Smokin' Joe Frazier passed away last night. I bet to most people reading this there is a "Um.. who's that?" sorta vibe... But Joe Frazier was a baaaddd man. And he was unwillingly the evil villain to Muhammed Ali. (Ali was also polarizing because of his stance against the Vietnam War) And it could be said that there would be no Ali without Frazier. Frazier, Ali and Foreman (and to a far lesser extent Norton) were the heyday of Heavyweight Boxing... their boxing matches made ANY of the current matches seem like a MMA fight down at Anderson Civic Center. BILLIONS of people watched their fights in a time where there was NO cable TV or internet. I remember watching the fights (some of my first memories) on TV on Saturdays/Sundays on Wide World of Sports. And just as entertaining were the interviews and press meetings promoting the fights between Ali and Frazier. Ali invented trash talking. and he took it out on Frazier. And Frazier was never really able to respond and it always hurt him. And I dont think Frazier realized that to Ali, it was all promoting the fight and not personal. I also remember watching the fights and not realizing that they were actually taped events we were watching. This was before cable, 24 hour sports talk and the internet. This was when the NBA came on on Sundays and you didnt even know that the game you were watching happened 4 or 5 days ago.

at any rate, I hope Smokin' Joe is able to go drink a beer and smoke a cigar now in peace.... a part of me died with him. While I was an Ali guy back then ( a kid more drawn to Ali's flamboyant style and words) i do feel I would have been a Frazier guy if I would have been an adult at that time. And can you imagine how Ali would be received now? a muslim? anti goverment? brash, outspoken?...

anyway, I digress. More for another time.

To echo George Foreman this morning... "Goodnight Joe... Rest in Peace."