Rundown from the Run-Down . . . Again

The Vick piece took a lot more time than I anticipated, which means other stuff gets short shrift. So here's my rundown of events I would have covered had I had 28 hours in a day (aka RFTR):

• Floyd Mayweather did not disappoint on December 8, on pay-per-view (I learned this from his Dancing with the Stars stint). Just when it looked like this was going 12 rounds, Mayweather came through with a vengeance, knocking out Great Britain's Ricky Hatton in the 10th. Now Pretty Boy, uh, I mean Money Mayweather is bored with boxing. That can only mean one thing: rapping! Say it ain't so, Money.
  

• The Eastern conference said the heck with all those who said they're weak. Monday night, two teams who have basically been written off took it to their Western conference opponents as the Miami Heat beat the Phoenix Suns, and even more shockingly, the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Houston Rockets. Even the New York Knicks took it to the Dallas Mavericks but came up a little short. Keeping it interesting. I'm all for it.

• Speaking of the Knicks, they settled their case brought by Anucha Browne Sanders for $11.5 million, which is what the jury had ordered up in the way of punitive damages. This means the Knicks and coach Isiah Thomas aren't going to fight the verdict anymore, particularly since they faced the possibility of paying even more in compensatory damages and paying Browne Sanders costs and fees. Said ESPN.com:

By settling, the Knicks avoided paying her legal fees, while Brown[e] Sanders gets her money faster and avoids the possibility of having her award reduced on appeal.

. . . And everybody's happy. Or at least less pissed off.

• Again, speaking of the Knicks, Knicks owner James Dolan has said Thomas' job is safe. In between maintaining his own innocence, Thomas said:

"It's a city and a place unlike anyplace else in the NBA," he told reporters. "It's the most difficult place to win and the most challenging. Every game is the season, and that's the unique passion New York brings. The people here are thirsty, they want it, and it really brings out the best in you. You have to bring it every day, whether you're a coach, a player or a guy trying to get on the subway.["]

Oh really, Zeke? You're bringing it to guys on the subway, too? Well, after they read your comments, you might want to start riding in a car before those guys start bringing it back to you.

Rundown from the Run-Down

I've been a little under the weather, so here's a snippet of today's stories:

• The Cleveland Cavaliers handed the Boston Celtics their second loss of the season. The only two free throws that Ray Allen (88% FT shooter) missed came when the Celts were in a position to seal the game. LeBron James and Kevin Garnett exchanged some words near the end. You mean everyone doesn't love LeBron?

• Michael Vick is set to stand trial in April on state charges for dogfighting. A plea deal is expected to be reached, so no April circus. 12 more days until we find out how long he'll be in jail on the federal charges.
• Race car driver Helio Castroneves beat out Mel "Scary Spice" Brown for the Dancing with the Stars title. Floyd Mayweather was scheduled to dance during the finale but pulled out due to an anke injury. Right. He's just trying to get ready for that fight he joined the show to promote. December 8th. Pay-per-view. (Yes, the advertising did work.)

R.I.P. Sean Taylor.

No More Dance Floor Knockouts

Apparently, America is no longer feeling Floyd Mayweather, so Tuesday night, they sent him home on Dancing with the Stars.

I, for one, am sad to see him go. His partner, who was nearly killed by a maneuver that can only be fairly said to resemble roping a calf (pay close attention at 3:02 of the video), probably did not feel the same way. When it was announced that they were in the bottom 2 vote-getters for the week, she said "oh no" but her face said "oh, yes!"

What did Floyd in? Besides his table-top booty moves, I'd have to say his utter inability to feel the music combined with his involuntary roughness toward his partner contributed to Floyd getting the ax. I thought the judges were trying to save him by being kind to him last night, but alas, America was not buying it.

Part of me thinks he just went on the show to promote his fight. December 8th. Pay-Per-View.

Too Much Booty In the Pants

As you may recall, boxer Floyd Mayweather is on this season of Dancing with the Stars.

Because this is a dancing show, I would like to publicly request that he stop shamelessly promoting his December 8 fight, and realize that you better win that fight or you will be looking at a lot of clowning from here on out.

And please stop whining:

Tuesday’s competition came down Newton and “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather, who also ended up in the bottom two. While Newton has endured the judge’s low marks with humility and grace, Mayweather has found it hard to disguise his feelings of persecution and what he calls “bias” from the judges.

“I’m out there giving it my all, and I don’t understand, no matter how hard I dance, or how good I dance, how am I to understand the scores that I get,” Mayweather told PEOPLE after the show. “I mean, if they’re bias toward me then it is what it is. I’m dancing my best, have the best dancing teacher, so they can’t take my natural ability and my talent from me.”

Floyd, you are talented in something. Boxing. Nobody can take that from you, you are right about that. But dancing? That's a whole different story. You keep sticking your butt out like you're getting points for it tapping it on an imaginary wall. Too much R Kelly Bump 'N Grind, not enough Gene Kelly Singin' in the Rain.

From the looks of it, I'd say that Floyd is approaching his dancing a little bit too much like a boxing match. He seems to be measuring his steps but doesn't appear to be really feeling the music. One of the judges told him to be more technical, but I think focusing too much on that could be weighing him down. I know we're asking a lot for him to look more fluid out there, but this is a dancing contest he entered.

But at least he's no Wayne Newton, who, in contrast to Floyd, is surprisingly really tall by Hollywood standards (that must mean he's 5'8"). Wayne was probably losing money by being away from Vegas for so long, anyway, but he gets a lot of kudos for going on there and being so, um, not good. And being a good sport about it. Even Floyd admires Wayne:

Despite Mayweather’s ongoing concerns of how he’s being treated in the competition, he had nothing but nice things to say about his fallen compatriot. “Me, myself, I think Wayne Newton is a legend,” added Mayweather. “He’s a great guy. His personality is great. He’s a marvelous person!”

Well that was awful kind of him. Should we be on the look out for the Floyd and Wayne Show in Vegas? Maybe Wayne has some bigger pants he can borrow.

First Round: Almost A Knock Out

Floyd Mayweather (Jr.) is pound for pound the greatest boxer in the world, according to him. Ok, so he is 38-0, but humility is not one of his strong suits.

Well, he has taken his pride and ego and put it on the line on this season of Dancing with the Stars. During the vignette shown before his dance, Floyd is seen whining, saying he wants to quit, and that he wants to learn the easy stuff. After all this, his partner, Karina Smirnoff, says that training him was difficult, and that he didn't listen all the time. What was that? Floyd doesn't listen? She obviously never watched the reality show De La Hoya-Mayweather 24/7, which shadowed Floyd and Oscar De La Hoya as they prepared for their bout against one another. If she had, it should come as no surprise that working with him would be the bout of her life.

It should also come as no surprise to any of us who have seen him that he might be a tad difficult to train to be a dancer. If you have the pleasure of viewing his first performance - ABC.com has the full episode online - you are in for a treat. At the end of the vignette, Floyd says that he's going to approach this like he does a championship fight.

Now, you can call this man a rough dancer, but you cannot call him a liar! True to his word, the dance did bear a strong resemblance to his fight against De La Hoya. Doing the cha cha cha to a jazzed up version of Outkast's I Like the Way You Move, I was certain that at any moment he was going to knock Karina out. Seriously, she was on the ropes. There was a lot of, um, hip shaking (by Floyd), and tons of energy -- enough that he came dangerously close to snapping her neck in the final pose.

One of the judges chided Floyd to "treat Karina with a little more tenderness," saying he lacked finesse. "Remember, she's a woman, she's not fighting against you." It appears this may be a tall task for Floyd.

Somehow, Floyd didn't get kicked off the show nor did he even make it to the bottom two. Well, when Wayne Newton's performance is described as "horrendous" and "painful to watch," perhaps Floyd will be around for at least a few weeks. I think people just like seeing him beat up a woman. This country is sick.