Here's something you might be interested in.
I was a big fan of Alexis Arguello, since I'm a fan of the sweet science, and he was one of the best fighters around. He won titles in three different weight classes, before that was a real common thing to do (albeit still a hard thing to do).
I remember him once fighting Aaron Pryor. That thing went 13 or 14 rounds, and Alexis got rocked. It's one of the best fights I've ever seen.
When I was working overnights at the post office, my third day I had to work with a cute redhead. She was wearing tight, faded blue jeans. And she had an Alexis Arguello shirt. I started telling her a boxing story, and she looked back with a blank stare. I pointed to her shirt and she replied, "Oh this. I'm not a boxing fan, but I was hanging out with him for a few months and he gave it to me." I said, "Wow! That's cool! You hung out with Arguello. He's a great boxer." Her response to that was, "I don't know about any of that. We just did lots of coke and slept together."
It was my turn to look at her with a blank stare.
Years later I would read about him having problems with drugs, and even being suicidal on a few occasions. But last Wednesday, at age 57, he shot himself in the chest.
Another athlete to die from a gun recently, was NFL quarterback Steve McNair. He was a stud athlete who I made the mistake of picking on my fantasy football team one year. I thought I'd get a lot of rushing yards (which is rare from a quarterback). But he was injured most of the season.
One story with him involves a local newscaster. I believe it was Bill Griffith at Channel 10.
When McNair was in college, he had the nickname "Air McNair." A producer working at the station talked Griffith into getting a patent for that name. It was something cheap, maybe $250. Their logic was once McNair went pro, they'd be able to market items with that name.
And that's what happened. But it was ruled that, since college athletes can't make money on their name, he wasn't allowed to patent it. So, Griffith had to give back the name "Air McNair."
(Recently Jay Leno was involved in a similar situation, when a person who had a real estate business had the web name "TheJayLenoShow.com". He had to give that to Leno)
Anyway, I usually don't have sympathy for NFL players involved in shootings. They're usually thugs that are in a nightclub and get into some kind of argument. And maybe some will find it hard to garner sympathy for McNair. After all, he was married and a father to four sons.
The 39-year-old started having an affair with a 20-year-old that worked at the Dave & Buster's their family used to dine at.
He bought a car with her, and she told friends they were going to get married.
Obviously, this gal wasn't right in the head. Any time you resort to shooting, that's a safe bet. But I wonder what McNair is thinking. If he's not happy in his marriage, he can get out of it. And even if he isn't married, he should realize that having an affair with someone that young probably isn't a good idea. Especially if you're making promises to her that you don't intend to keep.
And it's really a shame that four boys lose their father. It's also a shame that a guy that was such a stellar athlete, and a decent guy off the field (often giving his time and money to various charities), is now going to be remembered -- not for all that, or for coming one yard short of winning a Super Bowl -- but for being shot by his mistress.
I was a big fan of Alexis Arguello, since I'm a fan of the sweet science, and he was one of the best fighters around. He won titles in three different weight classes, before that was a real common thing to do (albeit still a hard thing to do).
I remember him once fighting Aaron Pryor. That thing went 13 or 14 rounds, and Alexis got rocked. It's one of the best fights I've ever seen.
When I was working overnights at the post office, my third day I had to work with a cute redhead. She was wearing tight, faded blue jeans. And she had an Alexis Arguello shirt. I started telling her a boxing story, and she looked back with a blank stare. I pointed to her shirt and she replied, "Oh this. I'm not a boxing fan, but I was hanging out with him for a few months and he gave it to me." I said, "Wow! That's cool! You hung out with Arguello. He's a great boxer." Her response to that was, "I don't know about any of that. We just did lots of coke and slept together."
It was my turn to look at her with a blank stare.
Years later I would read about him having problems with drugs, and even being suicidal on a few occasions. But last Wednesday, at age 57, he shot himself in the chest.
Another athlete to die from a gun recently, was NFL quarterback Steve McNair. He was a stud athlete who I made the mistake of picking on my fantasy football team one year. I thought I'd get a lot of rushing yards (which is rare from a quarterback). But he was injured most of the season.
One story with him involves a local newscaster. I believe it was Bill Griffith at Channel 10.
When McNair was in college, he had the nickname "Air McNair." A producer working at the station talked Griffith into getting a patent for that name. It was something cheap, maybe $250. Their logic was once McNair went pro, they'd be able to market items with that name.
And that's what happened. But it was ruled that, since college athletes can't make money on their name, he wasn't allowed to patent it. So, Griffith had to give back the name "Air McNair."
(Recently Jay Leno was involved in a similar situation, when a person who had a real estate business had the web name "TheJayLenoShow.com". He had to give that to Leno)
Anyway, I usually don't have sympathy for NFL players involved in shootings. They're usually thugs that are in a nightclub and get into some kind of argument. And maybe some will find it hard to garner sympathy for McNair. After all, he was married and a father to four sons.
The 39-year-old started having an affair with a 20-year-old that worked at the Dave & Buster's their family used to dine at.
He bought a car with her, and she told friends they were going to get married.
Obviously, this gal wasn't right in the head. Any time you resort to shooting, that's a safe bet. But I wonder what McNair is thinking. If he's not happy in his marriage, he can get out of it. And even if he isn't married, he should realize that having an affair with someone that young probably isn't a good idea. Especially if you're making promises to her that you don't intend to keep.
And it's really a shame that four boys lose their father. It's also a shame that a guy that was such a stellar athlete, and a decent guy off the field (often giving his time and money to various charities), is now going to be remembered -- not for all that, or for coming one yard short of winning a Super Bowl -- but for being shot by his mistress.