Quote of the Day 6/13/05

"Jealousy is the art of injuring ourselves more than others." Alexandre Dumas

Bolton or Dr.Ah

"Has anyone else noticed that the leader of Israel and the Little Mermaid have the same first name? No wonder there's no peace in the Middle East. How can you be keep a straight face around a big, fat dude named Arial?"

Hmmm. Good point.

I found this gem on Dr.Ah's blog. Since Dr.Ah is clearly a genius of international politics, perhaps the President should consider withdrawing his nomination of John Bolton for ambassador to the U.N. and consider nominating Dr.Ah instead.

Smooth Criminal

"You've been hit by

You've been struck by -- a smooth criminal."

You gotta figure that those lyrics blared out of the speakers in Michael Jackson's black SUV as he pulled away from the Santa Barbara County Courthouse this afternoon. That's because, as you know, the King of Pop was acquitted of all charges. I'm not surprised by the verdict. After all, California already used their one big conviction for this decade on Scott Peterson.

Quote of the Day 6/12/05

"I don't know who I am sometimes, but I am not the guy I used to be." Mike Tyson, June 11, 2005.

NACAR Update

This week, NASCAR ventured north of the Mason Dixon for the Pocono 500. This is the first of two Nextel Cup races that will be held in Long Pond, PA. The Pocono Raceway is one of the more unique tracks on the circuit. It's a 2.5 mile tri-oval. But, unlike Daytona or Talladega, the turns are sharp and the banking is limited. From above, it really looks a lot like a flat triangle. One would think that the unique nature of this track would give the advantage to the wiley veterans, right? Wrong. Carl Edwards had never even seen this track in person before Friday morning. Edwards said that his only experience with the track had come from video games. Yet, it was Edwards who celebrated with his patented back-flip off the window of his car when the day ended.

This win propelled Edwards from 9th to 4th place in the standings. Jimmie Johnson retained his top points position with a 7th place finish on Sunday. Greg Biffle and Elliott Sadler remain in 2nd and 3rd, respectively, despite the fact that neither had a top 10 finish in this race. Mark Martin rounds out the top 5 thanks to his 5th place finish.

Next week, NASCAR heads to the Michigan International Speedway for the Batman Begins 400.

Porcelain Mike Tyson

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Once known as the Baddest Man on the Planet, Mike Tyson's bizarre boxing career apparently came to an end on Saturday night when he refused to answer the bell for the seventh round against Kevin McBride.

Coming into Saturday's bout, Tyson had lost 2 out of his last 3 fights. This included last summer's fourth-round knockout at the hands of Danny Williams. Nonetheless, Tyson was filled with his usual pre-fight bluster in the days leading up to the McBride fight. At the pre-fight press conference, Tyson promised that he would "gut him like a fish." As it turned out, Mike Tyson was the man with no guts.

According to written accounts, (no, the Banshee did not shell out $49 for PPV on this), the fight was fairly even through the first 5 rounds. Tyson landed some hard shots, but McBride did not waiver.


(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Then in the sixth round, spectators witnesses a Tyson meltdown reminiscent of the second Holyfield fight. Tyson had already been warned in the second round for throwing a low blow. In the sixth, Tyson was warned again for an illegal arm bar. Then Tyson was finally penalized 2 points for an intentional headbutt that opened a gash over McBride's left eye. After a brief consultation with doctors, McBride continued the fight. McBride fought well for the remainer of the sixth round. The gigantic Irishman utilized his 38-pound weight advantage by leaning on Tyson. Just before the end of the round, Tyson gave way to the leaning and fell to the canvas.



None of the written accounts indicated that Tyson was hurt by anything McBride threw in the sixth round. And yet, Tyson refused to rise from his stool when the bell sounded to start the seventh round. After the bout, Tyson indicated that he would not fight again. Tyson told ESPN, "I don't have the stomach for this no more. I most likely won't fight again. I'm not going to disrespect the sport by losing to this caliber of fighter. I'm sorry to disappoint. I wish there was some way the fans could get some of their money back."

Now that it's all over for Iron Mike, the Banshee has mixed feelings. Mike Tyson has been part of the sports landscape in America for twenty years. In the mid to late '80's, Mike Tyson was more than just a fighter. He was a force of nature. In a sport known for showbiz glitz, Iron Mike would step into the ring with black shoes, black trunks and no robe. Then he would destroy his foes with a ferocity so great that he struck fear into spectators and opponents alike. Never was this more apparent than when Michael Spinks stepped into the ring on June 27, 1988 in Atlantic City. When you watch the tape of that fight, there is no mistaking the fear in Spinks' eyes as he took the instructions at the center of the ring. That title fight lasted only 90 seconds.

But, all that was 17 years ago. The man who once ruled the boxing world with his iron fists spent his last moments inside the ring sitting on his stool. He had been beaten by the sort of plodding, heavy fighter that one normally only sees in the early phases of an EA video game. Although the Banshee had once despised Mike Tyson more than any other athlete on the planet, I actually did feel a little lump in my throat as I watched this broken man end his career in such disgrace.

Banshee Polling

Since it's been about two months since there was a Banshee Poll, I figured it would be wise to start back into things with a poll that didn't require much thinking. This week's poll is pretty much a gut reaction thing.

This week's poll: Banshee Blog wants to know, "Do you think that the state where you live is the best state in the Union?"

Quote of the Day 6/11/05

"You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call 'failure' is not the falling down, but the staying down." Mary Pickford

Banshee is Back

The long national nightmare is over. Wild Banshee has returned to posting. After a two-month break, I am fired up again about blogging. The Banshee now has a new (and hopefully long term) apartment. This apartment features DSL, so posting will be much less of a chore than it was back in the dial-up days.

The formatting and polling glitches that began just before my hiatus are now cured. I also made a small adjustment to the title bar of the blog. Other than that, things should pretty much be returned to normal here at Banshee Blog.

I anticipate that Banshee Blog will once again feature occassional posts from Hawk, Dr.Ah and Mimi. Quote of the Day will be back. Banshee Polling will again be conducted on a daily basis. And, Ask Banshee will resume as a Wednesday feature.

Although, I am a creature of habit, I also believe that you gotta give the people what they want. If you have an idea for a feature that you would like to see included on Banshee Blog, leave a comment or drop Wild Banshee a line. And, as always, if you have a burning question for Wild Banshee, then send an email to Ask Banshee.

Dispelling Some Myths

When Banshee Blog went offline at the beginning of April, rumors ran wild through cyberspace. And, as Wild Banshee's absence continued, those rumors only intensified. Now that I am back, I feel that I owe it to Banshee Blog readers to dispel some of the more prominent myths and rumors.

1. Pope. Since this rumor was actually started right here on Banshee Blog, I will address this first. Wild Banshee did not leave for Rome at the beginning of April in order to position herself for a run at the Papacy. While the Banshee is a product of Catholic school, I am also a female. That pretty much puts me out of the running. Therefore, I concluded that the airfare to Rome would be a waste. However, those in the know have told me that it it weren't for the girl thing I would have had the inside track.

2. Missing the animals. As the Banshee looked ahead at the second year of Banshee Blog, a cold reality did set in. Banshee Blog's animal celebrities, Coco and Smarty Jones, would not be in the news for this second campaign. A lesser blogger might have concluded that it just wasn't worth blogging on without these furry friends. But not the Banshee. After all, I can always post these pictures if we all get lonely.



3. Too embarrassed. Too depressed. Wild Banshee is living in a weird world right now. It is June 11 and the New York Yankees have a losing record. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is currently not eligible for the NASCAR Chase for the Championship. But, the Banshee did not stop writing because of embarassment or depression. The Banshee's loyalties remain strong and hopes remain high. And, even if that were not the case, it is only three more months until football season, so it's time to start writing about that anyway.

4. Uncovering Deep Throat. No, the Banshee was not MIA due to being too preoccupied with unearthing the true identity of Deep Throat. That would have been real journalism. Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that the Banshee is no journalist.

5. Ran out of material. Are you kidding? Just keep checking back and you can judge this for yourself.