UPDATED: Boxing columnist Robert Morales offers his early thoughts …

This thread was started at the request of loyal blogger MATMTWTBAG, who is an admitted Amat fan. He asked for my thoughts and I will give them and you can share yours.

BOXING COLUMNIST ROBERT MORALES’ EARLY THOUGHTS: “I think Oscar is going to win. I think he’s going to stop him late, because any time someone has crossed the line and talked as much smack as Mayweather has, De La Hoya has stopped that fighter.

in reference to Mayweather’s smack … “De La Hoya told me today, and I asked him straight out, of those three guys (Ricardo Mayorga, Fernando Vargas and Mayweather), who has been the worst? He said Mayweather, by far. I saw the look in Oscar’s eye today, and believe me, he’s going to win this fight.

how it’s going to happen … “He’s (De La Hoya) still very fast. Mayweather may be faster, but Oscar is still a hard hitter. He’s going to be aggressive, yet patient at the same time. When the perfect time comes to crack Mayweather with that left hook, he’ll land it and drop Mayweather. I don’t think Mayweather can hurt Oscar.”

ARAM’S THOUGHTS ABOUT ROBERT MORALES: First off, I should tell you that Morales is an Edgewood High alum. He’s also the best boxing writer in the country. You won’t find anyone better. He garners a certain respect from the boxers, and I’m talking about the biggest of the big, that other writers just can’t get. Morales now works out of the Long Beach Press-Telegram, and I miss our boxing conversations when he was in this office. His opinion is priceless.

ARAM’S THOUGHTS: First of all, I’ve been saying for a quite a while that May 5 is going to be the best sports day of the year. It’s Kentucky Derby day, the fifth weekend of baseball season and last but certainly not least, De La Hoya-Mayweather. Not to mention everything is set in the backdrop of it being Cinco De Mayo on a Saturday!!!! I hate to see what my house is going to look like at midnight.
I haven’t been this excited about a fight since I knew Lewis would kick Tyson’s ass a few years back. In terms of hype and setting, this could be the biggest fight in quite some time. You can be certain it will shatter all Pay-Per View records and anyone involved is going to get rich.
RACE CARD – You’d have to be a fool to not know, that for whatever stupid reason, African Americans and Latinos haven’t been getting along. You can bet that the promoters of this fight will use this as a very strong selling point. I think it’s safe to say this is very much going to be viewed the same way Holmes-Cooney was in the early 80s – substitute white for Mexican.
I don’t know if it’s only a SoCal thing, or what. I don’t know if it’s really been handed down from the jail cells of black and hispanic gang leaders, but it’s definitely going down. And now you have De La Hoya vs. Mayweather. Never before has De La Hoya appeared more Mexican to his fans. I have both black and hispanic friends. My Mexicano friends who used to root for De La Hoya to get beat because he wasn’t “true to the game” in their eyes, are all of a sudden HUGE De La Hoya fans.You wouldn’t believe the things they said about De La Hoya before he fought Chavez. I’m not Mexican, but my girlfriend is, several of my buddies are and so on. I’m just wondering, if Mayweather beats De La Hoya, is Cinco De Mayo ruined?
This fight is so great that it shouldn’t be about race, but it will be.
ANALYSIS: I actually like De La Hoya to win the fight. I think he has to knock Pretty Boy out to win, because you can’t beat him in a technical fight. But, I kinda question who Pretty Boy has fought. I thought that Zab Judah, who isn’t that strong, actually held his own for much of his fight against Mayweather. I don’t think beating Gatti is anything special. Meanwhile, you look at De La Hoya and see nothing but great wins AND losses against GREAT fighters. I think De La Hoya is stronger, fast enough and will be very inspired. I don’t think Pretty Boy can knock him out and his only shot is to out-point him. I’ll take the +200 with De La Hoya.

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The Jackrabbits are coming, the Jackrabbits are coming!!! (to Damien?)


She can fly …

Long Beach Poly, ranked No. 2 in the country by USA Today, will play Bishop Amat on Tuesday night at Damien. Tip-off is 7 p.m. If you’ve never been to a girls basketball game, you’ll want to make this your first one. The SGV couldn’t ask for a greater event. Tuesday’s atmosphere should be amazing. Needless to say, Amat will need a crowd like it would send for a championship football game. This is one tough opponent!

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Las Amat Chicas de Victory …

Amat downed Lynwood, 57-52. A shock to many outside the SGV, to be sure. Gahr coach Al Dorogusker had this to say about Lynwood this week to the L.A. Times …

“Lynwood is the best team in Southern California,” Dorogusker said after his team was beaten by Brea, 83-38, on Wednesday in the second round of the playoffs. “I think they’re better than [top-seeded] Long Beach Poly.”

QUICK ARAM THOUGHT: Dorogusker, Dorogusker, Dorogusker, you sir should leave the picking to the sports writers. You can’t make blanket statements like that without seeing Amat or Troy or whomever you haven’t seen. Truth is, LB Poly, Amat, Troy, Lynwood and Brea would probably take turns on each other. Back to the game … great turnout by the Amat fans. The Chicas had more fans than Lynwood and it helped. Not enough for one of the refs, but enough for the team. I’ve been to almost every Amat win in the postseason for the four seasons and I can tell you this one ranks right up there with the state titles. Unlike past postseasons, Amat was an underdog very early in the playoffs. Not a big a underdog, but an underdog nonetheless. But this team has one very important thing that can out-do talent, it’s called savvy. Oh sure, Amat is talented. Candice Brown and McCarthy are as good as you’ll find, but I’ve never seen a team like Lynwood that can throw waves of players at you. It also helps that Amat coach Richard Wiard went LeDuc on another big name opponent. Watch as much high school hoop as me and you’ll know we have two of the very best in Wiard and LeDuc in this Valley. They’re worth 5-points on their own.

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Is the SGV about to win another CIF title in soccer? Bassett thinks so …


The Olympians have every reason to celebrate.

It’s down to two – Bassett and Baldwin Park advanced to Tuesday’s semifinals with wins on Tuesday. Move over Damien and Mountain View, somebody else might be joining you among Valley’s elite.

QUICK ARAM THOUGHT: If you haven’t seen a playoff soccer game, you’re missing out. You may not be a soccer fan, just like how I despise hockey, but you can’t beat the excitement and desperation of these playoff games. Nice job BP and Bassett!

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