Well, buenos dias!!

"God save the Queen" has just broken out among the crowd in the football match between England (Inglaterra, en espanol) and Trinidad and Tobago. I admit it, I like Beckham. He likes to play and you can see in the demeanor that the game is the most important thing to him. I was just watching a replay before of the "Thrilla' in Manila" or Ali /Frazier 3 and thought about poor Joe Frazier and the mighty Cassius who possibly ruined sports media for all time and was one of the poorest sportsmen the world has ever known. I'm not questioning his determination or skills; I think he was one of the three greatest fighters of all time but he basically did everything but call poor Joe a nigger. This is the man who lit the torch in Atlanta? I've got no problem with his concientious objector status; I applaud it but I think it disqualifies you for national hero status. I don't know how this started, I was going to talk about the fight, not take on Clay. I watched the fight again and at the end of the fourteenth round I knew that Joe was going to his corner and would not come back. I wanted to see his face when he told his manager that he didn't have anything left. I know how much he wanted to beat Cassius Clay to a pulp and that he literally gave every ounce he had and conciously knew he was defeated. His whole life to that minute came to that and he was competely spent and the totality of that hit me. What a feeling to devote months and years of physical and mental battery and come so close to the top and to KNOW that he couldn't go three more minutes. It struck me that even defeat could be enjoyed if you truly tried every possible thing to succeed. Joe Frazier OWNED that pain, it was his for all time. The joy comes from the total effort. What I saw in that corner was a tremendous heart and I think I admire Smokin' Joe more than ever.
Meanwhile, I see the doctor here today and he is a famous sports physician who has operated on Ivan Zamurrano and Marcelo Salas, two of Chile's most famous football players and Nicolas Massu who won the gold medal in tennis at the Athens games in '04 so I think I'm in good hands. Hey, if you go to another country for bargain basement surgery, you might as well get the best. It's almost the equivalent of me seeing Dr. James Andrews in the States who does all the baseball and American football operations. Anyway, I'll be examined and then he'll tell me when we cut and I hope it's today. Rehab is an ugly thought but if you have to do it you should get it over with as soon as possible.