‘Chuvalo vs. Clay Turns 50’

“It was the biggest fight in Canadian boxing history and it turned George Chuvalo into a source of national pride, even if he lost the one-sided contest to the man they call “The Greatest”, Muhammad Ali. “Chuvalo’s epic 15-round bout with Ali at ‘Maple Leaf Gardens’ on March 29, 1966, transformed the lightly-regarded Toronto fighter into a symbol of courage and determination, and lifted him into the top rank of contenders during a golden age of heavyweights.

‘Walking Away From $13 Million’

“Details about the White Sox/Adam Laroche saga have been trickling in since the story broke last week. Here’s what we think we know: Laroche, who was an atrocious baseball player last season, was asked not to bring his 14-year-old son, Drake, to the clubhouse as much, or at all (details still seem unclear) after a number of his teammates had reportedly complained about the son’s continual presence in the clubhouse, to the team VP Ken Williams. Offended by Williams’ subsequent request, Laroche abruptly decided to retire, leaving $13 million on the table, sparking a nation-wide controversy. “This controversy is overblown and misguided.

‘The Strongest Man in the World!’

“Louis Cyr (born Cyprien-Noé Cyr, 11 October 1863 – 10 November 1912) was a famous French-Canadian strongman, with a career spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries. “His recorded feats, including lifting 500 pounds (227 kg) with one finger and backlifting 4,337 pounds (1,967 kg), show Cyr to be — according to former ‘International Federation of Body Building & Fitness’ chairman Ben Weider — the strongest man ever to have lived.

‘Tear Down The Wall’

On March 22, 2016, the Tampa Bay Rays will play an exhibition baseball game in Cuba:

“The game will be the first involving a major North American professional sports league in Cuba since the U.S. began reestablishing diplomatic ties with the country early last year. It will be played in Havana at ‘Estadio Latinoamericano’, Cuba’s largest stadium…

“MLB not only seeks to play a symbolic role in the reopening of relations between the two countries for the first time since 1961. The league is also eyeing the longer-term goal of easing the often-dangerous path Cuban-born players take to reach the major leagues…”

–‘Tampa Bay Rays to Play in Cuba’,
BRIAN COSTA, Wall Street Journal, March 1, 2016

http://www.wsj.com/articles/tampa-bay-rays-to-play-cuban-national-team-1456872628 Here’s some of the background…

‘This Cuban Defector Changed Baseball. Nobody Remembers’ 

‘The Dark Side of Cuban Ballplayer Smuggling’

‘MLB agent Bart Hernandez arrested’

“Agent Bart Hernandez was arrested…after a federal grand jury indicted him on human-trafficking charges related to the smuggling of Seattle Mariners outfielder Leonys Martin into the United States from Cuba, according to sources and documents obtained by ‘Yahoo Sports’. “The sealed indictment, filed in a Florida federal court Feb. 12, alleges that Hernandez – who now works for ‘Magnus Sports’, the agency founded by singer Marc Anthony – conspired with smugglers to bring Martin into the United States in August, 2010… If convicted on conspiracy and financial-gain charges, Hernandez faces up to 20 years in prison, with a minimum sentence of three years. 

‘Rags-To-Riches Mascot Lives On’

‘Breaking: Hank the Dog is alive!!’ “The Milwaukee Brewers just held a press conference to tell the world that Hank the Dog — their beloved unofficial mascot for the past two years — is not, in fact, dead. He wasn’t even mostly dead. He is very much alive.

“This was necessary, we have noted, because the eagle eyes at ‘Brew Crew Ball’ noticed some differences between pictures of the Hank we met in 2014 and more recent pictures of him, in which he appeared to be fluffier and fatter and, well, whiter than he used to look {See below…}. That’s understandable, the Brewers noted today. He’s simply better taken care of and better fed now that he is a Wisconsin Institution than when he was a stray on the streets of West Phoenix. 

‘Cheating In Cycling…Yet Again’

“Pro cycling was rocked…when 19-year-old Belgian rider Femke Van den Driessche, competing in the cyclocross world championships, was caught with a bicycle that had a motor hidden in the frame…” “Cycling officials…detained a bicycle ridden during the cyclocross world championships in Zolder, Belgium, to investigate “technological fraud”, and on Sunday they confirmed the bike had a concealed motor in the frame. 

‘Base Ball’s Origins — A Clearer Picture’

‘Back on the Auction Block, a 19th-Century Document Essential to Baseball’s Rules’ “When it was auctioned in 1999, a document called “Laws of Base Ball” had no known author, but obvious significance. Within its pages were fundamental rules, like nine men on a side and 90-foot basepaths.

“But the “Laws” — and two documents inspired by it — sold for only $12,650 in a ‘Sotheby’s’ auction devoted to books and manuscripts.

“Now, the buyer is turning into a seller in an online auction by ‘SCP Auctions’ that will begin on April 6. And the author of “Laws” has a name: Daniel Adams, known as ‘Doc’, a significant figure in mid-19th-century baseball who has come to be viewed as a founding father of the game.