Sunday, December 18, 2011
Pacquiao willing to take the smaller money for Mayweather fight
World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao turned 33 today and perhaps because of his increasing age Pacquiao came out and said he’s willing to take a smaller percentage than Floyd Mayweather Jr. to finally make this fight happen. This sounds promising, right? Mayweather has always wanted the bigger slice of the revenue and if Pacquiao is serious about giving him what he’s asking for then it should make the fight easier to put together. However, this is what Pacquiao is saying, but there is also Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum who needs to be convinced that a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight is worth putting together.
Arum says he’s working to put the fight together with help from outside investors but you have to wonder whether he really deep down wants to see his cash cow Pacquiao in with Mayweather. If he did, wouldn’t we have seen this fight happen a long time ago? The bout has been talked about for almost two years now and during that time Arum has matched Pacquiao up against a number of his own Top Rank fighters what you can in house fights.
Arum made a lot of money for his fighters Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito, and we may be seeing Pacquiao matched back up with Cotto or two of Arum’s other Top Rank fighters WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley and welterweight contender Mike Jones.
A fight against either one of them will raise their future stock in boxing without them having to do a whole lot. Just by fighting Pacquiao – and losing – they get instantly recognized. I just don’t think Arum is ready to have his gravy train fighter Pacquiao taken apart by Mayweather.
I think Arum is the one pulling the strings with Pacquiao, and it probably doesn’t matter that Pacquiao is saying he’ll accept less to fight Mayweather. If Arum doesn’t want this fight to happen, it won’t. There are still two fighters that Pacquiao still hasn’t whipped in Arum’s Top Rank stable, and he can also go back around the table and fight Cotto, Margarito and Clottey once more for in house fights.
Neti pots are dangerous if used improperly, DHH warns
Louisiana health regulators warned residents Tuesday about the dangers of using neti pots improperly. A neti pot, which looks like a genie's lamp, is commonly used to irrigate sinuses. The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals issued its warning following a second death this year caused by Naegleria fowleri, the so-called brain-eating amoeba. A 51-year-old DeSoto Parish woman died after using tap water in a neti pot to irrigate her sinuses and became infected by the deadly amoeba, which entered the body through her nose. In June, a 20-year-old St. Bernard Parish man died under the same circumstances.
"If you are irrigating, flushing, or rinsing your sinuses, for example, by using a neti pot, use distilled, sterile or previously boiled water to make up the irrigation solution," said Louisiana State Epidemiologist, Dr. Raoult Ratard. "Tap water is safe for drinking, but not for irrigating your nose."
It's also important to rinse the irrigation device after each use and leave open to air dry, he said.
The very rare infection typically occurs when people go swimming or diving in warm freshwater lakes and rivers. In very rare instances, health experts said such infections may also occur when contaminated water from other sources, such as inadequately chlorinated swimming pool water or heated tap water less than 116.6 degrees, enters the nose when people submerge their heads or when people irrigate their sinuses with devices such as a neti pot.
DHH said the amoeba causes the disease primary amebic meningoencephalitis, a brain infection that leads to the destruction of brain tissue. In its early stages, symptoms may be similar to symptoms of bacterial meningitis and can include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and stiff neck. Later symptoms include confusion, loss of balance, seizures and hallucinations.
After the start of symptoms, the disease progresses rapidly and usually causes death within one to 12 days.
Celtics F Jeff Green to miss season after surgery
BOSTON (AP) – Boston Celtics forward Jeff Green will have surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm and will miss the entire season, the team announced on Saturday as it traveled to Toronto for its exhibition opener against the Raptors. Green is scheduled for an operation on Monday at the Cleveland Clinic. Doctors have told him the operation "should completely repair Green's condition and that he can expect to resume his NBA career next season," the Celtics said in a news release.
If so, the timing of his training camp physical — and the end of the NBA lockout — may have saved Green's life and helped the Celtics avert a tragedy like the 1993 death of Reggie Lewis, who dropped dead on a practice court of a heart condition in the prime of his career. "While we are saddened that Jeff will not be able to play this season, the most important thing is his health," Celtics president Danny Ainge said in the release. "We were fortunate to have access to an amazing team of specialists to evaluate Jeff's case."
The team said it would have no more comment, at Green's request. But Green said on Twitter on Saturday afternoon: "Thank u everyone for ur thoughts and prayers…much appreciated love u all..and I'll be back soon stronger and better than ever I promise."
Green, 25, averaged 9.8 points and 3.3 rebounds last season after joining the Celtics in a trade that sent Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
An aortic aneurysm, which is more common in older people, is a ballooning of the wall of the aorta, the major artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body. A person may show no symptoms from the aneurysm; but if it ruptures, it is likely to be fatal if not repaired immediately.
The team's statement said Green's aneurysm was detected during his physical after he reported for a training camp on Dec. 9. Green received additional testing and consultation by "leading cardiac specialists," who recommended surgery.
Around the league, the news of Green's looming surgery seemed to strike some players hard. Steve Nash and Baron Davis were among those sending best wishes via Twitter, and in Miami, LeBron James seemed taken aback when asked about Green after the Heat finished practice.
"I think it's unfortunate for the game to be taken away, especially after a summer like this where we already had 2-1/2 months off," James said. "Hopefully he can get back healthy, they can figure out what's going on and he can get back on the floor. I had an opportunity to play in a few charity games with him this summer. He looked fine to me, but I'm not a doctor. I wish him the best."
James often talks about how tomorrows are not guaranteed, and the importance of enjoying each day. He also spoke Saturday of the memory of Jason Collier's death in 2005, when the center was with the Atlanta Hawks and died suddenly.
"As a professional, you would think every last one of us would be in the top-tier shape and nothing would be wrong with us," James said. "That's why the doctors, they are who they are."
Kobe Bryant's Wife, Vanessa, Hires Prominent Divorce Lawyer
SANTA ANA, Calif. (KTLA) -- Vanessa Bryant has filed for divorce from her NBA star husband citing "irreconcilable difference."
According to court documents, Vanessa is seeking to dissolve the marriage on charges of irreconcilable differences. Celebrity website TMZ quoted sources Friday as saying Vanessa is ending the marriage because she believes Kobe has been unfaithful, again.
"She's been dealing with these incidents for a long time and has been a faithful wife, but she's finally had enough," TMZ reports.
Vanessa has also filed for joint legal and physical custody of their two children, Natalia, 8, and Gianna, 5, documents show.
According to TMZ, the couple has no prenup, meaning 29-year-old Vanessa is entitled to half of everything. She's also hired noted divorce lawyer Laura Wasser, who has worked with Angelina Jolie, Britney Spears and, most recently, Maria Shriver's separation from Arnold Schwarzenegger after 25 years of marriage.
Kobe, who filed his response to the divorce minutes after Vanessa filed her petition, says he will pay her spousal support.
In 2003, Bryant was arrested for sexually assaulting 19-year old hotel employee Katelyn Faber in Colorado.
Bryant had checked into The Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in Eagle County in advance of undergoing knee surgery nearby.
Faber accused Bryant of raping her in his hotel room the night before Bryant was to have the procedure.
Bryant admitted an adulterous sexual encounter with his accuser, but denied her sexual assault allegation.
The accusation tarnished Bryant's reputation, as the public's perception of Bryant plummeted, and his endorsement contracts with McDonald's and Nutella were terminated.
In September 2004, the assault case was dropped by prosecutors after Faber refused to testify in the trial.
Afterward, Bryant agreed to apologize to Faber for the incident, including his public mea culpa: "Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter."
A civil suit was later filed and settled out of court.
http://www.ktla.com/videogallery/66831397/News/VIDEO-Kobe-Bryants-Wife-Files-for-Divorce-Rebecca-Hall-reports
Rapper Slim Dunkin fatally shot
Atlanta police are still trying to figure out who gunned down rapper Slim Dunkin in an Atlanta a recording studio Friday afternoon -- and why? Atlanta Police Major Keith Meadows said Saturday morning there have been no arrests in the shooting. There are as many questions as answers. “We’re still talking to people,” said Meadows. “The truth is we don’t know exactly what happened.”
Witnesses told police the 24-year-old rap star, whose real name is Mario Hamilton, got into an argument before a video shoot at a studio on Memorial drive about 5:30 Friday afternoon. The person he was arguing with pulled out a piston and shot Hamilton in the chest. Hamilton was pronounced dead at Grady Memorial Hospital.
A few more details of the last few hours of the rapper’s life began to emerge Saturday on web sites that follow the industry. Hamilton was described on various music industry sites as an emerging star in the Brick Squad Monopoly rap group, and that group’s members include Gucci Mane, an Atlanta rapper whose real name is Radric Davis.
Davis is almost as well known for his run-ins with the law and his stints behind bars on various violations in recent years as he is for his music. He was most recently released from custody, from Fulton County Jail, last Sunday, according to the web site xxlmag.
According to web site HipHopdx, Hamilton was at the Memorial Drive studio Friday afternoon about to attend a recording session with Gucci Mane, and another rap artist, V-Nasty, for a "Push Ups" video when he was killed.
It's not clear what Hamilton's plans were later Friday night. But, according to the web site for the club E.S.S.O., Gucci Main and other rap artists and promoters planned to host a “pre-Christmas” party at club E.S.S.O., about a mile from the recording studio on Memorial Drive.
Atlanta police investigator Meadows told WSB-TV Friday that investigators talked to about 8 people of the as many as 20 who were at the studio Friday when Hamilton was shot.
They told investigators that Hamilton got into a "verbal altercation with another individual" before the shoot, and that person "produced a handgun, discharged that weapon at least one time, striking Mr. Hamilton in the chest," said Meadows.
But some details are in dispute, and investigators are “just trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together," said Meadows. " It seems everybody witnessed something very different. We're just trying to go back and make sense of everything."Police have not recovered the handgun that was used.
The music industry, meanwhile, was trying to absorb the news of the latest violent killing of a rap artist. By most accounts, Hamilton was on the rise with a impressive resume. He was a childhood friend of fellow rap artist Waka Flocka Flame and appeared on Gucci Mane and Waka's "Ferrari Boyz" album released over the summer.
Fans created a memorial Facebook page, “Rest In Peace Slim Dunkin,” where comments were posted Saturday. “Life is so cruel,” wrote one. “People don't give a dam about no one not even themselves, you got people crying, because people are dying."
Another read: “It shows you that you can't trust a soul on this planet one min you with that person next you at there funeral."
