By Joe Sixpack
Posted on April 4, 2008 on Joe Sixpack

SEVENTY-FIVE years ago today, on April 4, 1933, America was in the midst of the Great Depression. A panic had just forced the nation's banks to close for a week. The unemployment rate was 24.9 percent.

But three days later, on April 7th, things started looking up.

Beer was back.

A long-awaited revision to the infamous Volstead Act that had kicked off the Prohibition paved the way. Yes, the brew was just 3.2 percent alcohol, and it would be another 8 months till the 21st Amendment officially ended Prohibition and brought back more potent booze.

But on this day, it was time to party.

New York, Chicago, Philadelphia – the streets were a sudsy celebration. An estimated 1.5 million barrels of beer were drained in the first 24 hours after the modification of the act, according to the Brewers Association.

This week, U.S. brewers are trumpeting the end of beer prohibition with special events and tributes. But it would be hard to top the public relations scheme cooked up by one brewery on that glorious day three-quarters of a century ago.

Not surprisingly, it was Anheuser-Busch that grabbed the headlines. The St. Louis company wasn't the dominant beer maker in America at the time (Schlitz and Pabst were still giving it a run for its money), but there was no one better at attracting attention.

"So much of the story is folklore," said Budweiser brand director Tom Shipley. "But put yourself back into 1933. You've got August A. Busch – his father, Adolphus, started the company in 1852. He's 67 years old, a brewer who couldn't brew beer."

His younger son, Gussie, is 33. "He'd gone through his entire career and had never gotten to brew beer," Shipley said.

A-B's brewers maintained their beer-making chops with Bevo, a near beer that was essentially de-alcoholized Bud. To make ends meet, the company turned to the production of soft drinks and ice cream, and sold off real estate to generate cash. As the nation's economy sank into the Depression, Busch reportedly spent $34 million out of his own pocket to keep the business alive.

Erin Niemela,
Sr. Editor,
MyWorldofSports.com

The California Home Depot Center filled with anxious fans awaiting the anticipated junior middleweight fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Steve Forbes this Saturday, May 3rd, 2008, and as De La Hoya entered the ring, donning a black and orange robe, the crowd roared for their obvious favorite. This fight was the first of a farewell tour for De La Hoya, and his win will lead him to a rematch against WBC welterweight champion "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Las Vegas this coming September, 2008. Interestingly, Forbes was trained by Jeff Mayweather, Floyd Mayweather's uncle, while De La Hoya has trained under Floyd Mayweather Sr, his father. MyWorldofSports.com caught up with Alex "The Bronx Bomber" Ramos, 4 time New York Golden Gloves champion, founder and president of the Retired Boxers Foundation, and a boxer with 30 plus years of experience, for his commentary during the fight.

Prior to Forbes' and De La Hoya's grand entrances, Ramos anticipated some problems for the fight: "Of course, you know, there's a big height difference in this fight, which is gonna be kind of a lot of trouble, I expect. [Forbes] is fighting a guy that's 5'10 ½, whereas he's 5'7 ¼, so, it's gonna be tough … you can see the difference in height." De La Hoya stepped into the ring, "Now Oscar De La Hoya's coming out, it's unbelievable, he looks very focused … everybody's going bananas!"

"I always figure out in the first 30 seconds which fighter gets the fight," Ramos told us into the first round. De La Hoya delivered a series of jabs right off the bat, but Forbes countered with his own double jabs. De La Hoya threw a nice left hook, but Forbes kept up with his jabs, "He's fighting back, he's looking good!" Ramos said of Forbes, "You can tell right now that the difference is, of course, that you've got a bigger fighter which is 5'10, and Steve Forbes was a junior lightweight – which is 130lbs, and he needs to … keep the pressure, and be able to take the fight to [De La Hoya]. When you have a taller guy in front of you, you gotta keep the pressure!" Forbes threw body shots, De La Hoya countered with jabs, then right handed body shots, and De La Hoya landed some overhand rights. Forbes pushed him with a shoulder and delivered a combination of hits to close the round, in favor of De La Hoya. Ramos told MyWorldofSports.com, "He just hit him with a left hook, right hand, left hook, double up - beautiful combination by Steve Forbes … I love it, I love it, I love it. So, right now, the fight's pretty even … I don't have no predictions … as I've said, the 5'10 De La Hoya [is] fighting a guy that's a lot smaller than he is, and he's throwing punches, but Steve Forbes is coming back," Ramos explained.

The second round began with body shots by De La Hoya, "De La Hoya's got the bigger reach. De La Hoya hit him with a good body shot … I think he hurt [Forbes] right now, it's gotta hurt … but Steve Forbes come back with a double left punch – he just hit De La Hoya with a right hand and a left hand, back to back." De La Hoya continually caught Forbes with jabs, but Forbes managed to connect some body shots and a small straight before the close of the round. Ramos commented, "[De La Hoya] keeps catchin' him with a jab. I'd give this round to De La Hoya." De La Hoya continued to connect those jabs into round three, along with several hooks to the body. Ramos mentioned, "If [De La Hoya] was a big puncher it'd be a different story. If he was a big puncher, he could hurt [Forbes] possibly … he's controlling him very easy with the jab, but Steve Forbes is fighting back … [Forbes] does not have the power to stop him. You gotta have power to punch him."

FREE World Premiere movie set for April 22 at MSG!
By Mike Indri
Retired Boxers Foundation
April 18, 2008

Madison Square Garden will again play host to a truly significant event in remembrance of the late Italian boxing champion Primo Carnera.

Seventy-five years ago the 6 ft. 6 inch, 260-pound Carnera knocked out Jack Sharkey in Madison Square Garden to become World Heavyweight Champion. The Italian giant lifted all of Italy on his broad shoulders that June 29th in 1933 and forever became a legend.

"Carnera This Tuesday night, April 22nd, a FREE world premiere screening of - The Walking Mountain" will be presented in the Wamu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

The free admission is due to the main sponsors, Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia and Angel Devil.

To ensure and reserve seating for this special event, visit www.thewalkingmountain.com and register on the site.More than just a movie, this April 22nd event will be a gift to the boxing world and to all people that embrace courage, integrity, love of family, kindness and certainly prevailing over life's hardships.

While reaching the pinnacle in boxing, becoming the World Heavyweight Champion, no other fighter - let alone a champion - was ever treated with more corruptness, less decency, and picked more completely of dignity than Primo Carnera.

Under the brilliant direction of famed Italian director Renzo Martinelli, the true meaning and greatness of the humble giant, with an even bigger dream, is brought to light.

Fully enveloped within the slimiest facet of the ruthless business of boxing, any chance the naïve former laborer, bricklayer and sometime stonecutter from the tiny village of Sequals, in Northern Italy, ever had of goodness and prosperity within the prize ring was doomed before he ever even set foot on American soil.

By Joe Sixpack
Posted on February 29, 2008 on Joe Sixpack

BEER EITHER just jumped the shark, or the universe has a strange sense of humor.

I refer to Miller Lite's new Brewers Collection: "Craft-style light beer."

It took me 20 minutes to get my head around the idea before I could crack open the first bottle. There is so much wrong - and so much unsurprising - about a product whose slogan brazenly promises, "Craft Beer. Done Lite."

The collection includes three basic, easy-sipping styles: amber, wheat and blond ale. Each contains 110 calories per 12-ounce bottle, about two-thirds of the amount in similar non-light styles.

Don't look for it on shelves in the Philadelphia area, yet; it's being test-marketed in just four markets (the closest is Baltimore, if you care to take a ride down I-95).

The three styles are, as you'd expect, thin, fizzy and light-tasting. The wheat is reminiscent of Sprite, the blond is tinny and the amber is Miller Lite with a tan. Nothing terribly offensive or remarkable.

But, honestly, you don't have to taste it to get the point.

Essentially, Miller is attempting to sell a product that wants it both ways. It's a product that purports to offer all the complexity, depth and quality of a small-batch brew along with the bland, inoffensive, one-dimensional flavor of a factory-made light beer.

The crazy thing is, Miller just might pull it off!

This is, after all, the same brewery that 30 years ago managed to convince "real men" that it was OK to drink diet beer.

We all know, of course, it's not really diet beer. Most of the guys you see guzzling light beer are about as fit as a bag of potato chips. People drink it not because they're counting calories, but because its watered-down, ordinary flavor allows them to mindlessly pound one after the other without the inconvenience of actually tasting the stuff.

Hello, AFL fans and former players:

Herff Jones, a world-renowned known maker of high-quality high-school, college and professional championship rings, including Super Bowl rings, still has the major portion of a die for an American Football League ring that they first fashioned in the 1960s.

I have paid for them to make dies for two modifications of this ring, around the top face. One says AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE ALUMNI, and the other says AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE FAN.

The top of the ring has a simulated stone set above the letters AFL. The stones are available in birthstones, or in the color of the American Football League team of your choice.

One side has a relief of a football gridiron, and underneath that is a 'ribbon' that can be engraved with up to 10 spaces of your choice (last name or team, for example). Below that is a football helmet in relief, and below that another 'ribbon' which can be engraved with up to 4 spaces: initials, or a short name.

The other side of the ring has a relief of the American Football League logo. The inside of the ring is engraved with your initials and a date.

These rings are available in the non-precious metal White Ultrium (used for many college rings) for $346, in non-precious yellow Sunglow for $411, and in white or yellow precious 10 Karat Gold for $797. These prices include sales tax, shipping and handling, plus $5 towards the set-up costs that I've already paid.

If I don't sell enough to cover the set-up cost, I'll eat it. If I collect more than the costs of the rings to me, all excess funds will be sent to the retired Pro Football help fund Gridiron Greats with the stipulation that the funds be used to help a retired American Football League player in need. I neither want nor will I accept any profit from the sale of these rings.

If you're interested, please see my page at www.remembertheafl.com/AFLRing.htm. It shows photos of a mock-up of my own ring, and photos of the metals and the stones available. It also has an order form you can print out and send to Herff Jones. Prices on the gold rings are good only through July 1, 2008. After that, a new price will be established based on the market value of gold.

If you're a former American Football League player or staff member who never had a championship ring or a players association ring (or even if you do), this is your chance to show your pride in having been part of what even the NFL calls "the league that was the genesis of modern pro football". If you're 'just' an American Football League fan, you can show your support for the memory of the greatest pro football league ever.

Regards,

Ange Coniglio
AFL Ring

Major step up against Arnaoutis headlines ESPN Friday night
By Mike Indri
Retired Boxers Foundation
May 8, 2008

Last year undefeated jr. welterweight prospect Lanardo Tyner made the sacrifice of uprooting his family from their Detroit, Michigan home down to Houston, Texas - with the notion that following his boxing idol, former world champion Frank Tate (a fellow Detroit native), would be a boost to his professional career.

Tate, who earned the International Boxing Federation middleweight championship by picking up the vacant title with a commanding 15 round unanimous decision victory over Michael Olajide in 1987, and was dethroned the following year by Michael Nunn, had left the Motor City after his fighting career ended and was training fighters at Hank's Gym in Houston.

Tyner quickly realized the move to be a big plus, "This is the place to be. It's good for family and to stay focused. My fun time down here is to train!"

The greatest benefit to the 32 year-old fighter would be the connection with gym owner Kenneth Richardson Sr. Richardson serves as manager and trainer, and the highly respected, no-nonsense boxing "good guy" made sure that the undefeated Tyner fit his criteria.

"No one works harder in the gym than Lanardo, and he has the punch. He is nicknamed "Pain Server" for a reason", proudly stated Richardson, who cited Tyner's record (19-0) and eleven knockouts. Richardson then firmly stressed, "But, Lanardo is also a family man and that is a must. You have to be good outside the ring. If they (any fighter) are not good OUTSIDE the ring - then you are in trouble.

If Lanardo Tyner is not good INSIDE the ring this Friday night, against USBA light welterweight titleholder Mike Arnaoutis, he will be in a lot of trouble!

In challenging "Mighty Mike" for his USBA crown, Tyner will be facing his most lethal opponent, by far. While feasting on lesser opponents throughout most of his five-year career, Tyner has not attracted much attention outside of Texas and will enter the ring Friday night at the Bally's Ballroom in Atlantic City, as the betting underdog.

The likable Tyner will also be taking on the unenviable role as the "opponent" for the very first time as well, opting to travel into the popular Arnaoutis's Atlantic City hometown to face the rugged and feisty twenty-eight year-old southpaw.

By Joe Sixpack
Posted on March 28, 2008 on Joe Sixpack

THERE ARE two kinds of bar fights.

The one where a naked android from the future cracks a pool stick over your head, then walks off with your sunglasses and sawed-off shotgun.

And a "Bargument" - a debate with no right or wrong answer, which must be uncomplicated enough to discuss after three beers.

The latter is the topic of a fun little book called "Barguments" (Simon Spotlight Entertainment, $9.99) from Doug Hanks, a reporter with the Miami Herald who, like me, apparently managed to convince his editors that his weekly bar tab is a legitimate business expense.

Where I spend a lot of time fretting over beer, Hanks focuses on weightier topics. Like:

•If you could date a cartoon character, who would it be?

•Which TV show has better acting: "Saved by the Bell" or "Baywatch"?

•Is it harder to be a pitcher or a running back?

•You're about to move into an apartment with extremely thin walls. Pick your neighbor: a bass player, a sex addict or a parrot breeder.

•With $1 million on the line, would you rather shoot a free throw or flip a coin?

•And, perhaps most importantly, who would win in a fight: a bear or a lion?

That last one is the fateful riddle that prompted Hanks to tackle this book. He and one of his drinking pals noticed a tap handle that looked like a bear wrestling a lion and someone wondered: Who would win?

By Joe Sixpack
Posted on March 21, 2008 on Joe Sixpack

FOR THE first time in almost 60 years, Philadelphia has a namesake brewery. Philadelphia Brewing Co., a spin-off created when the owners of Yards Brewing split last year, hit the streets this month with a portfolio of ales that evokes some of the city's iconic images:

Rowhouse Red, a so-called biere de Mars whose label displays one of the city's classic, red-brick two-story rowhouses. On draft, it's poured from tap handles crafted from recycled banister spindles.

Newbold IPA, a hoppy ale named after the resurgent Newbold neighborhood west of Broad Street above Passyunk Avenue in South Philly.

Walt Wit, an unfiltered Belgian-style witbier named for the great American poet, Walt Whitman, who lived across the river in Camden. Its tap handle is a giant pencil.

Kenzinger, a light, golden ale that recalls a classic, extinct Philly brand, Esslinger, as well as the brewery's home, just off Frankford Avenue in Kensington.

"We are all about being a Philadelphia brewery first," said Nancy Barton, who owns Philadelphia Brewing with her husband, Bill. "That's why we chose the name."

That Philly First attitude rings throughout the brewery, especially in its connection to Kensington. The Bartons have been fixtures there since Yards moved its brewery to Amber Street in 2001. (Yards founder Tom Kehoe will reopen his brewery this spring at a facility on Delaware Avenue in Northern Liberties.)

"When we first moved to Kensington, our initial thought was we'd probably come to work, close the big door out on the loading dock and not necessarily be a part of the community," Barton said. "But somehow, we just bonded with our neighbors. Our neighbors are just awesome."

On any given day, you'll find locals inside the mammoth, 19th-century brewery; on my visit earlier this week, I bumped into Robert Fritz, head of the East Kensington Neighbors Association, helping out with some plumbing.

Besides hosting frequent community events, the brewery works closely with the urban Greensgrow Farm on nearby Cumberland Avenue and is donating space (and beer) for the farm's cheese-making operation.

No Surprises at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall
By Mike Indri
Retired Boxers Foundation
April 12, 2008

Atlantic City, NJ - With the Boardwalk Hall filled, and HBO broadcasting to millions at home, Miguel Cotto tore into Alfonso Gomez and in the same ring where the "Contender" fighter enjoyed his greatest win (TKO 7 vs. Arturo Gatti, 7/14/07), punished the likable and big willed fighter, sending Gomez to his most demoralizing defeat.

While the bout actually lasted until the ring doctor advised referee Randy Neuman not to let the one-sided debacle continue after round five, the fight was realistically over in the first round; when the first few exchanges proved this twelve round title match was simply a mismatch.

Barely escaping in round one, a collection of Cotto body shots towards the end of round two sent a devastated Gomez to the canvas for his first of three knockdowns. More nasty body shots by Cotto dropped Gomez again in the third and a vicious debilitating barrage sent the overwhelmed fighter to the deck late in round five. Badly bruised and totally finished, a demoralized and defeated Gomez managed to slowly amble back to his stool where he dropped, and rightfully was not allowed to get back up from.

At times Cotto seemed to be toying with Gomez, dropping his hands and pounding on the lesser fighter, all to the delight of the largely partisan Puerto Rican crowd. When it was all over Cotto had out landed Gomez 188 to 63 in total punches, and a staggering 125 to 46 in power shots (according to Compu-Box)…basically every shot from Cotto is a power shot!

Gomez - a contender, with a heart of a champion, slips to 18-4-2 (8 KO's), while Miguel Cotto improved to 32-0; the dominating stoppage being the 26th victory by way of knockout for the humble and classy hero of Puerto Rico.

In the co-feature bout Kermit Cintron was defending his International Boxing Federation welterweight world championship title, but even more importantly he was defending his legitimacy and honor against former champion Antonio Margarito.

Back in 2005 Cintron, then the hot 24-0 undefeated prospect was rushed into challenging the dangerous Mexican fighter, who was defending his World Boxing Organization belt. Cintron was not ready for the big step and paid dearly with a torturous beating which resulted in his first loss - a crushing fifth round TKO drubing, which hurt just as much, if not more, mentally as it did physically.

Brazilian middleweight prospect now owns WBO "Latino" crown
By Mike Indri
Retired Boxers Foundation
April 5, 2008

Most sports fans would not be able to tell you the three boxers that hold portions of the world heavyweight crown these days…that question might even stump the Schwab!

It takes a real boxing fan to rattle off Ruslan Chagaev (WBA), Sam Peter (WBC) and Wladimir Klitschko (WBO & IBF) as the current kings of all the heavyweights.

So you can imagine the relative obscurity that so many young and talented, yet vastly underexposed fighters are plagued with, while also battling to survive in the most physically demanding, viciously dangerous and financially difficult sport for any aspiring athlete.

This past Thursday night Isaac Rodrigues took a major step towards achieving his dream of becoming a world champion when he battled ten long, hard rounds against a truly formidable opponent, earning a unanimous decision victory and becoming the World Boxing Organization's "Latino" middleweight champion.

The result of this fight, which was held in Brazil, was not broadcast on an ESPN sports program, or any sports news program. The news didn't even make it onto any boxing website. I was informed by the proud trainer of Isaac Rodrigues - Oscar Saurez, one of the premier trainers and finest people in all of boxing. (Oscar Saurez - left - with his fighter Acelino Freitas)

Oscar Saurez - left - with his fighter Acelino Freitas.

Best known for his handling of now retired world champions Prince Naseem Hamed and Acelino Freitas, as well as Paterson native Omar Sheika (who is slated to take on Elvir Muriqi next month in Atlantic City), Saurez has trained the best in boxing and is excited in what he sees with Rodrigues.

"He (Rodrigues) has got what it takes, and works real hard," exclaimed Saurez, "it was a very evenly matched fight, very competitive. Isaac's boxer/puncher style and his landing many combinations late in the fight was the difference."