Ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman tells North Korean leader: 'You have a friend for life'

theglobeandmail
Ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman hung out Thursday with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un on the third day of his improbable journey to Pyongyang, watching the Harlem Globetrotters with the leader and later dining and drinking with him at his palace.

“You have a friend for life,” Rodman told Kim before a crowd of thousands at a gymnasium where they sat side by side, chatting as they watched players from North Korea and the U.S. play on mixed teams, Alex Detrick, a spokesman for the New York-based VICE media company, told The Associated Press.

Rodman arrived in Pyongyang on Monday with three members of the professional Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, VICE correspondent Ryan Duffy and a production crew to shoot an episode on North Korea for a new weekly HBO series.

The unlikely encounter makes Rodman the most high-profile American to meet Kim since the young North Korean leader took power in December 2011, and takes place against a backdrop of tension between Washington and Pyongyang. North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test just two weeks ago, making clear the provocative act was a warning to the United States to drop what it considers a “hostile” policy toward the North.

Kim, a diehard basketball fan, told the former Chicago Bulls star he hoped the visit would break the ice between the United States and North Korea, VICE founder Shane Smith said.

Dressed in a blue Mao suit, Kim laughed and slapped his hands on the table before him during the game as he sat nearly knee to knee with Rodman. Rodman, the man who once turned up in a wedding dress to promote his autobiography, wore a dark suit and dark sunglasses, but still had on his nose rings and other piercings. A can of Coca-Cola sat on the table before him in photos shared with AP by VICE.

The two chatted in English, but Kim primarily spoke in Korean through a translator, Smith said after speaking to the VICE crew in Pyongyang.

“They bonded during the game,” Smith said by telephone from New York after speaking to the crew. “They were both enjoying the crazy shots, and the Harlem Globetrotters were putting on quite a show.”

The surprise visit by the flamboyant Hall of Famer known as “The Worm” makes him an unlikely ambassador at a time when North Koreans are girding for battle with the U.S. Just last week, Kim guided frontline troops in military exercises.

North Korea and the U.S. fought on opposite sides of the three-year Korean War, which ended in a truce in 1953. The foes never signed a peace treaty, and do not have diplomatic relations.

Thursday’s game ended in a 110-110 draw, with two Americans playing on each team alongside North Koreans, Detrick said. The Xinhua News Agency first reported on the game, citing witnesses who attended.

After the game, Rodman addressed Kim in a speech before a crowd of tens of thousands of North Koreans, telling him, “You have a friend for life,” Detrick said.

At a lavish dinner at Kim’s palace, the leader plied the group with food and drinks as the group made round after round of toasts, members of the delegation said.

“Um ... so Kim Jong Un just got the (hash)VICEonHBO crew wasted ... no really, that happened,” VICE producer Jason Mojica wrote on his Twitter feed from Pyongyang.

Duffy later invited Kim to visit the United States, a proposal met with hearty laughter from the North Korean leader, Smith said, adding that he was “speechless” after hearing from Duffy how well the dinner went.

Rodman’s trip is the second attention-grabbing U.S. visit this year to North Korea. Google’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, made a four-day trip in January to Pyongyang, but did not meet the North Korean leader.

Extending an invitation to a man known as much for his piercings, tattoos and bad behaviour as for his basketball may seem inexplicable. But Kim is known to love the NBA, and has promoted sports since becoming leader.

“We knew that he’s a big lover of basketball, especially the Bulls, and it was our intention going in that we would have a good-will mission of something that’s fun,” Smith said. “A lot of times, things just are serious and everybody’s so concerned with geopolitics that we forget just to be human beings.”

Rodman’s agent, Darren Prince, said Rodman wasn’t concerned about criticism about making a visit to an enemy nation.

“Dennis called me last night and said it’s been a great experience and he made this trip out of the love of the USA ,” he said. “It’s all about peace and love.”

Sociology of soccer?

understandingsociety

By Daniel Little

What might be involved in doing sociological research on an extended and multilayered social phenomenon like soccer?

It might seem as though the answer to this question follows pretty directly from the earlier post on the ontology of soccer: soccer is not a single integrated social "thing", but rather a layered agglomeration of a number of different sociological structures, activities, and processes that intersect in the sport and its role in contemporary society. This implies that there are many different social science research questions that could be posed in this domain, but there is no single "sociology of soccer". But in fact the world of soer seems to be a rich field for sociological research. Here are some of the questions that might interest a sociologist about soccer and its role in society:

• Why is this sport so important for the people of a number of countries in the world?
• How does the sport compare in its many social roles to other popular mass sports in other countries -- American football, cricket, or rugby?
• Are there distinctive fan dynamics at soccer games that lead to more frequent riots, racist acts, and other incidents of uncivil behavior?
• What is the class composition of soccer fans in Great Britain, Spain, and Turkey?
• How do the imperatives of advertising and mass media affect the sport?
• Does soccer perform an important social function in various societies?
• Is there a distinctive soccer mentality among fans in Madrid, London, or Milan? What are the markers of this mentality?

These topics fall into several distinct angles of approach that sociologists might take to studying global soccer. What are some of the structural and ideological factors that causally influence the sport and its field? What are the experience and subjective dynamics of the populations who consume soccer, the fans? What are the internal structures and dynamics of the sport? And what social effects does the global soccer ensemble produce?

Once we have parsed the topic in this way, the question of doing a sociology of soccer looks a lot like the bodies of research that exist for many other sets of complex multilayered social phenomena -- for example, urbanization, ethnic violence, healthcare systems, higher education, or the labor union movement.

This leaves ample room for a variety of research questions and methods. Qualitative, comparative, and quantitative methods all have a place in this domain; and research questions can naturally range from phenomenological to causal to institutional.

It is apparent that the sociology of sport is a very small field within the broader discipline of sociology; in 2001 there were only 350 members of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport. And, with all due respect to those sociologists who pursue topics in this area, it is not a high-prestige area of the discipline. If we were thinking of the discipline of sociology along the lines of Bourdieu's theory of the field (link), young researchers would need to have very good reasons to consider choosing a topic in this area for their dissertation work. But the point of the discussion here is to underline a key point: sociological insight can be discovered in the most mundane parts of the social world. And it would seem that the world of global soccer gives play to some of the most important themes in sociology today: race, gender, class; social mobilization; taste and culture; social networks; and many others.

It is interesting to me to learn that Pierre Bourdieu devoted some attention to the sociology of sport. Here are some citations from a course on the sociology of sport in the department of kinesiology at the University of Maryland (link):

Bourdieu, P. (1978). Sport and social class. Social Science Information, 17(6), 819-840.
Bourdieu, P. (1988). Program for a sociology of sport. Sociology of Sport Journal, 5(2), 153-161.
Bourdieu, P. (1990). Programme for a sociology of sport. In In other words: Essays toward a reflexive sociology (pp. 156-167). Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1993). How can one be a sports fan? In S. During (Ed.), The cultural studies reader (pp. 339-356). London: Routledge.

Here is a short description of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS) (link) on the ASA website.

Is "soccer" an extended social thing?

understandingsociety

By Daniel Little

Some social entities are compact and well bounded -- FEMA as a federal emergency bureau, the IBM Corporation, the Southern Poverty Law Center. In each case we can identify the people, institutions, and powers that constitute the entity. But what about social configurations that don't have this degree of coherence? Can we nonetheless regard these sprawling and heterogeneous social configurations as "things" in the social world?

Take as an example the sprawling worldwide phenomenon of competitive soccer. Soccer is an amalgam of many kinds of social things. It a sport governed by a set of internationally recognized rules. It is a set of firms (teams) which employ persons (players) to compete with each other. It is an extended network of youth leagues that engage in organized competition. It is a complex and shifting set of images and representations in media, film, and popular culture. It is a much larger population of children and youth who play pick-up games with each other, cheer for their favorite professional teams, and wear sports gear representing various athletes and teams.

So what aspects of these social realities hang together enough to constitute a social system or structure?

There seem to be a number of different kinds of social reality mentioned here.

(1) There are formal institutions: FIMA, the official rules of the sport, the businesses that employ and manage the players. These institutions embody a number of sets of rules of behavior within the sport and surrounding the sport.

(2) Second, there is a distributed body of knowledge through a very diverse and multinational population. Various people have expert knowledge of the rules and tactics of the sport. A wider group of people have a fund of knowledge of these rules and tactics, and also a fund of knowledge about the teams and players. There are sports marketers, entrepreneurs, schedulers, trainers, and agents who support the business activities of the sport, and they too have bodies of specialized knowledge.

(3) There are countless specialized individuals throughout the world who play distinctive roles and who orient their behavior to the reality of soccer as it confronts them: players, owners, coaches, physicians, officials, agents, promoters, investors, and so on.

(4) There are institutions and practices through which participants learn their roles and refine their skills.

These various bodies of social activity also have a number of systemic relations with each other. Children learn about soccer through television, school competition, and interactions with each other. Owners influence the evolution of the rules of the game. Apparel makers promote the stars. The workings of the mass media and the schooling institutions have important effects on the knowledge system of young players and fans.

The institutions governing the professional play of the game interact with the commerce of the game: broadcasters, networks, sports agents. These interactions take the form of dynamic networks of individuals with interests and resources through which they pursue their interests. These are social-causal relations that proceed through the strategic efforts of individuals with varying levels of power and influence.

So what about the original question -- is soccer a social thing? I'm inclined to argue that it isn't, and that it is more reasonable to think of it as a congeries of interrelated social phenomena. The internal components are too heterogeneous and too densely interconnected to non-soccer stuff to make the whole an entity. And the soccer world is too lacking of clear boundaries from other social activities to comfortably count as a thing.

This analysis seems to work for a wide range of other social nouns as well: the theatre world, cybercrime, higher education, human trafficking, and so on, more or less indefinitely. We know what we are talking about when we use these nouns. But they refer to widely heterogeneous sets of social activity, practice, and institution. It is hard to think of analogous terms in the natural sciences, but perhaps some concepts from biology come closest. Concepts like habitat, ecology, and predator-prey system seem to encompass some of the same features of complexity and open-endedness that characterize "soccer". It is not a perfect analogy, however, and the social umbrella terms ontology seem substantially more open-ended.

This discussion perhaps illustrates some of the difficulties that arise in articulating a detailed account of a social ontology. An ontology is intended to tell us what exists in a particular realm. But in the case of the social world it appears that there appear to be gray areas -- nouns that we use comfortably, but that don't clearly succeed in referring to a distinctive thing or set of things.

MODEL MURDERED: Pistorius' Girlfriend Was Set To Give Speech on Abuse

foxnews

www.dailymail.co.uk

PRETORIA, South Africa –  Reeva Steenkamp, the stunning model allegedly shot to death by her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius on Valentine's day, had planned on drawing on her past abusive relationship for a motivational speech on the day she was murdered.

The Daily Telegraph reports that Steenkamp had written a valentine's day speech and was set to give it before the students of Sandown High School in Johannesburg, South Africa, urging them to "be brave," "always see the positive" and to make their voice heard.

"I was in an abusive relationship at the same time (his mother used to abuse him)," reads a draft of the speech obtained by the UK newspaper. "I lost a lot of self-worth during my last year in PE [Port Elizabeth] before I moved to Jozi [Johannesburg] and it took some serious soul searching to remind myself of my value in this world."

"being loved by others, although an amazing feeling to have the appreciation of others, does not define your place in the world," the draft continues.

News also surfaced on Saturday that a reality show featuring Steenkamp will premiere as scheduled this weekend in her native South Africa.

“Tropika: Island of Treasure,” whose TV spots feature a beaming, bikini-clad Steenkamp, will air as scheduled on South Africa Network SABC1 — and her distraught family will be watching her performance.

“Reeva would’ve liked us to watch it,” her uncle, Mike Steenkamp, told People magazine. “She indicated that before the tragedy.”

Producers for the show said not airing the prerecorded show would be an “injustice” to the model’s memory.

“Every episode that she is in, every frame that she so ably dominates, shines with the light and her light and her laughter echoes in every conversation, and we want to share these special memories with the rest of South Africa,” Tropika producer Samantha Moon said in a statement.

This week’s episode will be dedicated to Steenkamp’s memory and begin with a tribute to the model.

Steenkamp's boyfriend, Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is "numb with shock, as well as grief" after the shooting death of his model girlfriend at his home in South Africa, the runner's uncle said Saturday, as his family "strongly refutes" charges that he planned to kill her.

Arnold Pistorius spoke with The Associated Press and two other South African journalists about his nephew's arrest in the killing of Reeva Steenkamp, who was shot four times on the morning of Valentine's Day. Arnold Pistorius spoke to reporters from his three-story home in the eastern suburbs of South Africa's capital, Pretoria.

The statement, the first on camera and directly made in person by Pistorius' family, also came out strongly against prosecutors seeking to upgrade the charge against Pistorius to one of premeditated murder, which carries a sentence of life in prison.

"After consulting with legal representatives, we deeply regret the allegation of premeditated murder," Arnold Pistorius said. "We have no doubt there is no substance to the allegation and that the state's own case, including its own forensic evidence, strongly refutes any possibility of a premeditated murder."

The track star's arrest in the killing of 29-year-old Steenkamp shocked South Africa, where Pistorius was a national hero dubbed the Blade Runner for his high-tech prosthetics and revered for overcoming his disability to compete in the London Games. She was discovered in a pool of blood before dawn Thursday by police called to Pistorius' upscale home in a gated community in Pretoria. Authorities said she had been shot four times, and a 9 mm pistol was recovered at the home.

Pistorius remains held at a police station pending a bail hearing Tuesday.

Arnold Pistorius did not discuss the circumstances of the shooting, but said that his nephew and Steenkamp had become very close since they started dating in November.

"They had plans together and Oscar was happier in his private life than he had been for a long time," the uncle said.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2013/02/16/slain-model-reeva-steenkamp-planned-to-give-speech-on-abuse-day-was-allegedly/#ixzz2L52jApGe

'BLADE RUNNER' BREAKS: Prosecutors Say Gal Pal Model Took Four Bullets

foxnews

PRETORIA, South Africa –  Oscar Pistorius held his head in his hands and wept openly in court Friday as prosecutors said they would pursue a charge of premeditated murder against the Paralympic superstar.
Pistorius was formally charged at Pretoria Magistrate's Court with one count of murder after his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, a model and budding reality TV show contestant. The 30-year-old was shot multiple times and died at Pistorius' upmarket home early Thursday morning.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said Friday in court it was premeditated murder, indicating the prosecution would file that more serious charge, upgraded from murder.
The double-amputee athlete's arrest and murder charge had already left South Africa stunned after Steenkamp's death on Valentine's Day at Pistorius' house in a gated community in an eastern suburb of South Africa's capital, Pretoria.
Following the hearing, Pistorius' family and his London management company issued a statement calling into question the criminal charge the 26-year-old athlete faces.
"The alleged murder is disputed in the strongest terms," the statement read. The statement did not elaborate.
The statement also said Pistorius wanted to "send his deepest sympathies to the family of Reeva."
"He would also like to express his thanks through us today for all the messages of support he has received -- but as stated our thoughts and prayers today should be for Reeva and her family -- regardless of the circumstances of this terrible, terrible tragedy," the statement read.
Those who knew Pistorius, including a former girlfriend, also weighed in on social media.
Trish Taylor, mother of Pistorius' ex-girlfriend Samantha Taylor, wrote on Facebook: "I'm so glad Sammy is safe and out of the clutches of that man."
But another ex-girlfriend, Jenna Edkins, defended Pistorius in messages Friday on Twitter.
"All I am saying is let him speak, let his side be heard without jumping to conclusions," Edkins wrote. She offered "love and support" to the Pistorius family and wrote: "I have dated Oscar on and off for 5 YEARS, NOT ONCE has he EVER lifted a finger to me or made me fear for my life."
Prosecutors said Friday that they would argue the history-making Olympic athlete -- the first amputee to run at the games -- had planned Steenkamp's killing. It sent South Africans reeling further as their national hero, and a global role model in overcoming adversity, was set to face accusations that he intentionally gunned down his girlfriend.
South Africa's tabloid Citizen newspaper had the headline "Blade gunner?" Friday morning, playing on double-amputee athlete Pistorius' well-known nickname of "Blade Runner" because of his carbon fiber running blades.
Pistorius stood with his face in his hands as he broke down in tears on his first appearance at the Pretoria Magistrates' Court. Chief Magistrate Desmond Nasir delayed Pistorius' bail hearing until next Tuesday and Wednesday and ruled that Pistorius would be held at a police station in Pretoria until then. Police have said they oppose the granting of bail.
A solemn Pistorius entered the court wearing a gray suit and blue tie and initially appeared composed. When he broke down in tears, his brother, Carl, reached out a hand and placed it on his shoulder. Pistorius' father, Henke, was in the court and later reached over to comfort him as well.
More than 100 people packed Friday morning into Courtroom C at the Pretoria Magistrates Court, including dozens of photographers and videographers. Nasir ruled that no recordings of court proceedings would be allowed in the case.
Police said Friday investigators also conducted an autopsy on Steenkamp's body. Lt. Col. Katlego Mogale said the results of the autopsy would not be published.
Pistorius earlier left a police station, his jacket completely covering his head as he got into a police vehicle. He was holding what appeared to be a white handkerchief in one hand. He was led by officers to a police van outside the Boschkop Police Station in eastern Pretoria, where he had been questioned on Thursday and had spent the night in custody.
A policeman was also seen carrying a handgun in a plastic forensic bag outside the Boschkop station. It was believed to be the weapon used to shoot and kill Steenkamp.
Police said the victim was shot four times at Pistorius' villa in a gated community. Officers found a 9 mm pistol inside the home.
Pistorius made history at the London Olympics last year when he became the first double-amputee track athlete to compete at any games. He didn't win a medal but did make the semifinals of the 400 meters and the final of the 4X400 relay, propelling the world's best-known Paralympian to the level of an international track star and one of the world's best-known sportsmen.
But police hinted at a troubled lifestyle away from public scrutiny for the runner Thursday when they said there had previously been domestic incidents at Pistorius' home.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2013/02/15/prosecutors-announce-will-pursue-premeditated-murder-charge-against-blade/#ixzz2Kz3FUu3D

Jamaican bobsleigh anniversary

GlobalToronto

Extreme windsurfers battle wind and 20ft waves

itnnews

MLB investigating Alex Rodriguez, Miami clinic

nbcsports

NEW YORK -- - Major League Baseball is investigating whether players, including Alex Rodriguez, purchased human growth hormone as recently as last year from a Miami health clinic, the league said in a statement Tuesday.

The league statement was issued in response to a report published in the Miami New Times, which cites files obtained from a former employee of Biogenesis, a now-closed South Florida clinic, that show Rodriguez was one of several athletes to purchase HGH and other substances.

"We are always extremely disappointed to learn of potential links between players and the use of performance-enhancing substances. ... Through our Department of Investigations, we have been actively involved in the issues in South Florida," MLB's statement said.

ALSO ON THIS STORY

HBT: Clinic records suggest A-Rod purchased steroids in 2012

Rodriguez, the New York Yankees slugger currently recovering from hip surgery, has admitted using steroids from 2001-03 but insisted he stopped after that. Rodriguez issued a statement denying having a link to Anthony Bosch, the owner of the South Florida Clinic.

"The news report about a purported relationship between Alex Rodriguez and Anthony Bosch are not true," the statement read.  "Alex Rodriguez was not Mr. Bosch’s patient, he was never treated by him and he was never advised by him. The purported documents referenced in the story -- at least as they relate to Alex Rodriguez -- are not legitimate.”

Other players named by the New Times as appearing in the records at Biogenesis include Melky Cabrera, Gio Gonzalez, Bartolo Colon and Nelson Cruz. Cabrera, the All-Star game MVP for the San Francisco Giants last season, was suspended 50 games in August for failing a drug test. The outfielder has signed with the Toronto Blue Jays as a free agent.

Colon, a pitcher for the Oakland A's, was also suspended 50 games in August.

Gonzalez, who went 21-8 for the Washington Nationals last season, and Cruz, who hit 24 home runs for the Texas Rangers, had not previously been linked to performance-enhancing drugs.

The Rangers said in a statement that after being contacted by the New Times late last week, they notified Major League Baseball. The club said it had no further comment.

Gonzalez posted on his Twitter feed: "I've never used performance enhancing drugs of any kind and I never will, I've never met or spoken with tony Bosch or used any substance."

The report said that Bosch's notes list the players' names and the substances they received, including human growth hormone and steroids. Several unidentified employees and clients confirmed to the publication that the clinic distributed the substances, the paper said. The employees said that Bosch bragged of supplying drugs to professionalthletes but they never saw the sports stars in the office.

Any player found by MLB to use banned, performance-enhancing substances, is subject to suspension.

Falleció Florentino Fernández, el boxeador de la pegada de hierro

Florentino Fernández (derecha) ensaya su famoso gancho de izquierda en un entrenamiento con el legendario Muhammad Alí, en el famoso gimnasio Fifth Street de Miami Beach en 1960.

Photo by John Pineda / Photo by John Pineda/ MH Archive [Nuevo Herald]

Read more here: http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2013/01/29/1394831/fallece-florentino-fernandez-en.html#storylink=cpy

cafefuerte

Por Wilfredo Cancio Isla

Florentino Fernández, el boxeador cubano que hizo historia con una pegada descomunal y una furia indetenible sobre el ring, falleció este lunes en Miami a los 76 años, víctima de un ataque al corazón.

Florentino, apodado El Buey por sus golpes demoledores, es parte de la historia del boxeo cubano. Las enciclopedias del pugilismo los sitúan entre los 100 pegadores más potentes de todos los tiempos.

Salió de Cuba en 1963 ante la imposibilidad de continuar peleando como profesional. Se labró su fama a fuerza de puñetazos violentos y de un empuje que parecía retar el el límite de lo humano. La suerte no lo acompañó en las decisiones sobre el ring que no pudo inclinar por la vía del KO, y si no figura como campeón mundial es porque su rival, Gene Fullmer, estaba peleando en su patio aquel 5 de agosto de 1961.

"En el boxeo cubano no hemos visto jamás a un pegador de la precisión, de la violencia, de la capacidad destructiva de Florentino Fernández. Ningún boxeador cubano ha pegado así", escribió el cronista Eladio Secades.

Se retiró del ring oficialmente en 1972, con un impresionante récord de 50 victorias (43 por KO), 16 derrotas y dos empates. Trabajó como entrenador de boxeo en Coconut Grove, probó suerte en un restaurante y se ganó la vida como otro exiliado cubano más.

Lo visité en su modesto hogar de Miami a comienzos del 2006, a raíz de su cumpleaños 70. Aquella tarde repasó sus grandes hitos y volvió a repetir lo que casi todos los expertos admiten ahora tras analizar desapasionadamente el combate con Fullmer: que le robaron la pelea.

Y habló también de Cuba, de la comparsa de San Pedrito y de los carnavales en su natal Santiago, de las luces desconcertantes de La Habana de los años 50 y de lo que nadie podía quitarle ya: la gloria vivida. De la conversación por más de dos horas aquella tarde en Miami salió esta entrevista, publicada en un suplemento especial de El Nuevo Herald el 21 de mayo del 2006, y que ahora vuelvo a compartir con los lectores de CaféFuerte.

FLORENTINO FERNANDEZ, PUÑOS DE HIERRO

Por Wilfredo Cancio Isla

En la pequeña sala de su casa en Miami cuelga una foto de sus años de esplendor sobre los cuadriláteros. Florentino Fernández era entonces un pegador recio y destructivo, capaz de tejer una cadena de 16 knockouts (KO) consecutivos y hacer historia en el boxeo cubano de todos los tiempos.

Con una racha demoledora de 24 victorias al hilo desde su aparición en el boxeo profesional, en 1956, hasta su derrota frente a Rocky Kalingo en noviembre de 1959, Fernández emergió vertiginosamente como un ídolo de las multitudes. ''El Buey'' -apodo que se ganó a ritmo de puñetazos descomunales- no vaciló en subirse al ring para retar a peleadores marcados por la leyenda, se llamaran Rubin ''Huracán'' Carter, Dick Tiger o Emile Griffith.

Pero ninguno de esos combates dejaría una huella tan profunda en su carrera pugilística y en su vida como el enfrentamiento con el estadounidense Gene Fullmer por el campeonato mundial de los pesos medianos, el 5 de agosto de 1961. Una pelea a 15 rounds que a la distancia de cuatro décadas todavía suele traerle amargos recuerdos a Fernández.

''Fue una pelea brava, Fullmer era un boxeador muy fuerte pero yo gané'', afirma Fernández. "He visto después la grabación muchas veces y no me quedan dudas''.

Sobre el televisor descansa una copia en video de aquella batalla campal en Ogden, Utah, que terminó con una decisión dividida a favor de Fullmer. Fernández relata que sus golpes con la zurda llevaban ese día tanta furia que llegaron a provocarle tres fracturas en un brazo de su rival.

''Nunca me dio la revancha. Dijo entonces que si había que pelear con los cubanos como peleó conmigo, tenía que pensarlo dos veces'', rememora el célebre pegador cubano, que colgó definitivamente los guantes en 1972. Su récord sigue siendo hoy motivo de culto entre los protagonistas y amantes del boxeo: 50 victorias, 43 de ellas por KO, 16 derrotas y dos empates. De los 43 KO, 20 ocurrieron en combates finalizados antes del campanazo del tercer round.

The Ring -la Biblia del boxeo mundial- le ha concedido el lugar 56 en la lista de los 100 más poderosos pegadores de todos los tiempos.

Nadie ha pegado así

Acaba de arribar a los 70 años el pasado 6 de marzo, pero nadie que observe su complexión física y su andar de hombre esbelto podría acertar en un cálculo de edad. Todavía conserva cierta gallardía juvenil y sus brazos mantienen una robustez envidiable.

Y su memoria preserva tanto los pormenores dentro del cuadrilátero como los extravíos adolescentes bailando con la comparsa de San Pedrito en los carnavales de Santiago de Cuba, su ciudad natal.

Conversa con soltura y amabilidad. Ha desengavetado un manojo de fotos históricas que muestra con orgullo, una de ellas con el rostro ensangrentado durante uno de sus violentos desafíos y, sobrepuesta, una frase del gran Eladio Secades: "En el boxeo cubano no hemos visto jamás a un pegador de la precisión, de la violencia, de la capacidad destructiva de Florentino Fernández. Ningún boxeador cubano ha pegado así".

¿Cómo fue que se decidió a ser boxeador?

De niño me gustaba la pelota. Venía de una familia pobre y era un muchacho pacífico, pero cuando se metían conmigo y les soltaba un 'trastazo', la gente iba directo pa'l suelo. Comenzó el rumor de que yo pegaba duro. Tenía 15 o 16 años cuando fui por primera vez a un gimnasio para hacer entrenamiento y realmente me entusiasmó lo que pude hacer. En 1956 me fui a La Habana y empecé a entrenarme con Higinio Ruiz, que era un hombre muy sabio.

¿Alguien le inspiró como modelo de peleador en esos años?

Kid Gavilán. Era un boxeador muy técnico, pero también un fajador incansable. Para mí fue el mejor de todos.

De su paso por el boxeo amateur quedaron registradas 17 victorias muy rápidas, casi todas por KO, y una pelea con un compatriota que llegaría a convertirse en campeón mundial, Luis Manuel Rodríguez. ¿Cómo fue esa pelea?

Fue tremenda. Yo lo tiré una vez a la lona y le gané la pelea por decisión. No peleamos nunca más y desde entonces mantuvimos estrecha amistad hasta su muerte (en 1996).

En el profesionalismo su fama creció como la espuma, un KO tras otro. ¿Había una estrategia calculada en esas embestidas que enloquecían al público?

Mi estrategia era salir a decidir la pelea cuanto antes. En el boxeo hay que recibir golpes, pero si no te cuidas terminas hecho un guiñapo, porque a la larga los golpes hacen daño. En mi carrera de 16 años recibí muchos golpes, pero muchos menos que los demás, porque conmigo las cosas terminaban rápido la mayoría de las veces.

De campana a campana

A partir de 1959 se fraguan los más espectaculares combates de su carrera, siete de ellos con campeones mundiales. Para muchos conocedores del boxeo su nombre estará asociado para siempre con el KO que le propinara Rubin Carter en el Madison Square Garden de Nueva York en 1962. ¿Cómo fue eso?

Me cogió sorprendido y me tiró en el primer round. Cuando me levanté me pararon la pelea. Creo que estaba en condiciones de seguir.

¿Y que pasó con Dick Tiger en la pelea de Miami Beach?

Perdí por una herida. Si no, la historia hubiera sido otra.

El combate con Emile Griffith en agosto de 1960 lo pierde por decisión en 10 rounds...

Se agarró todo el tiempo para sujetarme el brazo izquierdo y así se fue la pelea. Yo quise la revancha con todos ellos, pero ninguno me la dio.

Y de todos, ¿cuál fue el más difícil para usted?

Fullmer, sin dudas. Pero también corrió mucho por todo el ring.

¿Cuál fue su escenario favorito para pelear?

El Coliseo de la Ciudad Deportiva de La Habana. Alli perdí muy pocas veces.

¿Cómo recuerda La Habana de esos años?

Era una ciudad increíble. Todavía cierro los ojos y me la imagino llena de luces, paseando por el Malecón.

¿Por qué se fue en 1963?

Porque se acabó el boxeo profesional y no quería que todo acabara en el mejor momento de mi carrera.

¿No ha regresado?

Nunca. Hasta que todo no se arregle.

¿Qué piensa del boxeo actual?

Mucha propaganda. En mi época había más caballerosidad y respeto entre los peleadores fuera del ring. Ahora hay menos boxeo pero se paga más por el espectáculo. Antes para ganarse $3,000 había que sudarla.

¿Cuál fue la suma más alta que ganó por una pelea?

Cuando discutí el campeonato mundial en 1961. Me dieron unos $15,000.

¿Asiste con frecuencia a carteleras de boxeo?

A veces. Otras lo veo por televisión, aunque sin esa furia de antes.

Dígame su secreto para mantenerse atlético y vital a los 70.

Nunca fumé ni bebí un trago de alcohol. Comía de todo, pero lo quemaba en el ring. Ahora estoy de vago, pero me mantengo.

Pelea de contra Gene Fullmer en 1961:

Hockey helpers for visually impaired students

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Is the public buying Lance Armstrong's narrative?

Armstrong's most humbling moment: Losing Livestrong

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Watch Lance Armstrong's confession

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Armstrong: 'Yes,' he used performance-enhancing drugs

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"Yes."

That was Lance Armstrong's response to Oprah Winfrey's initial question in her much-publicized interview with the former seven-time Tour de France winner on whether he used performance-enhancing drugs to aid his victories in all seven of the prestigious races.

Armstrong said a "win at all costs" mentality and "arrogance" were behind his cheating, and accepted blame for his mistakes, saying he deserves the scrutiny he's now come under in the wake of being stripped of his titles.

Armstrong answered "yes" to separate questions about whether he used EPO, whether he partook in blood transfusions, whether he used took human-growth hormone and whether he used performance-enhancing drugs in all seven of his Tour de France victories. He answered "no" when asked if he felt his accomplishments were possible without the assistance of banned substances.

Armstrong did insist that he did not use performance-enhancing drugs beyond 2005, and that his third-place finish in his 2009 comeback to the Tour de France was clean.

Reflecting back on his era of cycling dominance, Armstrong said that "the winning was almost phoned in," and he did not feel bad about using banned drugs, and furthermore did not feel that using banned drugs was cheating, revelations that he now, in hindsight, finds "scary." In a moment of contrition, Armstrong said that his longtime supporters "have every right to feel betrayed," and that he'll spend the rest of his life apologizing to make it up to them.

On the topic of illegal testosterone use, Armstrong had a controversial excuse, saying he used it because he was running low on his natural supply of the hormone due to his battle with cancer.

Armstrong insisted that there was no directive within his U.S. Postal Service team requiring riders to conform with the doping program in which he and other riders partook. That stands in contrast with statements from former teammates, notably Christian Vande Velde, who says he was threatened with being kicked off the team before partaking in the program.

Armstrong also confessed to being "a bully," and wanting to control the narrative, reacting negatively to statements he didn't like. It's a pattern of behavior Armstrong said has followed him his entire life, and one evident in Armstrong's frequent denials of doping over the years before and since his retirement.

When asked pointedly whether he required or expected teammates to dope for the sake of achieving a certain level of team success, Armstrong responded, "absolutely not."

Armstong hesitated before responding, "No," when asked if Dr. Michele Ferrari was at the head of the team's doping program, but also said he was reckless to be involved with the Italian physician and cycling coach, who's been issued a lifetime sports ban by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for multiple anti-doping violations. Armstrong characterized the entire period of his life as "reckless."

Armstrong said a donation made to UCI, cycling's chief organizing body, was made "because they asked me to," and not in an attempt to bribe officials to hide positive test results.

Winfrey pressed Armstrong on the topic of lawsuits filed against people who spoke out against Armstrong, among them Emma O'Reilly, a former masseuse for the U.S. Postal Service team. "It's a major flaw," Armstrong said of lawsuits against O'Reilly and others who were speaking the truth. "It's a guy who expected to get whatever he wanted and control every outcome. It's inexcusable."

The International Olympic Committee didn't wait to listen to Armstrong's interview.

The IOC on Wednesday stripped Armstrong of his 2000 bronze medal, sending him a letter asking him to return it, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been announced.

For others who will tune in Thursday, it's not just what Armstrong said that matters. How he said it, whether angry, tearful or matter-of-fact, will be judged as well.

"I left it all on the table with her and when it airs the people can decide," Armstrong said of his interview in a text sent to the AP on Wednesday. He dismissed a story earlier in the day that described him as "not contrite" when he acknowledged doping while dominating the cycling world.

Livestrong, the cancer charity Armstrong founded in 1997 and was forced to walk away from last year, said in a statement it expected him to be "completely truthful and forthcoming." A day earlier, World Anti-Doping Agency director general David Howman said nothing short of a confession under oath — "not talking to a talk-show host" — could prompt a reconsideration of Armstrong's lifetime ban from sanctioned events. And Frankie Andreu, a former teammate that Armstrong turned on, said the disgraced cyclist had an obligation to tell all he knew and help clean up the sport.

"I have no idea what the future holds other than me holding my kids," Armstrong said in the text.

Armstrong has held conversations with officials from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, including a reportedly contentious face-to-face meeting with USADA chief executive Travis Tygart near the Denver airport. It was USADA's 1,000-page report last year, including testimony from nearly a dozen former teammates, that portrayed Armstrong as the leader of a sophisticated doping ring that propelled the U.S. Postal Service team to title after title at the Tour de France. In addition to the lifetime ban, Armstrong was stripped of all seven wins, lost nearly all of his endorsements and was forced to cut ties with Livestrong.

According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Armstrong has information that might lead to his ban being reduced to eight years. That would make him eligible to compete in elite triathlons, many of which are sanctioned under world anti-doping rules, in 2020, when Armstrong will be 49. He was a professional athlete in the three-discipline sport as a teenager, and returned to competition after retiring from cycling in 2011.

That person also said the bar for Armstrong's redemption is higher now than when the case was open, a time during which he refused to speak to investigators. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing a confidential matter.

Armstrong, who always prized loyalty on his racing teams, now faces some very tough choices himself: whether to cooperate and name those who may have aided, abetted or helped cover up the long-time use of PEDs.

Armstrong left his hometown of Austin, where the interview was taped at a downtown hotel, and is in Hawaii. He is named as a defendant in at least two pending lawsuits, and possibly a third. The Justice Department faces a Thursday deadline on whether to join a whistle-blower lawsuit filed by former teammate Floyd Landis, who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title for doping.

That suit alleges Armstrong defrauded the U.S. government by repeatedly denying he used performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong could be required to return substantial sponsorship fees and pay a hefty fine. The AP reported earlier that Justice Department officials were likely to join the lawsuit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Even with apology, Armstrong's brand value 'near zero'

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OPRAH ON LANCE: He Did 'Not Come Clean in The Manner' I Expected

Oprah Winfrey said Lance Armstrong, who she said confessed to her that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his string of Tour de France victories, did 'not come clean in the manner' she expected, Reuters reported.

Winfrey went on to say that she would leave it to others to decided if the former champion was contrite during the interview that was taped on Monday in Texas, but she did call him thoughtful and serious.

A group of about 10 close friends and advisers to Armstrong left a downtown Austin hotel about three hours after they arrived Monday afternoon for the taping. Among them were Armstrong attorneys Tim Herman and Sean Breen, along with Bill Stapleton, Armstrong's longtime agent, manager and business partner. All declined comment entering and exiting the session.

Soon afterward, Winfrey tweeted: "Just wrapped with (at)lancearmstrong More than 2 1/2 hours. He came READY!"

In a text to the AP on Saturday, Armstrong said: "I told her (Winfrey) to go wherever she wants and I'll answer the questions directly, honestly and candidly. That's all I can say."

Speaking on "CBS This Morning," Winfrey said she had not planned to address Armstrong's confession before the interview aired on her OWN network but, "by the time I left Austin and landed in Chicago, you all had already confirmed it."

Armstrong was stripped of all seven Tour titles last year following a voluminous U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report that portrayed him as a ruthless competitor, willing to go to any lengths to win the prestigious race.

USADA chief executive Travis Tygart labeled the doping regimen allegedly carried out by the U.S. Postal Service team that Armstrong once led, "The most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."

Cycling's governing body urged Armstrong on Tuesday to testify before its independent commission on doping.

The International Cycling Union, or UCI, said it was aware of media reports that Armstrong had come clean and confessed to doping during an interview with Oprah Winfrey taped Monday.

"If these reports are true, we would strongly urge Lance Armstrong to testify to the Independent Commission established to investigate the allegations made against the UCI in the recent USADA reasoned decision on Lance Armstrong and the United States Postal Service (USPS) team," the federation said in a statement.

The UCI said it would not make any further comment until it has viewed the interview, which is to be broadcast on Thursday night.

The UCI set up an independent panel in November to investigate the Armstrong case and what role the governing body had in the scandal. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency raised suspicions of UCI collusion with Armstrong in its damming report that led to the cyclist being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life.

The UCI has been accused of covering up suspicious samples from Armstrong, accepting financial donations from him and helping him avoid detection in doping tests.

Armstrong is reportedly considering testifying against UCI officials.

Former UCI President Hein Verbruggen said Tuesday he wasn't ready to speak about the Armstrong case.

"I haven't seen the interview. It's all guessing," Verbruggen told the AP. "After that, we have an independent commission which I am very confident will find out the truth of these things."

The three-member independent commission is chaired by retired British judge Philip Otton. He is working alongside Australian lawyer Malcolm Holmes and Tanni Grey-Thompson, a 10-time Paralympic gold medalist in wheelchair racing who is now a lawmaker in the upper chamber of Britain's Parliament.

The three-member panel will meet in London from April 9-26, with a June 1 deadline to deliver its report.

The cycling body has said the three will have access to "all relevant documents in the control or possession of the UCI," including bank and telephone records and laboratory test results.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/01/15/oprah-says-lance-armstrong-did-not-come-clean-like-thought-would/#ixzz2I3he3mmq

Lupica: Armstrong part of a 'giant, athletic Ponzi scheme'

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Lance Armstrong apologizes to Livestrong staff

This Just In

Cyclist Lance Armstrong apologized to staff on Monday at the Livestrong foundation's office in Austin, Texas, according to a publicist for the foundation.

Katherine McLane did not provide any information about what Armstrong was apologizing for.

The apology came ahead of Armstrong's scheduled interview with talk show queen Oprah Winfrey - his first since he was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles in a doping scandal.

STEROID STRIKEOUT: Bonds, Clemens, Sosa Rejected for Hall of Fame

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NEW YORK –  Steroid-tainted stars Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa have been denied entry to baseball's Hall of Fame with voters failing to elect any candidates for only the second time in four decades.
Bonds received just 36.2 percent of the vote, Clemens 37.6 and Sosa 12.5 in totals announced Wednesday by the Hall and the Baseball Writers' Association of America. They were appearing on the ballot for the first time and have up to 14 more years to make it to Cooperstown.
Craig Biggio, 20th on the career list with 3,060 hits, topped the 37 candidates with 68.2 percent of the 569 ballots, 39 shy of the 75 percent needed. Among other first-year eligibles, Mike Piazza received 57.8 percent and Curt Schilling 38.8
Jack Morris led holdovers with 67.7 percent. He will make his final ballot appearance next year, when Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine are eligible for the first time

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2013/01/09/no-players-elected-to-hall-fame-by-baseball-writers/#ixzz2HW9PqQVT

Athletes in crazy high school relay brawl