Ht: 5-11 Wt: 178

DOB: May 25, 1986 In: Warren, Ohio

College: Michigan.

Football Inspirations: “Probably Jerry Rice and Charles Woodson.”

Nicknames: “People call me Rio, obviously for Super Mario.”

Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “Play video games, I like to read Sports Illustrated, shoot around, I love basketball, I like to shoot around basketball a little.”

Favorite Movies: “Life – Eddie Murphy and Martin.”

Favorite TV Show: “Martin.”

Musical Tastes: “Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy.”

Last Book Read: “Can’t remember the name of it. I had to do this essay in college.”

First Football Memory: “When I had four touchdowns against Madison, Ohio, back in high school – Shawn Crabel’s team. He plays for New England, went to Michigan.”

First Job: “I worked for the Scrappers, it’s a baseball team. I would be at the concession stand.”

First Car: “GL 550 Mercedes Benz (white).”

Favorite Meal: “Chicken.”

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Cap’n Crunch. Berries.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Vanilla.”

Pre-Game Feeling: “Just butterflies, every game, whether it’s a sorry team or not.”

Favorite Web Site: “You Tube.”

Favorite You Tube Video: “Tight Eyez – he’s a dancer, Cali, out west.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “Just putting on a Giants uniform, just believing that I’m here, not believing that I’m going through this experience.”

Most Painful Moment: “I got hit in practice my last year at Michigan, when I was a junior. I got hit by Ryan Monday, he plays for the Steelers, he got drafted last year. I thought I broke my jaw. Couldn’t eat for a couple days.”

Favorite Uniforms: “Giants. The red jerseys.”

Funny Football Memory: “It was a game in eighth grade. It was loud. We played in the stadium – Paul Brown Stadium. It was packed. We came out at halftime like the kids did, of a Browns game. I was in motion. I thought he said, Hut. I took off running, I turned around and the rest of the team is still right there, in their three-point stances [smiles]. And everything felt kinda stupid.”

Funniest Giants: “Jonathan Goff. Jonathan Goff being himself. He’s funny. He don’t even know but he’s funny [smiles].”

Toughest Competitors Encountered: “That I played against? Probably AJ Hawk. He be everywhere where the ball be. He be right there.”

Favorite Players To Watch: “I like Ahmad Bradshaw run the ball. Because he still already to the ground, hard to tackle. He run the ball hard. He’ll make you miss or he’ll run through you. Pick their poison, whatever they want. Get shook or get run through.”

Last Vacation: “Last summer, went to South Carolina. Went to Myrtle Beach.”

Interesting Fact: Mario ranks #4 in Michigan history with 27 TD catches, surpassed only by Braylon Edwards (39), Anthony Carter (37) and Desmond Howard (32).

People Qualities Most Admired: “I like to see people who keep it real. Just up-front, honest.”

Ht: 6-3 Wt: 238

DOB: August 10, 1958 In: Akron, Ohio

Childhood Heroes: “Muhammad Ali was a favorite of mine, of course. Martin Luther King was also a very strong role model. He showed no fear.”

Favorite Movies: “The Great Gatsby. That’s the one that sticks out in my mind. I felt it was such a great movie, the whole thing, the suffering he went through. It’s similar to my life, the highs and lows.”

First Car: “1974 yellow Ford Pinto.”

First Job: “Picking up and delivering lunch for workers at a construction site during summer (age 8). I also had jobs of hauling bricks. Then I was a busboy at Holiday Inn when I was 13.”

Favorite TV Shows Of All-Time: “Game shows. I’m a game show fanatic. Cosby. Wild Wild West. Rat Patrol.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “When I won the Heavyweight championship (KO 1 Mike Weaver in Las Vegas in December 1982). My greatest sports moment ever. The second-fastest KO in heavyweight history (63 seconds). I’m still in the record books for that.”

Most Painful Moment: “Losing the title (by KO 10 to Gerrie Coetzee in second title defense).”

Favorite Vacation Spot: “Australia. No doubt about that. The beaches, the wine country, the reefs. I’m just so enchanted by Australia. Almost the same land mass as America but only 12 million people. Lots of undeveloped land. I love the place.”

Pre-Fight Meal: “Fish, pasta, some type of vegetables, water, maybe hot tea.”

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Grits.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Chocolate and vanilla.”

All-Time Favorite Fights: “Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Tony Zale, Jake Lamotta, all of his fights were so great. Each fight was a different plateau for him. He was so versatile. He could adapt to so many different styles. The best boxer I ever saw.”

Nicknames: “Thor. Baromus – my cousins used to call me that when I was a kid. I had no idea what they were talking about. (Also Michael went by the popular ring name – Dynamite.)”

Favorite Book: “Eastern Star. Muhammad Ali gave it to me when I was 17. That is probably one of the most knowledgeable books that I’ve read. It gave me insight on life. Ali took me under his wing. He taught me more about life than boxing.”

Musical Tastes: “Jazz, George Howard, James Ingram, Ronnie Laws, Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, so many that I like. I could go on for days [smiles].”

Early Boxing Memory: “I had one win and two losses when I first started to box when I was 11 [smiles]. My friend Randy McGrady started with me, he used to tease me about that. He used to call me ‘One and two.’ He made me work harder, train harder. Then I went like 50 fights without a loss. I owe a lot to him.”

Favorite Sport Outside Boxing: “Basketball. So fast, so many dimensions to it. You need a great center, a great guard, forward, great depth, a great rebounder. And you need to have great offense and defense.”

People Most Admired: “Jesus Christ. Martin Luther King. Don King. Cricket Miller – she’s a little girl that’s paraplegic that I know. Here’s a person that is confined to a wheelchair for life and she has so much energy, vibrance, vigor. Every now and then when I talk to her, she’s depressed. But she always wants to do things. I just admire her so much for her strength. My mom.”

Future Ambition: “To get the most coveted prize in sports – the Heavyweight championship of the world. Say a prayer for me and I’ll do the rest.”

(Note: This interview was conducted at Madison Square Garden in 1992 after Michael’s KO 3 win over Danny Sutton in the Paramount Theater.)

First Tennis Memory: “Watching the Davis Cup final in 1964 in my father’s apartment, Fred Stolle and Dennis Ralston playing their five set match. I got the bug a little for tennis then. Then the real turning point came in June 1965 when my father had moved to London. One day he said, ‘We’re going to Wimbledon.’ I watched Rafael Osuna play Ingo Buding of Germany on a cloudy day. I felt like I was immersed in that match. After that match, every day in the newspaper the first thing I looked for was the tennis agate results. From that point forward I’d go to Wimbledon and the U.S. Open each year. That day with Osuna drew me in completely. Osuna was a beautiful player, very elegant, so smooth and stylish, he made it look easier. He was the right guy to see at the time.”

Last Book Read: “Was the biography of Howard Cosell. A very compelling story.”

Favorite Movies: “I just saw the Clooney film The Descendents, which was excellent. The Apartment with Jack Lemmon. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner. I’m leaving out a few.”

First Job: “My first job was with my father who was running a business in London. I did a lot of errands, delivering packages all over London. It was a great way to learn your way around London, taking all the subways. I was 17 or 18.”

Favorite Meal: “Either an excellent hamburger or steak. I’d say steak with baked potato with spinach. I never lost my taste for steak though I don’t eat it as much now.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Coffee. And I don’t drink coffee by the way.”

Greatest Career Moment: “It’s so hard to narrow it down. I would single out…I’d say the two Wimbledon finals of Borg and McEnroe in 1980. And Federer-Nadal in 2008. I was lucky enough to have been there to experience those. Then, I’d have to say, for a lot of reasons, the Sampras win over Agassi for his last major. Knowing what he’d been through and endured the last two years of his career. I thought that was an exhilarating moment to see him do that. So it’s a three-way tie.”

Most Painful Moment: “I think it was the 1984 U.S. Open final when Chris Evert lost to Martina Navratilova for the 13th time in a row. It looked like she was going to win, she won the first set but lost in three. I’d known her for a long time. I thought that was going to be one of her golden moments. She played some great tennis, the crowds were behind her that day. I found that painful.”

Favorite Tournament: “Is Wimbledon. Maybe because it’s the first major I’d went to. The eyes of the world are watching that tournament, even the casual sports fan.”

Funniest Player(s) Encountered: “Nastase was. He could drift from humor to anger very swiftly. He was a multi-faceted character. He was a natural comedian at times, when he was not losing his temper. Obviously, there were a lot of scenes that were not funny. He’d lose emotional control and get nasty. But there were times he was very, very amusing.”

Toughest Competitors: “I think Nadal, to me, is a standout. Without his ferocity, he’d have won maybe four or five Grand Slam tournaments, not ten. He’s shown more resilience to me than anyone else. Pancho Gonzales would lose his temper and play twice as well. He was an incredible competitor. He would impose his will on a match. It was very hard for even players like Rod Laver to play Gonzales – they knew how fearless he was. Sampras learned to dig very deep. The best example was the Corretja match at the U.S. Open. He was in just terrible shape, sick, dehydrated, yet he found a way to win. I don’t think he was given enough credit for his competitiveness, because Pete was more low key compared to Nadal and Gonzales. Chris Evert had the ability to draw on mental fortitude to win matches. She was going to be there until the very end. And she would never lose her cool. Another very tough competitor I thought was Monica Seles. There was an intensity and a fierceness to her that was intimidating to all her rivals, including Graf, at times.”

Favorite Players To Watch: “Rod Laver would be one. I was lucky enough to watch him when I was very young, in 1969, when he won the Grand Slam. Laver was so dazzling, such a shotmaker, so complete. I liked watching Arthur Ashe, he was electrifying, so adventurous, sometimes to his own detriment, especially in his younger days. In his latter days he was much more or a strategist than a flashy shotmaker. His most brilliant strategic performance was winning Wimbedon in 1975 against Connors. I liked watching Sampras, he had the most beautiful serve I’ve ever seen. Who am I leaving out? There’s just so many. I like watching Nadal and Federer, for different reasons. The grace and elegance of Federer. I loved watching Maria Bueno. She was like a ballerina on the court. Goolagong as well. I like watching Serena Williams, when she’s in the best of shape and is competing at her best and fully into it. I like the spunk and spirit she brings to it. The list could be endless.”

Funny Tennis Memory: “I think it was – in 1976 Nastase been disqualified in Palm Springs for bad behavior by Charlie Hare, a great, dignified British chair umpire. Then later in the year Hare was back refereeing a U.S. Open match with Nastase and Hans Pohmann. Again, the worst side of Nastase came out, he spit at photographers, almost got into a fist fight with Pohmann. I wondered why Charlie Hare didn’t disqualify Nastase again, like he had earlier in the year. After the match I went to see Charlie in the office and asked him about it. And he replied, in his British accent, ‘You must understand that what we saw out there today was great human drama. For me to interrupt that would have been the wrong thing to do.’ I had trouble containing my laughter, that was one of my more amusing moments.”

Favorite Sport Outside Tennis: “Baseball. I enjoy a lot of games over the summer. (Mets or Yankees?) Yankees.”

Favorite Tennis Books: “Handful of Summers by Gordon Forbes was a beauty. I loved the Fireside Book Of Tennis. It culled all the great articles from newspapers by Allison Danzig, the British writers, Bud Collins, it covers the spectrum, from the 1920′s to the 70′s. That was a treasure. I still love to go back to it. Joel Drucker’s Jimmy Connors Saved My Life was a great book. And I thought Steve Tignor’s book High Strung (Bjorn Borg-John McEnroe and the Untold Story of Tennis’s Fiercest Rivalry) was beautifully done and the best written tennis book I have ever read. I thought it was excellent.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Dignity. Composure. Earnestness. True to yourself, no pretenses. Decency. Integrity. Humor. Compassion.”

Education: Stetson University

Career Accomplishments: Inducted into the Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame in 2010; Former Editor World Tennis Magazine; Contributing Editor Tennis Week magazine; Author of “The Greatest Tennis Matches Of The Twentieth Century” and “The Greatest Tennis Matches Of All Time” which will be published in June 2012.

DOB: Sept. 27, 1983 In: Edmonton

Ht: 6-foot-4 Wt: 215 pounds

First Hockey Memory: “In Canada, it’s just kind of something you grow up with. I remember being a little kid and going home and skating outside, that sort of thing.”

Hockey Inspirations: “I was a Detroit fan growing up so I liked Steve Yzerman.”

Last Book Read: “Into The Silence.”

Current Car: “Is a Chevy pick-up.”

Nicknames: “I don’t have too many. ‘Bo,’ that’s the obvious one.”

Greatest Sports Moment(s): “Probably won a couple of world championships, played in one of the Olympics. So that’s probably the highlights.”

Most Painful Moment: “Haven’t had too many. Broke my foot one time, that was my worst. (Who shot it?) Brent Sopel I think.”

Favorite Uniforms: “Chicago.”

Closest Hockey Friends: “Probably Steve Montador, he’s playing for Chicago right now.”

Funniest Players Encountered: “Sean Hill was a funny guy. Jamie McLennan.”

Toughest Competitors Encountered: “There’s different guys who do different things. There’s a lot. There’s not too many guys who you would say aren’t. To get to this level you have to have some sort of drive.”

Strangest Game: “Nothing too crazy. I’ve had a couple of pretty lopsided games where the score got out of hand, but that’s about as crazy as it gets. One of my first years we lost to Washington 12-2 I think. That was the worst beating I’ve ever been a part of.”

Favorite Sport Outside Hockey: “Baseball.”

Funny Hockey Memory: “Lots of stuff, like every day. If you’re not laughing and you’re doing this then something’s wrong. But nothing really stands out. Lots of stuff.”

Last Vacation: “Went to Nepal last summer.”

Favorite Player(s) To Watch: “Crosby. Corey Perry, Getzlaf, those guys in Anaheim, they’re good. The guys in Detroit – Datsyuk, Zetterberg. In defenseman – I appreciate guys like Nick Lidstrom, those sort of guys.”

Personality Qualities Most Admired: “I guess honesty. And good-natured people.”

Hobbies/Interests: “I’m normally pressed for time – I’m the single father of a seven-year-old girl – I’m normally looking after her. If I’m not looking after her, I’m normally riding motorcycles. That’s my favorite thing to do.”

Favorite Movies: “Apocalypse Now – I was in the British Army when it came out. It became like a cult movie for us. Angel Heart is a cracker, with Mickey Rourke. Taxi Driver. 9 1/2 Weeks.”

Musical Tastes: “A little bit of old-fashioned. I like a lot of British ’70s and ’80s stuff – The Jam, Puella, Joni Mitchell, contemporary, Norah Jones. I listen to the Rolling Stones, David Bowie a bit, 10,000 Maniacs.”

Career Journey: “I was an officer in the British Army. We did a tour with the United Nations in Cypress. I did media operations between the U.N., Cypress and the press. When I came out of the army, my journalistic experience that I got in the army, I ended up becoming the editor of a defense magazine in the U.K. I left that then worked in Bosnia during the war in ‘92. I was in Sarajevo for a while, Split. After that, I had a studio in London which was quite successful. Then I made the huge mistake of coming to New York City. And I found that, as a foreign person, it’s almost impossible to get a job over here. And I ended up in the wild and wacky world of paparazzi, simply because I couldn’t get a job in anything else.”

Greatest Career Moment: “The greatest moment of my photography career was getting a front page shot from Sarajevo (‘92) of an old lady gathering from the ruins of some bombed homes. It was on the front page of The Independent which is renowned for its quality of photography. (What did it pay?) About $200, whereas I can make thousands and thousand and thousands of dollars from paparazzi pictures. Thousands.”

Most Painful Moment: “I have to think about it. Because nothing is springing to mind immediately. Most frustrating moment – I can tell you that. And that happens kind of regularly. And that’s the shocking abuse that I get from hotel security, private security, bodyguards, publicists, and not so much cops. The unpleasantness I receive from security and bodyguards who break the law as a matter of course. They grab me, push my camera in my face, push it down, hold my arms down, it happens to me all the time. And I find it very annoying, very frustrating. And I try to tell cops about it and nobody cares.”

Which Celebs are the hardest to deal with?: “I’ve had a number of little run-ins with Gwyneth Paltrow. And to be fair to her, it just genuinely upsets her – being photographed by paparazzi. And she’s been very, very difficult about it. Having said that, she’s calmed down a little bit now and she’s not too bad. Rappers – I avoid them. Because their security is out of control. They’re dangerous people. They threaten to kill you. For what? Taking a picture? Forget about it. It’s not worth it. Sara Jessica Parker – she went through a phase of being very unpleasant. She’s calmed down. This goes in phases with paparazzi. Like someone will become really really super popular and you have to get them. And so the pressure’s on and everybody gets aggressive and nasty. So there’s always this phase of unpleasantness when there’s a big story.”

Which Celebs are the nicest to deal with?: Jennifer Lopez is nice. She smiles and poses up, she doesn’t mind. Madonna is so used to it she finds it…she doesn’t find it anything. She ignores us. She does her thing, she doesn’t smile, doesn’t say hi, she’s not unpleasant, she doesn’t hide her face. She just goes about her business. So she’s nice to deal with. Robin Williams is a very nice man. Jim Carrey can be nice sometimes. Sometimes he’s a little funny.”

Favorite Meal: “Indian food.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Chocolate.”

Funny Career Memory: “The funniest thing that ever happened to me was being assaulted and attacked by Leonardo DiCaprio’s mother, who set about me with her handbag. A big one. Over and over again. And he was standing in the background going, Leave him alone mom! Leave him alone! (Where and when?) That was last summer, down on 15th Street, outside Milk Photography studio.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Honesty. Certain level or morality. Politeness. English things – you don’t get that much in New York [smiles].”

Embarrassing Moment: “A lens fell off a camera once. That’s pretty embarrassing. In front of all the other photographers. Just dropped straight off, onto the floor. It was a big lens. (Where?) It was a pop video – Christina Aguilera was shooting down by the Brooklyn Bridge. My most embarrassing moment was I had a fantastic opportunity to shoot the Olsen twins, when they just arrived in New York City. I was in the best position. They came out of the restaurant. I shot my pictures and I looked at them, the camera was just completely out of focus. I had like five or six shots that would have sold for at least $10,000. I mean, at least. They were just so soft they were unusable. And that was right after a culmination of five, six hours of chasing and following them and standing outside restaurants and stuff. And it was a two-second photo opening and it just failed to focus. I should have pre-focused it. And I ended up getting these soft shots. Useless. Blew $10,000.”

Most Valuable Shot: “Personally, the biggest seller for me is Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake. It got a set of them right here, right where we’re standing. Heidi Klum – a good set after she had her baby. I have a partner – he shot Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin coming out of a sex shop. That made about $100,000 – enormous amount of money.”

Who are your clients: “We sell all over the world – People, Us, In Touch, Star, all the tabloids, sometimes the newspapers, but not that often. In U.K. we have an agent and sell to all the big London-based gossip paparazzi style magazines, Hello being one. They’re huge. They pay more money. Sell in Australia, Germany, Sweden, we have an agent in France. We have an agent who specializes in South and Central America. Stuff goes all over the world.”

Who’s Hot right now: “Nicole Kidman always. Tom Cruise always. Johnny Depp always. Sara Jessica Parker is always good. Liv Tyler because she’s pregnant right now is a nice little shot. Gwyneth Paltrow always. Especially if she’s with Chris Martin. The ideal scenario is to get a set of these people doing something. Especially if they don’t know that you’re there – like a set of them shopping, or filling their cars with gas. Kissing on a balcony. Oh, the biggest shot in the world right now is Julia Roberts and her two babies. If you get a good shot with all their faces, you would comfortably realize I would say $100,000 for it. If you can get it. You can’t get it. No one can get it. But if you could – $100,000, maybe more, 150.”

Who is the best in the paparazzi business now: “I don’t know, there’s a lot who do it. There’s a couple hundred out in LA. There’s about 20 or 30 in New York City. We all have our successes. We all achieve a certain amount of success financially and actual published images. The best? I don’t know. I don’t think there is one.”

This interview was conducted on 60th Street Central Park South in NYC in 2005.

DOB: March 10, 1985 In: Plymouth, Indiana

First Running Memory: “The first memory I have of a competitive running situation was not so great. Actually, I didn’t make it to the race. It was at the Blueberry Festival in Plymouth, Indiana. They have a mile race every year on Labor day. My dad (Marty) drove me to the start line – I didn’t want to do it and I started crying, pulling a tantrum. He ended up not making me run. I hated to run back in the day. So that’s my first memory. Not a good one [smiles].”

Last Book Read: “The Winner Stands Alone by Paulo Coelho.”

Running Inspirations: “When I first got into running – my older cousin had run cross country. I loved basketball but as a sixth grader going into junior high, they didn’t offer basketball. So I was like, I might as well do something – cross country – to keep me active. So that’s when I first started doing cross country. I never really liked running that much. I never really had that many role models in running, other than my family.”

Hobbies/Interests: “Pretty boring. I like to play board games, cooking and reading books. I’m really into watching Dexter, the TV show. My female teammates will have Glee nights together. We don’t do things that are super active because we’re always recovering from running or doing things like that.”

Favorite Movies: “I like all the Die Hard movies, the Alien movies. I have two older brothers so I’m more into action movies. Rocky.”

First Job: “For the grounds crew in our school system. I mowed the lawns or weed-whacked, did lines on the fields and all that.”

First Car: “Was my grandmother’s Grand Marquis (beige). Awesome, it had a huge engine. It was a really neat car.”

Current Car: “I have a 2008 Ford Escape (green). My last three vehicles have been green.”

Favorite Meal: “Rice and beans.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Non-discriminatory [laughs]. I like them all.”

Pre-race Feeling: “I used to get really nervous in high school before races. I feel in control these days. So I don’t get that anxious. I just try to take it all in. I get anxious but not nervous, these days. I look forward to commencing the race. On the start line – I think that’s the worst part. But once the gun goes off, it’s a lot better.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “Winning the U.S. Championship title this year, outdoors.”

Most Painful Moment: “Falling. Being on the track in Daegu and realizing that the race was still going and I wasn’t a part of it.”

Funny Memory: “Kind of random – two years ago in London, there was an 800 race and Anna Pierce, my teammate, and I shared a lane. And we were trying to come up with something when the camera is on us, we should do something funny. We were gonna do this air punch thing. Then the camera got on us and we were both just so nervous, deer in the headlights, we just stood there. It made us laugh. Like, afterwards, Yeah, we had it all planned out. Didn’t do anything [laughs].”

Strangest Race: “There was one year at NCAA in the final, we started the race and came around the corner. They still had all the hurdles on the track from a previous race which was kind of a shock. That was like the only weird thing that happened.”

Embarrassing Career Memory: “I don’t think so, not yet [laughs]. Hopefully not. I’m sure it will happen someday.”

Favorite Sport Outside Track and Field: “Basketball. I like to play basketball a lot.”

Favorite Place To Compete: “Anywhere in Switzerland. The country itself is very beautiful, like every race I’ve gone to – Lausanne, Lucerne, Zurich are all cities with a lake nearby, or a river. Very scenic. Really good chocolate. I’ve run a few PRs there so that helps.”

Funniest Athletes Encountered: “Alistair Cragg. He’s really funny to be around. I make fun of him because he’s such a schmoozer and I’m really not that social. He makes me laugh, he loves pulling lines on people, whether they catch it or not.”

Toughest Competitors Encountered: “There’s a lot. This year’s kind of a weird year. Nancy Langat, Maryam Yusuf Jamal, Jenny Barringer (Simpson). All these women are really great competitors. Jenny has a really great kick, that’s something I never expected from her before. I’m starting to pick up on cues from other athletes and knowing their strengths. Jamal is one of those people who will go to the front and push the pace and make you work for a win.”

Favorite Athletes To Watch: “I love watching Usain Bolt. Such a great athlete, has a great attitude, the charisma he brings is really great for sports. And anyone of my teammates. I see how hard they work, so I like to watch them race.”

Childhood Dream: “Initially I wanted to be a bagger at a grocery store. It seemed so cool to scan stuff which I still like to do at the grocery store. I always have to scan my own stuff [smiles] and put it in the bag. Outside of that, athletically, I wanted to be a WNBA player.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Honesty. Sense of humor. I think a lot of times in our sport, people take themselves too seriously. It’s funny, especially before a race, and we’re in the call room, I kinda look around: There’s the people that are very confident and sure of themselves. You can tell they’re relaxed. Composed. And then you see the people who are panicking, rushing to try to put their bib numbers on, their shoes. I think having that kind of confidence in yourself. I don’t know the exact word. But being confident in yourself and putting that in your whole package.”

(This Biofile is in the January issue of Track and Field News, page 44.)

DOB: April 15, 1955 In: New Jersey

Residence: Closter, NJ

Inspirations: Seeing Winslow Homers’ “Gulf Stream” at the Met in NYC.

Last Book Read: Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”

Favorite Movies: Dr. Zhivago, Bridge on the River Kwai, Deer Hunter, Tale of Two Cities.

First Job: Caddy at a Country Club.

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Chip Mint ice cream

Greatest Career Moment: Hasn’t occurred yet. it’s coming.

Most Painful Career Moment: Being rejected from an art organization

Pre-Work Feeling/Mindset: Everyday is exciting and could bring great things.

Funny Memory Of Painting: A horse came up behind me and looked as if it was about to EAT the paint

Favorite Quotation: “The sun never rises or sets without my thanks and praise.” – Homer

Favorite Artists: Antonio Mancini, Sorolla, and too many more to list here…

People Qualities Most Admired: Integrity, courage and conviction.

College: Rutgers University, BS Economics.

Ht: 6-foot Wt: 197 pounds

DOB: January 24, 1979 In: Mississauga, Ont.

Early Hockey Memory: “Getting dressed in the car on the way to the rink because we were always late. So I was that kid that had to put on his skates and skateguards in the car and walk into the rink, right on the ice [smiles].”

Nicknames: “TK.”

Hockey Inspirations: “Wendel Clark, my older brother (Chris).”

Last Book Read: “I’m reading the Bible right now.”

Current Car: “Ford Fusion Hybrid (platinum).”

Greatest Sports Moment: “Playing in the playoffs was probably the most fun.”

Most Painful Moment: “Every time I got sent down.”

Favorite Uniforms: “I like all the Original Six sweaters.”

Favorite Arena: “Montreal.”

Closest Hockey Friends: “A bunch. I played for a bunch of teams. So it’s a bunch of guys, too long a list.”

Funniest Players Encountered: “Probably Colby Armstrong, Marc Bergevin, Chad Larose.”

Toughest Competitors Encountered: “Iginla. (Why?) I don’t know, when he gets that look in his eye, it’s scary.”

Most Memorable Goal: “Playoff overtime winner game one against the Flyers, second round.”

Embarrassing Hockey Memory: “When I was like six, I was a goalie and there was a bird in the rink. And I was watching the bird and the team shot and it went in.”

Favorite Sport Outside Hockey: “All sports, soccer, baseball, football.”

Strangest Game: “I played in the exhibition game at the MGM Grand in Vegas. Avalanche vs. Kings. When a sheet of glass was broken and Jeremy Roenick started to dance disco at center ice [smiles]. You can find it at You Tube.”

Last Vacation: “Probably Muskoka, Ontario.”

Favorite Player(s) To Watch: “Matt Stajan and Tim Jackman.”

Personality Qualities Most Admired: “Honesty, trust.”

I’m gonna take a chance and write what I believe today at 9 a.m. on this January 6 Wednesday morning.

Don’t get your hopes up. This is all just another futile charade by the fraud. March 13 isn’t gonna happen, George Peterson and Bernard Hopkins already told us.

The fraud has his out – the random blood test the week of the fight. The fraud saw that video before the Morales loss and knows Pacquiao won’t budge on it. And Pacquiao shouldn’t.
The fraud doesn’t want this fight and he never did. It’s too risky. He didn’t even want it before what happened to Cotto on November 14. And Bob Arum was right, this fraud is indeed a “psychological coward.”

The fraud is also a known liar. Boxing would die without him. God doesn’t want him to lose. He made $12 million for Baldomir. He’ll fight Margarito any time any where, just as long as Bob Arum shows him the money. The Philippines has the best performance enhancing drugs. Pacquiao doesn’t want to fight me because he knows he can’t beat me. Cotto knows he can’t beat me, and he’s a punching bag. Bob Arum doesn’t want to do business with me. I’ll fight Mosley for $25 million guaranteed. They better be prepared to pay me $100 million if they want me to come our of retirement. $200 million liquid. $20 million for one night of work from WWE.

The fraud is a coward who lies and deceives and also manipulates his protectors to lie and deceive on his behalf. They survive because no one can accept the plain truth – this fraud is a coward who only handpicks safe, easy opponents and will never ever fight a beast who can brutally knock him out.

Bob Arum, HBO, most fans, most media refuse to believe this. They can’t believe it. They all still believe the fraud will eventually come to his senses because the money is too much. They don’t realize this is a megalomaniac fraud who is playing them all for suckers. But underneath the delusions of grandeur is a coward child who absolutely knows who can knock him out and crash the house of cards he’s carefully constructed.

This fraud knows Margarito, Cotto, Mosley and Pacquiao all will beat the shit out of him and he will use any excuse and reason to avoid being physically humiliated and exposed. He will lie and deceive, he will even bring down the sport if he has to. He will also use assassination of character tactics via baseless accusation and insinuations of steroid use to maintain his fraud.

This fraud will discredit any man, any legend that stands in his way, including Sugar Ray Leonard. He will call his family HBO racist when they speak the truth. This fraud would have used the same dirty filthy tactics to duck Duran, Leonard, Hearns, Robinson, Ali, all of whom would have been smeared by himself and his protectors as cheaters or steroids users. Just so this coward could go on his merry ducking way, polluting the sport with his garbage act.

I believe George Peterson, a colleague of Al Haymon by way of managing Paul Williams, knew of the secret plan by this fraud to duck Pacquiao as far back as December 2, well before the steroid excuse was first used. A disgusted George Peterson actually told me, point blank, this fight “is not gonna happen. Some fights aren’t meant to be made.” I believe George Peterson is disgusted at this ccowardly fraud who is a shame on our great sport, and wanted the truth to be known.

This fraud will never put himself in a position to be brutally knocked out, where the images of that brutal knockout will be shown repeatedly all over the world till the end of time, on TV replays, You Tube and photography. The fraud knows he’ll be slaughtered by Pacquiao and will not let his happen, by any means necessary.

The sport is going to lose it’s Super Bowl, all on account of this cowardly fraud. We’re talking millions upon millions, maybe billions. Just imagine how far boxing would have sunk in the 1980’s if Sugar Ray Leonard was a cowardly fraud and ducked Benitez, Duran, Hearns and Hagler. Just imagine how many millions in revenues, goodwill, positive buzz and hype would have gone down the drain if Leonard were a cowardly fraud who only handpicked safe sparring sessions, pardon I mean fights, against low-risk opposition.

The great sport might have died. Or sunk to a level of irrelevance of such sports as roller derby or pro wrestling.

After the mediation falls through today, the sport will need to take immediate action against this cowardly fraud and any entity that attempts to sell this massive fraud to the public. The future well-being of this historic sport may depend on it.

(Artwork by Michael Canja)

Ht: 5-11 Wt: 147

DOB: April 26, 1983 In: Philadelphia, PA

First Boxing Memory: ”It goes back…probably watching Oscar De La Hoya or Mike Tyson when I was little.”

Boxing Inspirations: ”Joe Frazier. I grew up in Joe Frazier’s gym. Marvis Frazier. A lot of guys at Joe Frazier’s gym when I started boxing when I was 15. Showed me how hard to work and what it takes to be champ.”

Nicknames: ”My nickname is Machine Gun, I threw a lot of punches in the amateurs.”

Favorite Movies: ”Braveheart, Apocalypto.”

Last Book Read: ”Had to be The Juicing Bible book. Nutrition.”

First Job: ”Had to be handing out pizza brochures to houses around the neighborhood.”

First Car: ”Buick Century 95 (gold).”

Current Car: ”Ford Edge 2008.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: ”Chocolate.”

Greatest Sports Moment: ”Greatest moment of my career so far…pulling out the win in my first fight with (Jesus) Soto Karass (at Cowboys Stadium in 2010).”

Most Painful Moment: ”Breaking my ankle. Jumpin’ over a tree when running. I had to walk back for a mile.”

Funny Boxing Memory: ”Can’t think of one right now.”

Do You Have An Embarrassing Boxing Memory: ”Not that I know.”

Favorite Boxers To Watch: ”Nonito Donaire. Seems like he stays in very good shape. His power is unbelievable at the weight that he fights. His reflexes and quickness are very good.”

Favorite Sport Outside Boxing: ”I like basketball and football about the same.”

Which Fight Were You At Your Best: ”My sharpest performance had to be – I forget the guy’s name. My first fight when I fought in Las Vegas (KO 1 Gilbert Guevara in 2007).”

Strangest Fight: ”I got my hand caught on the rope one time. And got an eight-count from it. As an amateur.”

Toughest Opponent: ”Had to be Soto Karass. Just wouldn’t stop coming.”

People Qualities Most Admired: ”Honesty. Humbleness. Loyalty.”