In the past I’ve usually posted something about D-Day when June Six rolls around. This year, however, the death of an iconic heavyweight is all the buzz–and much less likely to confuse and engage the apathy of the historically challenged.

I don’t have a copy of The Great Heavyweights on the computer I’m using right now, so I can’t excerpt from it, so let me sum up Cassius Clay/Muhammed Ali first:

• The man could take an extraordinary amount of punishment–especially to the body.
• He was also extremely difficult to hit–probably the most elusive heavyweight there’s ever been, partially thanks to his very unorthodox defensive style.
• His hand speed was also impressive for a heavyweight–though not quite in the league of Floyd Patterson’s.
• His lateral movement was the quickest of any heavyweight in his time.
• However, he did not have a great punch. He wore his opponents down with attrition and head games. He was a master at psychological warfare.
• Judges and referees consistently let him get away with illegal tactics that no other boxer gets away with on a regular basis. He was also awarded decision victories against fighters who kicked his ass.
• Despite his claim to be “the Greatest” (regurgitated by every black person on the planet, and plenty of non-blacks as well) he was not the greatest boxer; and not even the greatest heavyweight.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s look at one way he changed sports in the USA.

Watch the little fight promo segment starting around 5:44.

Can you imagine a jock talking about himself and an opponent this way today? And most jocks in any sport spoke this way once upon a time.

I wish I could locate some interview clips of the Rock I’ve seen in the past. Once a reporter repeated some trash talk from a scheduled opponent, then stuck the microphone in Rocky’s face for his reaction. With no change in demeanor or tone, he said “That’s for him to prove on the (date of the fight).”

Keep in mind: this guy was a cruiserweight according to the scales, fighting pros who were 10-20 pounds heavier, all his career. He had very little in the way of skills, and was matched against some extremely tough men–the worst of them were friggin’ tanks. I don’t know if there’s a dude alive today who could take a punch like those guys could. And they were mostly complete fighters–not obsessed with headhunting like those who followed. Yet Marciano fought 49 bouts with 43 knockouts (most of them in the first round) and never lost a professional fight.

What am I getting at, you ask? It’s not just what he said, but what he didn’t say. If anybody ever had excuse for an ego trip, talking trash about how bad he was and how he was going to make a grown man scream like a woman, the Rock was it.

Watch the beginning of this clip. (“Sugar” Ray Robinson is possibly the best pound-for-pound boxer who ever lived. And yes: Ray Leonard and Shane Mosely were called “Sugar” because it was hoped they would be as good as him.)

Now look at this class act, here:

It’s far from just this individual–pretty much all of them are this way (with rare exceptions, like Evander Holyfield). And it’s not even just boxing–jocks in every sport are full of themselves and ready to talk smack whether asked to or not. They don’t even have to be good; they’ll do it anyway. In fact, it’s not even just jocks. Hang out in the inner city (of any city) and you can’t help but notice overbloated egos on display–and you’ll see it in all races and ethnicities.

What happened between the first two clips and the third?

Ali happened.

Egomaniacal jocks weren’t just accepted after Ali; they were preferred. Pride became a virtue and humility ugly.

Of course there were men with huge egos before–but they had to dial it down in public lest the average Joe see how ugly and petty they actually were. But, in general, even gifted men didn’t indulge in delusions of invincibility; and alpha dogs spoke louder with actions than with words.

Ali elevated smack-talking into its own sport.

Nowadays the male (and far too many females) of the species become experts at self-aggrandizement first, then worry about actually developing skills second…if ever.

I’ve loved football since junior high, but the recent complete assimilation of the NFL into the cultural Marxist Borg has disgusted me to the point that the Superbowl is the only game I’ll watch…if that.

NASCAR has been a refreshing holdout against the leftward stampede of formerly American-and-proud-of-it entertainment endeavors. It’s not unusual for a patriotic flyover to occur before a race, or for the pre-race prayer to invoke the name of Jesus. But there’s a disturbing development in recent weeks.

I’m not referring to “The Chase,” which is understandable from a marketing standpoint (maintaining excitement by raising the stakes for the last several races in the Cup Series), though it is arguably unfair to drivers like Kevin Harvick (who has dominated consistently this season, but whose cumulative accomplishments could all be obliterated by two or three bad luck weekends in a row). I’m also not referring to NASCAR’s recent initiative to introduce “diversity” into a milleu that has always (and still) attracts mostly cocky heterosexual males. Yeah, yeah, nearly all of them are caucasian, too, whatever you want to make of that.

What worries me is that NASCAR has shut down the comment threads in their online forums. This is something that the “mainstream” (left-wing) online news organizations have begun doing lately.

It’s understandable that the propaganda ministry of the deep state Establishment legacy news networks would want to eliminate free expression: every so often, someone capable of independent thought infiltrates their online echo chambers and casts doubt on the Approved Narrative by calling out the lapdog press for their lies, distortions, bias and selective reporting.

It doesn’t make as much sense for a racing organization to gag the fans. It’s in their interest to listen to the fans, and give them what they want when possible. Isn’t that the rationale behind The Chase, after all?

NASCAR’s motivation doesn’t seem to be political…at least in the traditional sense. More likely, it is because fans are pissed off about the blatant favoritism shown to Joey Logano, the double standard imposed on Matt Kenseth, and their collective outrage is something the suits don’t want to deal with.

Whatever the reason, this is a disturbing development. If NASCAR does become yet another tool for Social Justice Convergence (imagine drivers compelled to wear pink high heels for breast cancer awareness or rainbow Nomex suits for “gay pride day”), dissent is already hindered.

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