Billy Collins Jr
Billy Collins Jr, I’ve been a journalist for 15 years now. If one were to ask me which stories stand out, I’d name three:(Billy Collins Jr)
When I was 23, The Tennessean asked me to profile a Nashville couple, Warren and Lynn Thompson. She was in her mid-40s and dying of cancer. To honor her memory, the two were working on a garden together. It was haunting stuff and while the finished product won’t go down as one of my best, I treasure the experience. As well as the gratitude from Lynn and Warren. Why, when Lynn died after a long and courageous battle, Warren asked me to write her obituary. I was blown away .
3. In the early months of 1998, I was 26 and trying to rise from fact checking at Sports Illustrated. During my time at The Tennessean, I’d learned of the plight of Billy Ray Collins, Jr., a local middleweight boxer whose bright future was derailed in 1983. That’s when, on the undercard of the Roberto Duran-Davey Moore bout at Madison Square Garden, he faced an obscure journeyman named Luis Resto. Collins was supposed to have his way with Resto. Instead, the Nashville native was battered and battered and battered. Afterward, when Billy’s father (and trainer) reached out to shake Resto’s hand, he felt his glove and noticed all the padding had been removed.
Collins, who was nearly blinded by the savage beating, was done as a fighter. Shortly thereafter, he died in a car accident. His father believes it was suicide. Others aren’t so sure.
Anyhow, I wasn’t a big enough gun at Sports Illustrated to have the story assigned to me, and I feared that, had I pitched it, some editor would have swiped it from me and given it to a Gary Smith or Steve Rushin. Hence, I paid my own way to Nashville and reported the whole thing myself.
I will never—never, ever, ever, ever, ever—forget sitting in Billy Sr.’s ramshackle house, listening to his racist banter as he sucked from a cigarette, watching the tapes of his son fight. It was the most depressing assignment ever, yet a riveting story that probably took my reporting to a new level. I still remember getting off an airplane in San Diego, walking through the airport and spotting the new SI in a magazine store. It was the issue with Kevin Gogan on the cover, and when I saw my Billy Collins story in print, I nearly cried.
•••
I bring this up because on the night of August 1, is premiering its new documentary, Assault In The Ring. I haven’t seen it yet, but the story alone makes it worth watching. The various characters are tragic and fascinating; the impact of that bout still profound.
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Billy Collins Jr
Sri Lanka Opts to Field First in 3rd One-day
DAMBULLA: Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and sent Pakistan in to bat in the third one-day international of the five-match series here on Monday.
Pakistan, who lost the first two matches, need a win to stay alive in the series.
PAKISTAN: Younus Khan (capt), Nasir Jamshed, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Fawad Alam, Rana Naved, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Aamer.
SRI LANKA: Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Thilina Kandamby, Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Thilan Thushara.
Umpires: Steve Davis (AUS) and Asoka de Silva (SRI)
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Sri Lanka Opts to Field First in 3rd One-day
Indian Cricket Rejects Anti-doping Code
MUMBAI: World cricket’s plan to adopt the World Anti-Doping Agency agreement was thrown into doubt Sunday when India rejected a contentious clause.
India’s cricket board acted on the complaints of its players by rejecting a section of the WADA agreement that requires players to give their whereabouts three months in advance to allow random out-of-competition testing.
“It invades the players’ privacy which is their constitutional right and cannot be taken away,” Shashank Manohar, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India said after a meeting in Mumbai on Sunday.
N. Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary said the players’ only objection was to the whereabouts clause.
“They don’t have a problem with being tested or the testing system but they cannot be followed when not playing cricket,” Srinivasan said. “The issue is of out of competition testing. Since it’s a matter of privacy and also about security the BCCI agrees with the players’ view.”
India’s rejection is a blow to the International Cricket Council (ICC), which had directed all affiliated national boards to get their players to sign the WADA form by Aug. 1. The ICC is a signatory to the WADA code, making it mandatory for all affiliates to comply with the anti-doping stipulations.
According to WADA rules, anyone missing three doping tests in 18 months faces bans stretching to two years.
The ICC was represented at the meeting by its lawyer Iain Higgins.
In a statement issued in Dubai, the ICC said, “what both parties are looking for is a practical and mutually acceptable solution to the current situation. The next step is for this matter to be considered further by the ICC Board to find a way forward.”
The WADA has faced a lot of flak for its whereabouts requirements clause and is expected to meet representatives from international sports bodies in London later this year.
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Indian Cricket Rejects Anti-doping Code
Venus Williams Thrashes Dementiva
USA: Venus Williams was at the top of her game as she thrashed Elena Dementieva 6-0, 6-1 on Saturday in the semifinals of the Bank of the West Classic.
Second-seeded Williams needed just over an hour to rout the third-seeded Russian.
“Things are going well for me but I seem to want more,” Williams said. “I just like winning. I don’t care where it is, indoors or outdoors.”
Williams’ opponent in the final will be eighth-seeded Marion Bartoli. The Frenchwoman beat Australian Sam Stosur 6-3, 1-6, 6-1.
After winning her singles, Williams joined her sister, Serena less than an hour later in the doubles semifinals, where they won 6-2, 6-2 against Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Nadia Petrova.
“I felt like everything went well for me,” Williams said. “I was able to raise my level at the important parts. My plan is to try and keep this level for the rest of the tournament. I felt like I played my best in the last two games when I was able to get into a better rhythm.”
Williams, who lost the Wimbledon final to Serena last month, will be seeking her third title at Stanford in her first appearance since 2005.
She has not won an outdoor U.S. hardcourt tournament since 2002, something she will try to remedy against Bartoli.
“I’m just going to continue developing my game on all fronts,” Williams said. “My goal is to peak there (U.S. Open).”
Williams beat Dementieva for the sixth consecutive time and improved to 9-2 against her.
“I don’t have good statistics against Venus,” Dementieva said. “She was playing too good for me. She was powerful on the baseline and had a solid first serve. She didn’t give me much of a chance. I might have been able to win a few more points, but not the match.”
Dementieva had a paltry three winners for the match.
“My percentage of first serves were low and that gave her a chance to attack me,” Dementieva said. “I did not put any pressure on her with my serve. She was playing solid and looked confident on the court.”
Bartoli also reached the finals at Stanford last year before losing to Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak.
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Venus Williams Thrashes Dementiva
Pakistan Score 288 Against Sri Lanka in 3rd ODI
DAMBULLA: Umar Akmal top-scored with a brisk 66 to help Pakistan amass 288 for eight in the third one-day international against Sri Lanka on Monday.
Umar, the younger brother of wicket-keeper Kamran, dominated Sri Lanka’s bowlers during an entertaining 65-ball innings that included five fours and one six.
Kamran Akmal chipped in with 45 to lay the foundation for Pakistan’s competitive total with a 71-run second-wicket partnership with skipper Younus Khan, who scored 44.
Pakistan’s lower order also rallied, helping break the record for the highest total at the venue, with Shahid Afridi (32), Abdul Razzaq (30) and Naved-ul-Hasan (30 not out) all making contributions.
All rounder Angelo Mathews was Sri Lanka’s best bowler, taking 2-41 from his 10 overs. Thilan Thushara was also economical with 1-46 from 10 overs.
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Pakistan Score 288 Against Sri Lanka in 3rd ODI
