You might not know it – I know ESPN doesn’t know it – but there
are actually sports stories occurring this summer that don’t
revolve around Mike Vick sniffing around for a new team, Brett
Favre’s cold feet and Plaxico Burress’ impending jail sentence. All
three happen to be NFL-related, which either shows just how popular
football is no matter the season or how dull the months of July and
August can be for sports other than baseball.
You might not know it – I know ESPN doesn’t know it – but there are actually sports stories occurring this summer that don’t revolve around Mike Vick sniffing around for a new team, Brett Favre’s cold feet and Plaxico Burress’ impending jail sentence. All three happen to be NFL-related, which either shows just how popular football is no matter the season or how dull the months of July and August can be for sports other than baseball.
Either way, here’s a break from the Worldwide Leader of Monotony and some local storylines currently taking place:
– Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero’s IBF junior lightweight title fight against South African Malcolm Klassen is creeping closer. Set for Aug. 22 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Guerrero is working hard at camp in Big Bear, a locale known for its seclusion and elevation. I’ll be heading down there next week to follow The Ghost for a day, starting at the crack of dawn. I’m told he begins each morning with breakfast before going on a long run around 5 a.m. Anyone who knows the hours I keep is surely dubious that I will be awake to see this run. Coffee, Red Bull, 5-Hour Energy – whatever it takes, I will be following The Ghost from start to finish. The day of training is expected to include sparring, possibly with current welterweight champ and fellow Golden Boy fighter “Sugar” Shane Mosley.
We will post a video online so you can see how Guerrero has been spending the last six weeks – he will be leaving Big Bear for Houston the following Saturday.
– You might have noticed Guerrero’s gym in Gilroy has been moved from Welburn Ave. to Monterey Road. Apparently, there was some kind of dispute about rent with the Welburn landlord, which is why the fighter’s gym was relocated. Not a bad move considering the new gym apparently has more space and extra eyes should be able see the facility now that it’s on “Main Street.”
– Guerrero’s camp says The Ghost has plans to go mobile, allowing greater access to the fighter than ever before. If you have a cell phone capable of playing videos, I’m told you’ll be a big fan of the technology. More details to come on Friday.
– Guerrero has to win his fight against Klassen to become a champ for the third time in his career – a notable achievement for any fighter, let alone one that is only 26 – but the suspense of who he would fight in his next bout has already been quashed. Mzonke Fana recorded a sixth-round stoppage of Jasper Seroka last Friday in Johannesburg, South Africa, making Fana the mandatory challenger for whomever emerges victorious on Aug. 22.
– Jeff Garcia is in the midst of his first training camp with the Oakland Raiders, and with almost a week down it sounds like the feisty veteran quarterback isn’t going to make things easy on incumbent start and former No. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell.
What I find interesting about the supposed quarterback controversy – I believe Russell will start the season under center no matter how much better of a chance Garcia gives the team to win games – is the way each media outlet in the Bay Area uses Garcia’s quotes.
From my experience, Garcia is the type who will answer a question several different ways in the same answer, leaving a reporter to pick out the best part. As a reporter, this is the way you wish everyone would respond to a question. But it can also lead to outsiders getting a snapshot that doesn’t exactly paint the whole picture.
Here’s an example of how several media outlets quoted Garcia: “My job is to make certain decisions hard. JaMarcus’ job is to make the decision easy.”
The quote makes sense, but it sounds a little confrontational. Here is how Steve Corkran of Bay Area News Group quoted Garcia in his article:
“My job is to make certain decisions hard. JaMarcus’ job is to make the decision easy and to go out there and be the guy that this team has invested in to be, and that’s to be a leader, to be a player that is accountable and that everybody looks toward to basically carry the team on his shoulders and lead this team to victory. That’s the key here.”
I’ll be at Raiders camp on Tuesday so stay tuned for video of practice and a full interview with Garcia later this week.
