TERRY MOSHER
TYSON FURY
TOP OF THE TOWN – Wow, was I wrong. I believed Deontay Wilder had too much of a punch to not beat Tyson Fury in their heavyweight boxing match. I started to worry about my early prediction when I watched some of the workouts of the two. Fury seemed in a better training situation and certainly had a lot of confidence going into Saturday’s fight. He’s a good boxer, but he and his trainer decided to become more of a bully and go after Wilder from the start. It was a very smart decision, and Wilder could not unload his dangerous right while backing up. The fight became a mismatch and Fury indeed gave a beat-down to Wilder, who lost for the first time in 44 fights. The beat-down reminded me of my own beat-down. We had a box-off in my eighth-grade PE Class with coach-teacher Charlie Miller. I won all my fights, including a beat-down of my opponent in the semifinals, knocking him down numerous times. I was good with great hand-eye coordination and quick hands. But in the championship match against Don Martin I was toast. Martin overwhelmed me and it didn’t take Miller long to step in and stop it. Years later I was back in my old hometown for a visit from the West Coast and stopped in my old watering hole for a beer. I was sitting at a table drinking my Iroquois beer when this voice at the bar started making disparaging remarks about me. He had his back turned on me but I recognized the voice. It was Martin. I didn’t want another beat-down, so I got up and left. Best decision I had made up to that point of my life. Martin died four years ago. As for Wilder, he has the option to accept a rematch with Fury. He has to make the decision within 30 days from last Saturday. My recommendation to Wilder is to get up from your chair, go out the door and don’t look back. You won’t be able to beat a committed Fury. He’s too big, too powerful, too quick and too fast. Go grab a beer and relax with your millions from the fight. … The Washington Huskies (13-15, 3-12 in the Pac-12) have won three games in their last 16 and what is remarkable is that two of the wins were by 32 points (USC) and 35 (California). About the only thing you can say about that is every dog has its day. The Huskies, it appears, have had two in the last 16. They finish their lackluster regular season Friday at home against Washington State and on the road the next week against Arizona and Arizona State. Forty years ago there was a Miracle on Ice and another miracle could put the Huskies into the NCAA Tournament with four straight wins in the Pac-12 Tournament that starts March 11 in Las Vegas with the Huskies, if they finish 12th and last in the conference, facing the No. 5 conference team, which right now is Arizona (19-8, 9-5), in the first round. Win you advance, lose you go home. … I was impressed with Jarred Kelenic, the 20-year-old outfielder that was originally drafted by the New York Mets in 2018 with the sixth overall pick and signed for $4.5 million. The Mariners got him in December for 2018 in the deal that sent Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz and $20 million to the Mets. The Mariners also got Jay Bruce and pitchers Gerson Bautista, Justin Dunn and Anthony Swarzak in the deal. Bruce was dealt to Philadelphia in June of 2019 and Swarzak was traded a month earlier to Atlanta. The Mariners got from Philadelphia third baseman Jack Scheiner, who hit .271 with 14 home runs with Advanced A Modesto in the California League last year. Bautista and Dunn are in spring training with the Mariners and Kelenic hit a combined .291 with 23 home runs last season in Modesto and doubled-A Arkansas. For me, Kelenic looks ready to play with the Mariners this season. But we’ll see. … I’m tired of the continuing debate over Houston’s sign-stealing controversy. Two Little League organizations, one in Pennsylvania and the other in California have banned their teams from using the name Astros. And various MLB players have weighed in to demand that baseball penalize Astros players and take away their 2017 World Series championship. I say shut up and play. Sign stealing has been going on since the game was invented. And it will continue to be used. As for adults in the Little League organizations, what are they thinking? Let the kids play with the Astros name. You are just causing more publicity for the name. Let it go. Play on. … Now I have a real concern with the coronavirus that is spreading all over the globe and is not yet listed as a pandemic, but certainly is headed that way. Unless some researcher finds a treatment for it we may be in serious trouble. The World Health organization (WHO) says there is a drug (remdesivir) being tested that may stop it. The results will be known in two weeks. In the meantime, keep calm.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.