Fight of the decade?

On Saturday May 2nd Floyd Mayweather will fight Manny Pacquiao in the fight everyone has been looking forward to for almost 5 years. Mayweather of course comes in undefeated at 47-0 while Pacquiao is 57-5-2. Most people are leaning toward Mayweather as the favorite but I think all are expecting a great fight. It's hard for me to forget the images of Manny laying face down on the canvas after Juan Manuel Marquez knocked him out in 2012. I think Mayweather wants to win this fight more than any other he has ever had. Floyd recently told Stephen A. Smith that he not only wanted to win, but he wanted to do it in such a spectacular fashion that nobody would ever question his greatness again. Whether you like Mayweather or not you can't deny how hard he works, and when he is focused and on top of his game he is simply the best in the business. Having said that we all know styles make fights. Pacquiao has just the kind of style that should make this the most competative fight Mayweather has been in in a very long time. Im just not sold that will be enough for him to win.
One thing is for sure with PPV buys expected to reach over 4 millon at $99 for HD, and floor seats to the event priced at 100,000 per ticket both fighters will split the biggest payday the sport has ever seen. Which is estimated to be around 300 YES 300 million!  No matter the outcome some people will argue the price to see this even live or on tv is ridiculous.(And they are right) But can you really put a price on an event that comes along once, maybe twice in a lifetime? Trust me if I had the extra $100,000 laying around I'd be on the first flight to Vegas.
Finally my prediction for the fight is Mayweather wins a close decision, we will have a rematch 6 months later, and both fighters will get overpaid again to show us what we already know. Pound for pound Floyd Mayweather is the best in the world.

Written by Ken W. Clayton

Despite opinions to the contrary UofL more than ready for ACC challenge

By: Raashaan Myers / Host Main Event Sports

     There is an old saying: Be careful what you wish for because you might just get it. Most times this old proverb is utilized as a warning of getting more than what you bargained for. Well in the case of The University of Louisville’s athletic assault on the Atlantic Coast Conference those words could not be truer. The one time small Midwestern commuter school known for upsetting the apple cart in collegiate athletics for years is now taking things to whole new level.

     UofL for the better part of the last 25 years has been known as not only a powerhouse on the basketball court, but thanks to the efforts of homegrown football icon Howard Schnellenburger the Cards began their ascent on the football field as well starting with their eye opening domination of powerhouse Alabama in the 1990 Fiesta Bowl. This commitment to success of the entire athletic department was given even more life with the hiring of Tom Jurich in October of 1997.

     Under the leadership of Mr. Jurich UofL’s athletic department would begin to reach unforeseen heights for all its sports programs over the next 15+ years. Cardinal athletics would celebrate National Championships in Basketball, Track and Field, as well as previously unseen success in their other sports such as 2 BCS Bowl victories in football and 2 title game appearances for women’s basketball. On the baseball field the Cardinals would make 3 trips to college world series as well.

     And with all this athletic success of course came a great deal of visibility, popularity, and revenue growth also. This heightened profile coincided perfectly with the changing landscape of college athletics as what I considered to be an athletic arms race.  Fast forward to November 29^th 2012 (after overtures but ultimately being snubbed by the Big 12) UofL president James Ramsey would receive the official invitation from the ACC to join their prestigious league.

    Once the jubilation subsided then came the discussions about how well UofL would fare in the much more highly thought of athletic balance of the ACC. While the Cardinals had dominated most of the last 6 or 7 seasons in both the Big East and AAC it was thought that the step up in competition across all sports would much more difficult than what the program had ever dealt with previously. The Atlantic Coast Conference is a haven for the best talent in all sports from football and basketball to the Olympic sports as well. For a “nice little program” like UofL it was thought that time would be needed before they could compete game in and game out vs much consistently tougher competition.

    Well apparently the Cardinal athletes didn’t get the memo as from the start of the athletic calendar UofL made a name for themselves in their new home.  Coach Bobby Petrino took over a team from former head man Charlie Strong a team extremely talented defensively but with some question marks on defense but turned questions with exclamation points with a very successful 9-4 season good for 4^th best in the ACC and a top 25 ranking to finish the season despite a litany of injuries and other internal issues.

     On the hardwood UofL was a team in transition after most of what had been an exceptional 3 year run no many knew what to expect from this season’s edition of the UofL program. Well the Cards responded with another outstanding season in which they were ranked in the top 15 all year and finished in the top 4 in the ACC standings and received a double bye in the conference tournament. The Cards would go on to make a run to the Elite 8 and agonizingly close to a 4^th Final Four for Hall of Fame Coach Rick Pitino at UofL but it was not meant to be. All in all the Cards had an extremely successful season with a top 10 finish in their first go on Tobacco Road.

     For Coach Jeff Walz and the UofL women’s basketball team they were facing similar challenges to their male counterparts losing several key pieces to their success including replacing superstar Shoni Schimmel and several key players. Well not to be outdone by the men the Lady Cards would go on to be a force to be reckoned with in the ACC finishing 3^rd in the ACC and another Sweet 16 trip and a top 10 finish overall.

     In Olympic sport action UofL men’s soccer team represented well their athletic department with a highly successful season in brand new Lynn Stadium culminating in an appearance in the ACC title game as well as a run to the 3^rd round of the NCAA tournament. On the women’s side UofL field hockey would finish with an excellent 15-6 record and top 10 ranking as well. Not to be out done UofL swimming and diving would deliver the biggest prize of the season to date as women’s swimmer Kelsi Worrell would set an American record in the 100 freestyle as well as earning another gold in the 100 Fly as well. The women would bring home 5 gold medals overall.

     This spring the UofL athletic department has continued to flex their muscles and arguably the best team of the all the Cardinal 9 baseball team is looking like a National Championship favorite. Coach Dan McDonnell has his No. 3 Cardinals playing at an all-time high level sitting at 30-9 overall and 19-2 in ACC play. This type of dominance on the diamond was not expected as other than basketball the ACC baseball conference may be the best in the country. The hopes are high around campus that not only will the Cards make another trip to Omaha, but they will bring the trophy back with them.

     And yet with all the excitement and waves this upstart athletic department is making in their maiden voyage in the ACC one thing is true. All of these teams at UofL will benefit from the visibility and reputation of their new conference to bring even more talented and gifted athletes to campus. That means that while it was completely false that UofL would not be ready for what the ACC would bring the fact of the matter is that UofL’s sports programs stand to get much much better. And depending what side of the conversation you are on that may or may not be an exciting proposition.  All I can say is CardNation enjoy the fruits of a season that was 25 years in the making.

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By Travis Williams

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