A bite to the finish...
The date was June 28th, 1997 when Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield squared off in a rematch of their previous heavyweight title bout (won by Holyfield) and it went something like this:
After the contract was signed for a rematch with Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson knew that this was a fight he could really sink his teeth into. He was hungry for a rematch and this fight had all the earmarks of a brawl, a bite to the finish and Tyson was biting mad to get at Holyfield because he wanted a piece of him. Tyson would bite off more than he could chew. I mean he just wanted to chew the fat with Holyfield and even if it meant trouble for Iron Mike, he knew Evander wouldn't be able to make a hearing on the fight if there was one...
On the other hand, you might say that Holyfield was bit to be tied. He was all ears before the fight but once it started he said the noise of the crowd was ear splitting. Meanwhile Tyson had an aural fixation and figured, hey, ear today...gone tomorrow. All he would do is ask Holyfield to lend him an ear. You might say all he wanted to do was take the ear out of Holyfield's sails...
The bite, uh-fight ended with the disqualification of Tyson and permanent banishment from fighting in Nevada, the site of this fiasco. Tyson however was invited to be keynote speaker at the American Dental Association's annual meeting in Bicuspid Peak, Nevada and that's the tooth, uh-truth...
More June 28 Memories...
1894] Congress establishes Labor Day as a holiday for federal employees on the first Monday of September (you go Congress !)...
1914] Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife Sofia did not have a good day. They were assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serb nationalist, causing World War I...
1917] The Raggedy Ann doll is born (Happy 89th Birthday R.A.)...
1919] The Treaty of Versailles is signed in France, ending World War I, 5 years to the day it started (see 1914 timeline)...
1942] The Dumont TV Network signs on, on flagship station WABD (Channel 5) in New York City...
1949] The last U.S. combat troops are called home from Korea, leaving only a handful (500) of advisers...
1950] North Korean forces capture Seoul, South Korea (hmmm, any connection with item above ? Ya think ?)...
1951] Two brilliant years of TV comedy begin as "Amos 'n Andy" premieres on CBS-TV...
1957] After Cincinnati Reds fans stuff the All-Star ballot boxes causing both deserving and undeserving (and underachieving) members of Reds to make the starting team, Commissioner Ford Frick removes George Crowe, Gus Bell and Wally Post from the team and replaces them with Stan Musial, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron (HELLO ! This is the best argument for managers and coaches to pick the teams, not the fans)...
1964] The Beach Boys have their 1st #1 hit, "I Get Around". They have to wait awhile, oh, until '98 to have another one ("Kokomo")...
1967] Israel declares Jerusalem reunified unders its sovereignty following its capture of the Arab sector in the Six Day War...
1971] Rick Wise of the Phillies not only pitches a no-hitter against the Reds - he hits 2 home runs...
1971] The Supreme Court overturns the draft evasion charges against Muhammad Ali by unanimous (8-0) vote...
1975] Rod Serling dies after open-heart surgery at the age of 50 (I met the man at LAX airport and he told me he had sold all his rights to "The Twilight Zone" for one million dollars. At the time he was working on "Night Gallery". He started in radio in upstate NY and we started talking about the only thing we had in common, radio. Several months after that chance meeting he had an episode on NG about a disc jockey (played by Mickey Rooney) who sold his soul to the devil. Maybe that conversation triggered something in him. I like to think it did)...
1976] Women enter the U.S. Air Force Academy...
1977] Bill Conti has the #1 hit, "Gonna Fly Now (from the movie 'Rocky')...
1984] Dwight "Dewey" Evans doubles, triples, makes 3 outs, singles and then hits a 3-run walkoff home run (for the cycle) in the Red Sox 9-6 win over Seattle (just another day at the office)...
1990] Susan Lucci loses for the 11th time at the Emmy Daytime Awards...
1995] At the New Jersey Devils Stanley Cup Victory Party goalie Chris Terreri holds up a "Nashville? NO WAY!" sign as rumors circulate about a move for the team to Nashville...
1996] The Citadel votes to admit women ending a 153-year-old "men only" policy...
1997] Mike Tyson makes a snack out of Evander Holyfield's ear (featear story)...
2000] Elian Gonzalez returns to his native Cuba (with his father) 7 months after he was cast adrift in the Florida Straits on a journey to Florida...
2004] The U.S.-led coalition transfers sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government 2 days ahead of schedule to keep the bloodshed down...
2004] On the same day, the U.S. resumes direct diplomatic ties with Libya after a 24-year break...
[In order to ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Commentary...
First I'd like to express my best wishes to Peter Gammons of ESPN and previously a Boston Globe sports reporter who is in the media wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Peter suffered an aneurysm yesterday and is in intensive care at a Boston hospital. Our best wishes go out to Peter for a complete recovery. His insight on all-things baseball and love of the game will be missed during his convalescence. Hurry back Peter. Baseball fans everywhere need your knowledge and passion...
There is a story in today's Globe (one of my links) about WEEI and WRKO selling naming rights to the Red Sox radio network for several million dollars a year. This is a great idea in an era that local radio is barely surviving. If stadium rights can be sold, why not network broadcasts ? Sasha Talcott's article explains that it would sound something like this: "We'll be right back on the WEEI/WRKO (Company Name) Red Sox Radio Network". The announcement would air on what the station's hope will grow from the current 66 to 100 affiliated stations. The sponsor's name would also be incorporated into the play-by-play action (trivia questions, call to the bullpen, etc.). Talk about a way to increase your revenue ? Sounds like a winner to me...
"Happy Birthday, happy birthday"...
1926] Mel Brooks...
1948] Kathy Bates...
1960] NFL Hall of Famer John Elway...
1966] John Cusack...
1966] Mary Stuart Masterson...
1967] Gil ("Ally McBeal") Bellows...
[Today is the 179th day of 2006 with 186 days remaining in the year and 6 days until July 4th]
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