A CHANCE TO WATCH PACQUIAO AND NOT PAY A FORTUNE
Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao figures to pad his record against a relatively unknown opponent Saturday night but at least it won’t cost a small fortune to see it.
Pacquiao, 38, will defend his welterweight title against hometown hero Jeff Horn in the “Battle of Brisbane” at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. The crowd of 60,000-plus would be the biggest live crowd of Pacquiao’s 67-fight pro career (59-6-2 with 38 knockouts).
Horn, 29, is undefeated (16-0-1 with 11 knockouts) but he is considered a power puncher and he is taking a huge jump in class.
The fight will be carried by ESPN (not pay-per-view). The card begins at 9 p.m.
Bovada: Pacquiao -600 (bet $600 to win $100)...Horn +400 (bet $100 to win $400). Bob’s pick: Pacquiao by knockout within six rounds.
UPDATED ODDS ON TWO MUCH BIGGER FIGHTS
Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor August 26 in Las Vegas: The odds are much closer than they were before this fight was officially announced. Mayweather is down to -600 (bet $500 to win $100) and McGregor is +400 (bet $100 to win $400).
The over/under for the 10-round fight is 9.5 rounds.
The over/under on pay-per-view buys is 4.99 million. The PPV record for a boxing match is 4.6 million for Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao in 2015. Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com.
Gennady Golovkin vs. Canelo Alvarez September 16 in Las Vegas: Golovkin is favored (-160; bet $160 to win $100). Alvarez is +130 (bet $100 to win $130). Odds courtesy of Bovada.
Alvarez added some spice to the fight Thursday MY by saying he will “without a doubt” knock out Golovkin.
SOME FUN SPORTS PERFORMANCE LINES AND MINI-REACTIONS
Craig Kimbrel (Boston Red Sox relief ace) – 33 games; 2-0 record; 22 saves; 34 2/3 innings pitched; 12 hits allowed; 63 strikeouts; 5 walks; 1.04 earned-run average; .103 batting average against; 0.49 WHIP (walks + hits per inning); .103 opposing batting average...If more pitchers were this dominant, baseball would be hurting.
Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) – Leads the American League in the Triple Crown categories: .331 batting average; 27 HRs; 62 RBI); leads MLB in on-base percentage (.451), slugging percentage (.699) and OPS (1.150)...Sure, he’s a rookie. But the assorted media lists of top 10 players that domn’t include Judge are stupid.
Brad Sinopoli and Greg Elliingson (Ottawa Redblacks teammates) – Through two games, they’re tied for the Canadian Football League lead in receptions (15 each) and yards receiving (199 each)...QB Trevor Harris is doing an excellent job distributing the football to keep both teammates happy.
Byron Buxton (Minnesota Twins) – He’s the best defensive outfielder in baseball. He is an awesome baserunner – when he gets on. He plays every game in center field for the Twins. But his hitting this season has been horrible: .196 batting average (44-for-224), with 4 HRs, 14 RBI, 64 total bases in 73 games, .80 strikeouts, .268 on-base percentage; .286 slugging percentage; .554 OPS.....How much longer can the Twins afford to plug him in the lineup while Zack Granite is hitting in the .370 range for the Red Wings? Selfishly, I hope all season.
Portland Timbers 2 – The worst team in USL: 12 wins, 13 losses, 1 tie. League-worst -19 goal differential...It’s a good thing the MLS Portland Timbers are a little bit better (7-7-4, +3 goal differential).
Minnesota Lynx (WNBA ) – 12-1 record, including 6-0 on the road. +12.2 point differential per game (87.8-75.6)...The Golden State Warriors of the WNBA.
Cobourg Kodiaks (Ontario Series A Lacrosse) – They’re the doormat of the six-team indoor league, which is dominated by Peterborough and Six Nations. The Kodiaks have a 1-10 record, including 0-5 at home, where they draw 377 fans per game. They’ve been outscored 147-63...The Kodiaks don’t have a lot of fans but they must be loyal.
STERLING MARLIN TURNS 60 FRIDAY...STIRS MEMORIES OF KODAK/NASCAR
Former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Sterling Marlin turns 60 on Friday. His birthday stirs memories of Kodak’s brief turn in the auto racing spotlight.
Marlin was the only driver to post his first two career NASCAR victories in the prestigious Daytona 500 in 1994 and 1995. He was driving for Morgan McClure Motorsports in the No. 4 Kodak-sponsored Chevrolet. It was a big deal back then for Kodak and a source of pride for our community.
Marlin retired from NASCAR driving in 2009. In 33 years, he had 748 races, with 10 wins and 216 top tens. His owned a Dodge dealership in Tennessee and has raised beef cattle on his farm south of Nashville. He has battled Parkinsonism since 2012.
ADRIAN BELTRE NEARS HALL OF FAME MILESTONES
Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre entered Thursday 31 hits short of 3,000 and 9 total bases short of 5,000 total bases. Both are statistical targets for making the Hall of Fame.
Of the 20 players ahead of Beltre on the career list for total bases, all have been elected to the Hall of Fame except:
Barry Bonds (4th with 5,976) – his selection has been delayed by suspected use of PEEs. But he’s getting closer.
Alex Rodriguez (6th with 5,813) – not yet eligible for election to the Hall of Fame. Assuming Bonds eventually is elected, I assume A-Rod will be, too.
Pete Rose (8th with 5,752) – not eligible for the Hall of Fame because he bet on baseball. His defenders argue that using PEDS was worse than Rose wagering on games. They’re in the minority.
Rafael Palmeiro (11th with 5,388 ) – Caught using PEDs after vowing he never did. Hasn’t come close top being elected and not likely to ever get in.
Albert Pujols (13th with 5,342) – Still playing but a probable first-ballot pick after he retires.
For the record, the top three: Hank Aaron 6,856...Stan Musial 6,134...Willie Mays 6,066.
RHINOS U.S. OPEN DISTINCTION IS IN JEOPARDY
One of the greatest distinctions in Rochester’s pro sports history is in danger if being erased.
Since Major League Soccer began competing in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 1996, the only non-MLS team to win the championship was the 1999 Rochester Rhinos.
This year’s U.S. Open Cup is down to eight teams – six MLS teams plus FC Cincinnati (USL) and Miami FC (NASL).
In this week’s Round of 16, FC Cincinnati upset the Chicago GFire (MLS) 3-1 on penalty kicks befdore a crowd of 32,287 at the University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium. Miami FC upset Atlanta United FC (MLS) 3-2.
At least one non-MLS team will reach the four-team semifinals Aug. 10 because FC Cincinnati will play at Miami FC in the quarterfinals.
Other matchups in the quarterfinals: Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) at San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)...FC Dallas (MLS) at Sporting Kansas City (MLS)...New England Revolution (MLS) at New York Red Bulls (MLS).
SHORT SHOTS
All of our pro teams are playing on the road this holiday weekend. That’s a rarity. But considering the dampweather, that’s probably a good thing.
Only one of the 50 players chosen for the 2017 Futures Game July 9 at Miami’s Marlins Park is property of the Minnesota Twins – 22-year-old infielder Nick Gordon. In 69 games at Double-A (Southern League), he’s batting .310 (fifth-best in the league), with 21 doubles, 6 triples, 6 HRs, 43 RBI and 7 stolen bases. The fifth overall pick in the 2014 June amateur draft is likely to be Rochester’s starting shortstop next season if not sooner.
The Rochester Red Wings won 3-2 Thursday afternoon in Buffalo to boost their record to 42-35, including 13-2 in the last 15 games. Entering Friday, International League North rival Scranton/Wilkes Barre (49-30) and Rochester (42-35) are 1-2 in the battle for the wild-card berth in the four-team IL playoffs.
The 2017 Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game will be July 8 in Sacramento and I can’t take it seriously because Rochester Rattlers star Jordan Wolf was not selected. In six games, he has 20 goals and 10 assists. He leads the league is goals- and points per game.
Thumbs up to slugger/whiffer Chris Carter for accepting outright assignment to Scranton/Wilkes Barre (International League). He could have sat out the rest of this season and collected his full $3.5 million salary. Now he has a chance to be promoted in September or sooner.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Friday, June 30 -- Michael Phelps (32)...Trevor Ariza (32)...Miles Austin (37)...Chan Ho Park (44)...Garret Anderson (45)...Mike Tyson (51)...Mitch Richmond (52)...Tony Fernandez (55)...Sterling Marlin (60)...Ron Swoboda (73).
Saturday, July 1 – Nelson Cruz (37)...Patrick McEnroe (51)...Carl Lewis (56)...Nancy Lieberman-Cline (59). Pamela Anderson (50), Dan Aykroyd (65) and Debbhie Harry (72) are invited to the birthday party.
Sunday, July 2 – Chad Henne (32)...Johnny Weir (33)...Angel Pagan (36)...Joe Thornton (38)...Sean Casey (43)...Jose Canseco (53)...Tony Armas (64)...Richard Petty (80).
Have a fun Fourth of July vacation. My next column will be posted noon Wednesday July 5. Thank you for reading and listening.