop and get a bite to eat to go with their enormous cup of coffee. I was surprised to find out that the restaurant had a small zoo on the premises. This made it a special attraction for my daughter. The restaurant had a rustic theme made out of wood with many hand carved wooded statues.

Ever in the hurry with the time approaching 9:30 AM I finally got them to the pond where we could go fishing. The fishing trip was a hit from the beginning as the fish were still biting. We ended up catching slightly over 20 lbs of fish.

We had loads of fun and as always eating the fresh Tilapia was an outstanding meal.

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