Muhammad and Larry on ESPN

JackStraw77 · Oct 27, 2009

Great film on ESPN in their documentary series. I was at the Ali-Holmes fight. Ali had a lot of people fooled in Vegas that he could win that fight.
If I remember Holmes was only about a -160 to -180 favorite to win fight.
It was the steal of the century. Even wise guys like Lem Banker got fooled on Ali. I'm pretty sure Lem was saying that Ali looked good in Vegas training for fight. Now we find out he was taking thyroid pills to give him that sleek look. The damage was done in Ali before the Holmes and Berbick fight. Even if he didn't take those last two he probably still would have ended up like his today. Larry should have gotten more credit. He fought everyone who was out there defending his title. It was his fault there wasn't better competition. He looks content, still married to the same woman. Some people said he kept fighting for money. I think he was just bored. He may be better off financially than Hollyfield.

KingsRansom · Oct 27, 2009

JackStraw77 said:
Even wise guys like Lem Banker got fooled on Ali. I'm pretty sure Lem was saying that Ali looked good in Vegas training for fight.

In Lem's book he says just the opposite.

He made one of his biggest wagers ever on Holmes and commented that Ali looked slow and sluggish in training and he was convinced he didn't stand a chance. So he bet accordingly.

JackStraw77 · Oct 28, 2009

I guess my memory was fuzzy. I could have sworn it was Lem who said he looked good before fight. I bet on Holmes because it didn't make sense to me that so many people liked Ali. They were betting the name, not the man. I was glad I attended fight. I had just moved out to Las Vegas the year before. To have seen Ali in the ring meant alot to me. Even if he was a shell of what he once was I got to see him in person in a real match. Las Vegas was a great place to live in 1980. It still was like a small town.
The traffic wasn't bad. Ceasars still had the mystique.The town wasn't corporation driven, it was live and let live. Fremont St didn't have that stupid canopy. It seems like a hundred years ago.

HuskerFan1 · Oct 28, 2009

i watched last nights and thought it was well well done...ditto for last weeks on the USFL...im really excited for the rest of the series...

i highly recommend them

festeringZit · Oct 28, 2009

Wednesday Nov 4
10pm ESPN 2
Thursday Nov 5
10pm ESPN Classic
Thursday Nov 5
11:30pm ESPN 2
Sunday Nov 8
9pm ESPN Classic
Monday Nov 9
7pm ESPN 2
Sunday Dec 6
3:30pm ESPN
Friday Dec 25
8pm ESPN Classic

festeringZit · Oct 28, 2009

I'm really looking forward to this one:

[ Though, I've always pointed out that Miller blatantly traveled before
he hit the last three, scoring 8 pts in the last 16 seconds of that
famous game against the Knicks. he catches a pass in 2 pt land, and
takes two steps backwards, lifting his pivot foot to get behind the
3 pt line -FZ ]

Winning Time:
Reggie Miller vs.
The New York Knicks

Directed by Dan Klores

Premieres Sunday Mar 14 9PM ESPN

Monday Mar 15
12:30am ESPN 2
Monday Mar 15
7pm ESPN 2

Reggie Miller single-handedly crushed the hearts of Knick fans multiple times. But it was the 1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals that solidified Miller as Public Enemy #1 in New York City. With moments to go in Game 1, and facing a seemingly insurmountable deficit of 105-99, Miller scored eight points in 8.9 seconds to give his Indiana Pacers an astonishing victory. This career-defining performance, combined with his give-and-take with Knicks fan Spike Lee, made Miller and the Knicks a highlight of the 1995 NBA playoffs. Peabody Award-winning director Dan Klores will explore how Miller proudly built his legend as “The Garden’s Greatest Villain”.
Personal Statement

Reggie Miller gave New York the finger. The whole city.

The 6'7" wiry shooting guard of the Indiana Pacers tortured the Knicks. If he didn't beat Riley, Ewing, Oakley and Starks with his quick release and unlimited range, he made them think he would. He took pleasure in letting the packed Madison Square Garden know it was his show and his game that they were watching during the 1994-1995 playoffs.

Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks, by award-winning filmmaker Dan Klores, will zero in on the dramatic seven game 1995 playoff series between Reggie's Pacers and the Knicks. The series was front page news in the NYC tabloids, a war of words between the glib Miller and Knick fanatic Spike Lee, included appearances on Letterman, pronouncements by Giuliani, fistfights between teammates, near riots by Indiana fans, chokes, overtimes, finger rolls and bitterness not only between Hall of Fame coaches, Pat Riley and Larry Brown, but between the two most precious basketball cultures in America - Hoosier Land vs. “New Yawk”.

The Pacers, who had lost to the Knicks in the two previous playoffs, were seeking dramatic revenge. Reggie scored eight points during the last 16 seconds of Game One, silencing MSG and bringing children and gamblers to tears. Later, leading the series three games to one, the Pacers blew a ten point lead with five minutes to go in Game Five. And when they returned home, they were dealt a devastating defeat in Game Six.

Would Game Seven at MSG be “Miller Time”, or would Ewing get another chance at the Finals after losing the championship the year before? Would Spike, Woody and Trump have the chance to return Reggie's choke sign? Would Starks, who head-butted Reggie in a playoff game the year before after he lit him up for 25 points in the fourth quarter, come through in the clutch? Would Brown's whining to officials, the League, and the media matter as the final minutes ticked away?

Through the memories and hearts of the players, coaches, fans, and media of both “cultures”, Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks will examine the relationship between Reggie Miller, a guy with a New York attitude playing in middle America, and the team representing the “Basketball Capitol of the World”.

maxdemo · Oct 28, 2009

HuskerFan1 said:
i watched last nights and thought it was well well done...ditto for last weeks on the USFL...im really excited for the rest of the series...

i highly recommend them

I'm watching the USFL story right now...great show so far