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Wednesday, November 21, 2018

MEDIA CHAMPIONS: Rocky IV and the Cold War

Okay, so where am I?

It's almost time to leave town...vacation style. Well, working vacation. Actually just working at my moonlighting gig. Shhhhh, it's top secret. Okay, okay, I admit it...I'm going to Moscow.

With the release of Creed II, I recall that last year in high school when my best bud Charlie got me into a cast and crew screening of Rocky IV. Nothing would ever be the same. I was captivated by Ivan Drago's nine lines of dialogue.*

Do you know what else moves me? That Rocky Balboa ended the Cold War. There were many critical events that happened in the 1980’s that paved the way for the eventual end of the Cold War in 1991. Some of these events were quite literal, while others were more symbolic.

No one will ever forget Ronald Reagan’s immortal words spoken in Berlin in 1987, “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear down this wall!” Likewise, the images of the 1980 United States hockey team pulling off the stunning upset of the Soviets are permanently ingrained in the memories of everyone who witnessed the feat.


It has now been over 25 years since another epic sporting event helped bring an end to communism in the former Soviet Union. I am speaking of the larger than life boxing match between American heavy weight champion Rocky Balboa and the Russian challenger, Ivan Drago.

The Miracle in Moscow is still one of the most memorable boxing matches of all time. Both fighters entered the match coming from completely different situations. Balboa hadn’t fought anyone in three years since a stunning third round KO of then champion Clubber Lang. Despite this large gap between fights, he still was a veteran of 78 matches, sporting a record of 56-22. Drago, on the other hand, was relatively unknown and just months removed from a shocking victory over former champion Apollo Creed, in which Creed suffered fatal injuries from the powerful punches of Drago.

Drago was immediately recognized as a villain in the United States after Creed’s death, especially with his callous remarks following the fight, saying of Creed, “If he dies, he dies.” In addition to this there were wide spread rumors of Drago using anabolic steroids, which were later substantiated in 1998.

For fear of his safety, Drago’s camp was insistent the fight take place in Moscow, instead of the United States. “They call him a killer. He is a professional fighter, not a killer,” said Drago’s wife, Ludmilla. “We are getting death threats. We are not involved in politics. All I want is for my husband to be safe, and to be treated fairly.”

Nicoli Koloff, who served as Drago’s business manager until 1988, was especially critical of the U.S. government and wanted no part of another fight in America. He accused the American government of trying to slander Drago’s reputation. “We fight in Soviet Union or we fight nowhere,” he said at a promotional press conference for the match. “It’s all lies and false propaganda to support this antagonistic and violent government.”

Not only was Balboa 45 pounds lighter than Drago, but he also surrendered seven inches of height to the daunting Russian. Many were surprised when Balboa had agreed to the fight, saying it was suicide, that he couldn’t win. “I was concerned because we had seen him,” said Adrian Balboa, Rocky’s wife. “We knew how strong he was.”

Drago was unquestionably a juggernaut. Anyone who witnessed the fight against Creed had to be impressed by Ivan’s astonishing strength. “Whatever he hits, he destroys,” Koloff remarked on Drago’s punches.

Balboa himself knew he faced an up hill battle. “No, maybe I can’t win,” he said before the fight. “Maybe the only thing I can do is just take everything he’s got. But to beat me he’s gonna have to kill me, and to kill me he’s gonna have to stand in front of me and be willing to die himself. I don’t know if he’s ready to do that.”

To say the atmosphere in Moscow was hostile to begin the fight would have been a huge understatement. Balboa was serenaded to a steady chorus of boos from the angry Soviet crowd as he entered the arena. It was as if they finally had the opportunity to release 40 years of pent up frustration on America, all on the shoulders of one man.

The first round of the match went exactly as everyone expected. Drago landed heavy bombs on Balboa, who’s wobbly legs didn’t look like they would last three rounds. But in the second round Drago received an unexpected cut over his eye thanks to a hook from Balboa. “I was pretty excited about that,” Balboa’s trainer Tony “Duke” Evers would later say. “I told him he’s not a machine. He’s a man! He’s a man!”

Even though Drago controlled much of the fight, it was clear Balboa was not going to go down easily. Over the course of the 15 round match the gritty American took the best punches the dominant Soviet could throw at him. “He’s not human,” remarked Drago. “He’s like a piece of iron.”

Perhaps more astonishing than Balboa lasting through the entire fight, was the reception he was receiving. Towards the latter end of the match, the venom from the Soviet crowd was turning into applauds. Everyone in the arena was inspired by the heart showed by the determined Balboa.

Still, Balboa entered the last round well behind in points and needed an improbable knock out to come out victorious. About half way through the round it was clear to everyone Rocky was going to do the impossible. After sustaining a series of blows Drago finally hit the canvas, unable to get up. Balboa had won.

The inspiring battle now complete, Balboa’s post game remarks to the crowd stirred everyone, both Soviet and American alike: “During this fight, I’ve seen a lot of changing, in the way you feel about me, and in the way I feel about you. I guess what I am trying to say is, if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change!”

The fighters went their separate ways after the match. Drago fell into relative obscurity, only making news again after evidence of his steroids scandal surfaced in the late ’90’s. Balboa went into retirement after he sustained brain damage from the blows dealt to him over a lustrous career in pugilism. Later he briefly managed eventual heavy weight champ, Tommy Gunn, until their relationship soured in 1990. He followed that up with a return to the ring in 2006 only to be defeated by Mason Dixon.

The dream Balboa had in 1985 of change slowly took place. Four years later the Berlin Wall fell, two years after that communism and the Soviet Union collapsed. Balboa’s assistance in ending the Cold War is certainly understated, but as evidenced by history, it also cannot be denied.

Ivan Drago's Nine Lines of Dialogue

Don't believe me? Here they are:


1. “You will lose.”




2. “I cannot be defeated.”
3. “I defeat all men.”

4. “Soon I defeat real champion.”
5. “If he dies, he dies.”


6. “I must break you.”


7. “He’s not a human. He’s like a piece of iron.”


8. “I fight to win, for me. For me!”
9. “Until the end.”




Wednesday, November 7, 2018

An Ode to Jim Murray

Okay, so where am I?

It's been crazy lately. Why do you ask? Loyal readers already know that I started this moonlighting gig with a Los Angeles Kings blogging site*, so I am at Staples Center to see the Kings and their new coach. The pay isn't great, but I feel like I could be some type of Jim Murray columnist. A renaissance in my fifties...that kind of thing.

Jim Murray (center) with Tommy Lasorda (left) and Fred Claire (right).
Most of you don't know who Jim Murray is, and really, that's a shame. Just over 20 years ago, the greatest sportswriter who ever lived passed away. That was pretty much the time I stopped looking forward to reading the Los Angeles Times every morning. His words floated off the page and were instantly carved into your mind. He was magic with the typewriter. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. I mean, he was one of only four sportswriters (at the time) to win a Pulitzer Prize for goodness sakes.

When I heard the news, I remembered reading this years before about a time he spoke with a very sick and blind Jackie Robinson before the Dodgers legend left this earth:
"Jackie, it's Jim Murray," Murray said when they touched.
"Oh, Jim," Robinson replied, "I wish I could see you again."
"No, Jackie," Murray responded, "I wish we could see you again."
More from Murray:

On the 1989 earthquake that disrupted the World Series:
"God put the World Series in perspective here in San Francisco Tuesday night. 
"He shook the ballpark, like a dog would a rag, just minutes before the start of Game 3. 
"A baseball game is about as trivial a pursuit as you can imagine when nature is in a rage. The earth growled, heaved and, suddenly, a World Series that had been as deadly dull as a chess game in a firehouse became more wildly exciting than you would want."
On the historic Wayne Gretzky trade:
"Gretzky will fill the seats. If he can fill the nets, too, he'll be the biggest bargain since Babe Ruth. The game needs glamour more than goals. He's already pulled the hat trick. He's put hockey on Page 1. In Los Angeles. In August."
On the death of Loyola Marymount basketball player Hank Gathers:
"Death should stay away from young men's games. Death belongs in musty hospital rooms, sickbeds. It should not impinge its terrible presence on the celebrations of youth, reap its frightful harvest in fields where cheers ring and bands play and banners wave."
At the Indy 500:
"Gentlemen, start your coffins!"
On Muhammad Ali:
"He lay on a sofa in white shorts and gray socks with an exhausted but mystical expression on his face. No crowds in mink, no loud music, no sounds of sycophants. The man who had just won his way into sport's richest vault was lying there just staring as if he couldn't believe what had happened. 
"Ali (then Cassius Clay) spoke like a man in a trance that night. He wept, whispered, marveled. I have kept my notes and my column from that remarkable night because it was an Ali the public was never to see--withdrawn, staring at something only he could see."
On Elgin Baylor:
"Nobody ever made me want to be a basketball player until I saw Elgin Baylor. The poetry, drama, and meaning of the game eluded me until he made it all clear."
On tragedy and terror at the Olympic Games:
"They are 2,500 miles, three time zones--and 24 years--away but I think I know what my colleagues are going through in Atlanta this weekend. 
"Rage, frustration, helplessness, resentment, sadness and, if not despair, something close to it. 
"Here they were covering an event that is an expression of all that is best in mankind--the youth of the world entering on fields of friendly competition, mingling, enjoying, laughing, exchanging pins, rings, addresses, a world of hope, happiness and heroism. 
"And then the merchants of death and hate crash the party with their engines of murder and mayhem. 
"It was 1972 when our little world of non-winning times, golden fractions and golden medals came crashing down on our heads. . .  
"Has the cost of the Games gone up too much when it starts adding up to human lives? I think not. We already have enough bars on our windows, locks on our churches, parties we cancel. You don't change the world by hiding from it."
So who knows where this will take me. All I know is that I doubt I can every live up to the greatest. But I can sure try.

-30-

* - ICYMI...here are my first columns from the hockey assignments:

GAME RECAP:
Anaheim Ducks @ Los Angeles Kings Game #14 Recap: Kings Undefeated in the Willie D. Era
Nov 7, 2018, 10:45am EST

PERSPECTIVES FROM THE CHEAP SEATS:
See Ya, JS…Welcome Willie D.
Nov 5, 2018, 10:37pm EST

GAME RECAP:
Columbus Blue Jackets @ Los Angeles Kings Game #13 Recap: Gluten-Free
Nov 4, 2018, 11:30am EST

PERSPECTIVES FROM THE CHEAP SEATS:
Brownie the Leader
Nov 2, 2018, 3:45pm EDT

PERSPECTIVES FROM THE CHEAP SEATS:
FINALLY!
Oct 29, 2018, 9:30pm EDT

PERSPECTIVES FROM THE CHEAP SEATS:
Pitchforks and Torches
Oct 22, 2018, 9:30pm EDT

GAME RECAP:
Buffalo Sabres @ Los Angeles Kings, Game #8 Recap: Lost at Staples Center
Oct 20, 2018, 10:30pm EDT

PERSPECTIVES FROM THE CHEAP SEATS:
What Do We Do Now?
Oct 18, 2018, 11:00am EDT

Monday, November 5, 2018

EMERGENCY HOCKEY COLUMN: See Ya, JS…Welcome Willie D.

I penned this article for my PERSPECTIVES FROM THE CHEAP SEATS column on Jewels From the Crown. I couldn't hold myself from posting it here too, because why? The Los Angeles Kings, that's why.

Note to reader: Due to unbridled anger scheduling conflicts, I was forced to write the inevitable “John Stevens has been fired!” column on October 20th. That was after the Kings were embarrassed by Buffalo and Stevens uttered the now famous, “I have to be honest. I don’t have an answer at this second.” Yes, actually I wrote this two weeks before they relieved him of his duties. Further, please excuse my insolence when reading. I know John Stevens is maybe the nicest guy in hockey and he had a quiet hand in the two Stanley Cups the Kings won, but for goodness sakes the wheels really fell off on his watch. I refused to be silent when it’s already been bad enough watching him botch my beloved team since the game against Dallas on the final day of the the 2017-18 season. Really, that was the beginning of his end. So Coach Stevens, I want to say that we wouldn’t have these two Stanley Cups without you. You were a great assistant coach. Truly, thank you! To all reading the column after the firing, I appreciate your understanding.



And now, without further ado, the future Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award winning column, “See Ya, JS…”

When we were leaving the Sabres game, a couple of Kings fans were walking ahead of us and humming the words “Lose for Hughes, Lose for Hughes, Lose for Hughes, Lose for Hughes,” almost as if they were chanting the words to a top 40 song.

So much for Champions of California Hockey.

Not only is the defense gone, not only do we only have one playoff win since Brownie raised the Cup the last time, but our fans are singing the names of potential lottery saviors eight games into the season. And if that’s not bad enough, my daughter (the girl who can see a rainbow and sunshine in almost any loss) wasn’t even remotely appalled.

”It’s like they were inside my mind,” my son said with resignation. “I say we trade everything not nailed down and keep Stevens for the whole season. Let’s go for Jack Hughes.” That’s when he sent me this video:


I found that comment mesmerizing: Not that my son wanted to trade everyone not named Drew, Quick, Dustin, or Anze, but his unbiased confidence that keeping John Stevens gave the Kings the best opportunity at finishing with a high lottery pick. Honestly, what more do you need to know? If we’re gunning for Hughes next spring, either we could be unashamed about this mission, fire John Stevens and hire Bob the Security Guard from Lot 1 … or we could keep Stevens and guarantee six more months of blowout losses, defensive breakdowns, motionless offense, clueless excuses and an NHL coach juggling lines every few shifts like he’s forgotten how to coach at all. Unfortunately for Hughes lovers, Rob Blake and the Kings owners imagine that their team still has a chance -- and they might be right, given the lack of team success in the Pacific Division this season -- so Bob the Security Guard from Lot 1 is out.

And so is JS.

JS must be breathing a sigh of relief. In private, at least.

He spent the playoffs against Vegas and this season coaching with the same look that I used have when I was working up the courage to ask the cute waitress out when I was in college. On opening night, his team looked disjointed and lost as they wandered to an overtime loss as his players seemed to refuse to shoot the puck all game. That was followed by a predictable nail biter win against Detroit (!), a miserable game against Winnipeg (16 shots on goal), a shutout against Montreal, wretched losses to Ottawa (!) and Toronto, then an ugly 7-2 loss to the New York Islanders (with the entire Kings team getting lustily booed at the end of the second period).

JS followed-up the Islander game by calling out the team for lack of effort and saying all the things that indicates the team had quit on him. Then tonight, he pulled out his “I don’t have any answers” line tonight after pulling his goaltender with almost five minutes left and down 4-1. Ugh, I’ve never been so upset at a Kings coach. For those of you unaware, the Kings have had 23 previous coaches, so there’s a lot to choose from.

[Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, the John Stevens era!]

Meanwhile, all of the Kings pundits and journalists I respect were doing their rationale trying to figure out “what’s wrong with the Kings?”, with tweets that easily could have been written about Sharks, Ducks or Capitals. You see, it’s not hard to tell when your coach stinks. You typically know when your players are constantly saying things like “We just need to sustain that intensity for three periods,” “We need to play the kind of defense we’re capable of playing,” “I think we’ve got some soul searching to do,” “We’ve got to figure some things out,” and my personal favorite, “We can’t seem to score first," (which is a specialty of John Stevens’s coached games).

All of this athlete talk is a huge misdirect. Every word of it. Players from well-coached teams never say these things. If those quotes look familiar to you, or if those tweets look oddly familiar to others that have been written about your own team, then your coach is underperforming and needs to be shown the door.

So why did the Kings retain JS last summer, you ask? Maybe because there wasn’t an available coach out there who was noticeably better. Except the guy who just won the Stanley Cup and was a free agent (OMG, we could have had Barry Trotz). If you owned an NHL team, would you pay three people to perform the same job for you? Especially when the players and the media purportedly admire and respect your coaching? Of course not. It’s easier to cross your fingers and hope he improves, right? What followed that Vegas sweep in the playoffs was inevitable: JS spent the preseason tinkering with lineups until team chemistry was shot. If JS didn’t have a master plan last season, he certainly doesn’t have one this season and it’s only getting worse.

Look, it’s never fun to write that someone should lose his job. By all accounts, JS is a tremendous fellow -- that’s the main reason both local columnist and the radio guys kept spinning his B.S. and enabled him to go this long without the criticism he’s earned. Even this week, after these Buffalo and Islander games, the writers who understand hockey and all its subtle nuances endorsed JS and collectively absolved him of all blame.

[Note #2 to the readers: This is the end of the pre-written column and fast forward to yesterday.]

Boy, that escalated quickly... I mean, that really got out of hand fast.


This was the talk at home on Sunday — a Ron Burgundy-type reflection on some swift action from GM Rob Blake. Many wanted John Stevens gone, but few thought they would do it 13 games in. My daughter wrapped it up nicely while she took a break from Dapper Days at Disneyland: “Everyone thought Rob wasn’t going to do anything, but he has great awareness of the issues on the team and a win wasn’t going to derail what he thought would ultimately make the team better.”

Note #3 to the reader: Now that JS has actually been fired relieved of his duties, I’ll say something nice about the interim coach and point out that his best quality is that he’s not John Stevens.

When Willie Desjardins steps behind the bench for his first game as Kings interim coach, it’s worth mentioning that he coached Team Canada to a bronze medal in the last Olympics with former King Ben Scrivens as one of his goaltenders. He’s well respected in coaching circles and anyone who can coach a team to a championship in Medicine Hat is legitimate in my book.

Welcome aboard Willie D., our 25th coach.

The king is dead, long live the king.