5/01/06 - In Rusty's Corner
In Rusty's Corner
By Rusty Rubin, editor-in-chief of the Ringsports.com publication, and author of "Off the Canvas",
a view of American history and the social problems of the times, as seen by an 80-year old
ex-champion. "Off the Canvas" takes you from the time of the Great Depression till the World
Trade Center disaster and is a book that has been getting rave reviews. Copies are $15.00 each
available at Ringsports.com and on-line major book retailers.
We're taking orders for autographed copies
of "Billy Soose, the Champion Time Forgot" co-authored by Tom Donelson. Soose was the
middleweight champion of the world, beating Tony Zale and Ken Overlin in less than a month's time.
Since Tom and I live in
different parts of the USA, it would be hard to co-ordinate a joint signing, both Tom or I will
be available. The book is available now at Authorhouse.com
(book id #31809) and other fine on-line outlets. Early sales appear strong.
Buy both books and the recipient will really appreciate your caring, and this writer
won't complain one little bit.
My next book, "Woozel, Boxing and Me", a compilation of true
funny boxing stories, oddities and quotes, will be out within the next 3-4 months.
"Woozel, Boxing and Me" is a final tribute to my best friend of more than 25 years,
who attended many of the boxing events with me. She passed away from colon cancer in Feb. 2004... The
early demand for the book has been strong. For advance ordering or to purchase an autographed copy,
please advise me ASAP...***
Our website (Ringsports.com) is back up and running
thanks to some volunteer help from a good friend of ours and of boxing.
Mark your calendar for April 29th, when the California Boxers Assn. honor Art Aragon,
Bobby Chacon and Professor George Latka, at a luncheon at the Honey Baked Ham restaurant
at 11:00 AM...The restaurant is located at 10106 Riverside Dr., Toluca Lake, California.
For reservations or information please call (828) 367-7575 or (818) 761-4887.***
Not a hard weekend to pick fights, as Sam Peter was an easy, early KO winner of Julius Long.
Although I was a bit surprised by how hard it was for Acelino Frietas to take out Zaheer Raheem.
More to the point here, is that he couldn't even knock him down, but still managed to eke out
a close split decision.
There's only one fight to talk about this week and that's Oscar de la Hoya returning to
the ring to take on hard punching Ricardo Mayorga.
This could be Oscar's last fight and he wants to go out on top, which is why he figured that
the best payday around, although not the easiest, was the predictable Mayorga.
You can never discount a puncher, which Ricardo is, when taking on a guy who is a bit past
his prime, and is coming off a long layoff. You have to give Mayorga a punchers chance
here, but that's about it.
Oscar knows where Ricardo will be all night, in his face, and he wont have to exert a lot
of energy chasing him. Oscar is by far the better boxer, but he can't afford to be
stationary and get hit.
Look for De La Hoya to move around the ring, playing hit and run and inflicting a lot of
damage, and thus win a fairly close decision.
Agree or disagree, we'd like to hear from you. (Rngsportsr@aol.com).
Glove2Glove:
Patti Brandenburg continues to have health problems and continues to need your help via prayers.
Prayer for the return to health to the father of Eva Futch, a great friend, and the widow
of legendary trainer Eddie, who passed away in 2001. Eva's father's cancer has returned
and recent surgeries have proved successful, but he still has a long way to go. And please
pray that Eva has the strength to cope with this difficult challenge she faces at so
close to her having lost her esteemed husband.
Prayers needed for Elise Brown, grand daughter of Ringside Products head honcho and good
boxing guy John Brown. Young Elise has heart problems.
Prayers have also helped but continue to be needed for Dennis Wilcox, brother of boxing scribe
David Wilcox, who is in an Oregon hospital suffering from Leukemia. The family and everyone
at Glove2Glove ask for your prayers for his total recovery.
Prayers for the return to health of Audrey Talmo, wife of Ed, a long-time boxing fan who
cares about our sport.
Please say prayers for the return to health of Helen Wambolt, wife of our East Coast World
Boxing Hall of Fame writer Danny Wambolt. Cards will also be most welcome.***
Please say prayers for the return to health of Orazio Esposito, father of our photographer
Richard Esposito.***
Prayers for the return to health of Don Donelson, father of writer Tom, and Gene Sebastian,
brother of former middleweight champ Billy Soose. Both are suffering from congestive heart disease.
Please say prayers for Phill Grazide of Santa Rosa, CA. a big supporter of amateur boxing,
who is suffering the crippling effects of rheumatoid arthritis.***
Needless to say we need prayers for the return to health of both former champs Greg Page
and Gerald McClellan, both confined to wheelchairs.***
Glove2Glove is a non-denominational group set up to aide those boxing folks and their relatives
in need of prayers and cards. We accept no money and only contact our members when someone
is in need. It's absolutely free to join. Simply send us your e-mail address. And even if
you're not a member, feel free to contact us if you are aware of some boxing person in need.***
Touching on politics briefly: Sometimes I wonder why people who don't favor the death
penalty for cold blooded killers, who deserve it, aren't embarrassed by speaking
out. I know I would be.
Wanting to spare the life of those who willingly killed others makes little sense, particularly
when the taxpayer is supporting these guys in prison.
But I'm willing to compromise my beliefs a bit here (don't believe it do you)? But yes,
I'd be willing to let them rot in prison if those who are opposed to the death penalty
agree to pay for their lifetime incarceration, which I don't want my tax dollars wasted on.
And the tax money to allow these guys to live could be better spent on building more prisons
which we do badly need.***
On another note, congratulation to Scott McClellan for stepping down as the White House
Press Secretary, and condolences to Tony Snow for his appointment to this thankless task.
Press Secretary? It could just as easily be called 'Minister of Propaganda'. And it would
be called the same case if the Dems were in control or the Oval Office. The job is, simply
put, is handled to someone who can effectively lie to the rest of the press corps.
Why lie? Because that person is appointed by the President to spin the party line, not to
tell people the truth.
Here's a thought, why not appoint a non-political comic to the post. Wouldn't Robin Williams
or Bill Maher or even Dennis Miller bring some much needed humor when listening to the spin
put out by the White House. At least the regular folks would actually turn on and watch
these events and may even learn something.
Wow, an intelligent electorate. How's that for an oxi-moron?
We really can use someone who is likable and will put a humorous spin on today's events
rather than jut to follow the party line. That would be both a novel and unique
approach to the problem.
Have to wonder though why Tony Snow or anyone else would accept a dead-end, thankless
job like this. Fortunately for Snow (and maybe the Democrats) this job won't last
much more than two years.
For Snow, he will have to explain to the press what a 'decider' is. And why, with Dubya
running the show, that isn't downright dangerous. His decisions thus far in his
Presidential tenure more than explain his miserable approval ratings.
Snow also has to explain to the media corps about Bush just reading the headlines,
which he says he does, but obviously pays no attention to the rest of the story.
Finally, will someone please tell me what replacing the Press Secretary has to do with
improving the incompetence of this administration, that's the area the really needs the most help.
Agree or disagree, I'd like to hear from you.
(Rusty@ringsports.com)
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