Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali was the greatest. He was the greatest not only because he was a great fighter, but that he was one of the most personable athletes that ever lived. He was smart, funny, telegenic, and principled. He refused to be drafted and was stripped of the heavyweight title, and although he probably never would have seen action when drafted, did not alter his stance. He was stripped of the heavyweight title and did not fight from March 1967 to October 1970 (his peak athletic ages between 25 to 29). That he was able to come back and regain the heavyweight title after the long layoff was incredible.

The second Liston-Ali fight took place in Lewiston, Maine – the phantom punch and one of the most iconic photos of the sporting world took place there. Dennis Webber and I did a report on sports in Maine – that was the number 1 sports highlight in the state.

I was very big into sports as a kid and looked up to icons like Ali. I didn’t care about the color of his skin or his religion – he was a stand up guy. Thanks to him and other great icons like Willie Mays and John Havlicek I gained insights into what could be accomplished with hard work and talent. And with Ali, I also saw that athletes could be intelligent and stand up for what they believed in. This is a great loss for all of us.

Today we look at good and evil at the podcast – we’ll start of evilly with Eartha Kitt, Howlin’ Wolf, Santana, Electric Light Orchestra, the Yardbirds, Jackie DeShannon, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Shelby Lynne, then have some good with Albert Collins, Walter Horton, Faces, Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin, the Rascals, the Beach Boys, and the Beatles.

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