{"id":78238,"date":"2016-06-06T14:56:24","date_gmt":"2016-06-06T14:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=78238"},"modified":"2023-02-17T22:10:47","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T22:10:47","slug":"behind-mic-ali","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-ali\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Mic: Ali"},"content":{"rendered":"

As you are well-aware, Muhammad Ali <\/a>died from Parkinson\u2019s syndrome on Friday, June 3.\u00a0 He was 74.<\/p>\n

He won his first championship title in 1964, the year I graduated from high school.\u00a0 He was Cassius Clay then.\u00a0 His last fight was against Trevor Berbick in 1981, after being pummeled into submission by Easton\u2019s Larry Holmes in Las Vegas in 1980.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think I missed an Ali fight, even though many of them I had to listen to on the radio if I wanted to hear them LIVE.<\/p>\n

Looking at the dates, I realize that most young people have probably never seen him throw a punch, except in highlights; never seen him brag, which was always entertaining; never seen him revered wherever he went.\u00a0 He was the self-proclaimed \u201cGreatest of all time.\u201d\u00a0 And, in my opinion, he was.\u00a0 But sadly, the sport has changed so much that most young people today probably have no idea who the current heavyweight champion of the world is, how important that title once was, and have no idea how big boxing was back in the day (as they say).<\/p>\n

Trust me, Ali was special when he was fighting and just as special after he left the ring.\u00a0 Whether you were able to see him fight or too young to watch, you should certainly contemplate some of his words other than \u201cFloat like a butterfly, sting like a bee.\u201d\u00a0 He was an inspiration and he said many inspirational things:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u201cIf they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can surely make something out of you.\u201d<\/li>\n
  2. \u201cHating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn\u2019t matter who does the hating.\u00a0 It\u2019s just plain wrong.\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. \u201cService to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.\u201d<\/li>\n
  4. \u201cDon\u2019t count the days; make the days count.\u201d<\/li>\n
  5. \u201cIt isn\u2019t the mountains ahead that wear you out; it\u2019s the pebble in your shoe.\u201d<\/li>\n
  6. \u201cA man who has no imagination has no wings.\u201d<\/li>\n
  7. \u201cA man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.\u201d<\/li>\n
  8. \u201cImpossible is not a fact. It\u2019s an opinion.\u00a0 Impossible is not a declaration.\u00a0 It\u2019s a dare.\u00a0 Impossible is potential.\u00a0 Impossible is temporary.\u00a0 Impossible is nothing.\u201d<\/li>\n
  9. \u201cIf my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it-then I can achieve it.\u201d<\/li>\n
  10. \u201cLive every day as if it were your last because someday you\u2019re going to be right.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    I have purposely left out the famous quotes where he bragged, rightfully so, about his talent like, \u201cI\u2019m so mean, I make medicine sick.\u201d\u00a0 Or, \u201cI should be a postage stamp.\u00a0 That\u2019s the only way I\u2019ll ever get licked.\u201d<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Ali was always great theater; he was always the center of attention; he always made you take notice.\u00a0 Despite some losses in his boxing career, he always put forth the greatest of efforts.\u00a0 He did the same against Parkinson\u2019s disease.\u00a0 Once taken off life support this past Friday, the family said his heart beat another thirty minutes.\u00a0 I am not surprised.\u00a0 His heart still wanted to answer the bell!<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Billy Crystal, former President Bill Clinton, and Bryant Gumbel will all give eulogies at Muhammad Ali\u2019s funeral.<\/li>\n
    2. Congratulations to the Easton Red Rover baseball team for their District Championship. It was their first District title since 1993.\u00a0 Also, congrats to the Parkland and Bangor girls\u2019 softball teams.\u00a0 They, too, won a District title.\u00a0 On to the PIAA championship tournament for all three.<\/li>\n
    3. The Golden State Warriors have managed to really garner my interest in the NBA playoffs. I love watching them play as a team and it seems as if Coach Steve Kerr makes all the right moves.\u00a0 The \u201cSplash Brothers\u201d club is absolutely fun to watch.<\/li>\n
    4. The U.S. women\u2019s soccer team cannot strike before the Olympic Games, according to a federal judge. The female judge ruled that the no-strike clause in earlier agreements takes precedence.\u00a0 The women were looking for improved conditions and wages on par with the men\u2019s team.\u00a0 The women have won three straight Olympic gold medals.<\/li>\n
    5. The RCN Television team will once again be producing the PIAA State Baseball Championships for PCN at Penn State on June 16.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      As you are well-aware, Muhammad Ali died from Parkinson\u2019s syndrome on Friday, June 3.\u00a0 He was 74. He won his first championship title in 1964, the year I graduated from high school.\u00a0 He was Cassius Clay then.\u00a0 His last fight was against Trevor Berbick in 1981, after being pummeled into submission by Easton\u2019s Larry Holmes…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,4],"tags":[678],"class_list":["post-78238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behind-the-mic","category-featured","category-sports","tag-muhammad-ali"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBehind the Mic: Ali - ATVN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Behind the Mic: Ali - ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As you are well-aware, Muhammad Ali died from Parkinson\u2019s syndrome on Friday, June 3.\u00a0 He was 74. 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