Late May's Pontifications

Boxing's Middleweight Division Taking Shape

There aren't really many options left for Jermain Taylor at this point. The Little Rock native can either fight undefeated Kelly Pavlik (Youngstown, Ohio) in the middleweight class, or step it up eight pounds to junior middleweight for a challenge with southpaw Joe Calzaghe, who's also undefeated.

"We'll fight whoever's got the most money!" Taylor hollered after his split decision win over Cory Spinks.

And who's to blame him for that? Still, it's easy getting the feeling that Taylor's camp is stretching his reign at the top for all it's worth, a sign potentially he knows himself it's not going to last for long.

Pavlik ripped up #2 contender Edison Miranda in the undercard on Saturday, in a fight where the two fighers consistently engaged each other. It was far more entertaining than the supposed "main" event between Taylor and Cory Spinks. Spinks danced and then dance some more, forcing Taylor to methodically track him into corners for his limited punch opportunities.

Exciting stuff it was not, but Taylor scored better on two of three judges' cards, ensuring he would keep his middleweight crowns for at least another boxing season.

But it may not be for much longer than that. Both Kelly Pavlik and Joe Calzaghe present serious challenges for Taylor. They are sturdy, upright punchers with stalking styles, and Taylor would have trouble avoiding heavy exchanges with either man. You can only take on the Kassim Oumas and Cory Spinkses of the world for so long. Eventually, Taylor's going to have to fight someone who actually has the ability to hurt him.

"Bore-ing! Bore-ing!" was the FedEx Forum chant at Taylor on Saturday night.

Boring it was, but maybe---unfortunately---that's just Jermain Taylor's way.


First Interleague Baseball Weekend Wrapped

Over the weekend, three clear-cut diamond observations dawned:

#1: The Yanks are sunk this year---already---for real. What do you get when you add the following four players together: Bobby Abreu, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Jason Giambi? Answer: Really, really, really old. New York's offense is so lifeless, A-Rod's monster numbers don't nearly make up for it. By the time the Rocket gets here, it may be too late. On that note, it's probably already too late to save Joe Torre.

#2: The Mets are good, legitimately. The offense is deep and speedy, with Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and David Wright as serious anchors. And the starting pitching ain't half as bad as originally advertised. Youngsters John Maine and Oliver Perez have found their major league grooves, while Tom Glavine is bearing down hard on three hundred wins. If Pedro Martinez comes back anything like his old self in July, be very afraid. Barring a spat of major injuries, it's hard to see how the 'Mazins won't have a place in October.

#3: The Cardinals are down and out, with a thud. It's too bad, considering St. Louis has the ability to be so much better than this. But the bat struggles of Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen have revealed a lineup with not nearly enough pop in it behind King Albert. Honestly, there's no reason any other team should even pitch to him right now. And what club can survive season ending injuries to its #1 and #2 starters? Not many. Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder could have help stabilize this thing, but that's crying over spilled milk. They say all things even out in the end. Maybe this is the baseball gods' way of making up for last year's Redbird postseason magic. it's getting late early for Tony LaRussa's crew.

-JAB