The Peterson Principle: 5/4/2015

Tim Peterson

Tim Peterson

By Tim Peterson

I understand that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a boxer. He’s a tactician, he makes opponents miss, he moves, he sticks, he jabs and he gets out. I get all that.

In fact when I was asked my opinion of the outcome of the fight I said Mayweather would win by decision. The unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao Saturday night in Las Vegas was really no surprise to anybody except maybe Manny Pacquiao. What I don’t get is that so many people bought into it.

People reportedly paid as much as $350,000 for ringside seats and the fight was expected to bring in more than $300 million in pay per view revenue. At 100 bucks a shot that’s a lot of homes that bought in.

But why? Did they suddenly expect Mayweather to be a brawler. Was Pacquiao going to be the guy that would make Mayweather go toe to toe? Pacquiao is a guy that lost five times coming into the bout. He tried to attack but Mayweather was too quick, too smart, as expected. He did what he does, always does, racked up the points and won unanimously.

Neither fighter looked none the worse for wear when the final bell rang in the twelfth round. It was a typical Mayweather fight. An upset? No. A surprise? Absolutely not. The shocking thing was that the people who swallowed the hype hook line and sinker expected something different.

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The St. Louis Rams surprised some people by taking running back Todd Gurley with the tenth pick in the first round of the NFL draft. But they did bolster their offensive line in later rounds by picking up Wisconsin OT Robert Havenstein and Louisville OT Jamon Brown in the next two rounds. They also picked up OT Andrew Donnal from Iowa in the fourth round. Don’t fret Ram fans. When the Rams move to Carson on 2016, Gurley could be the league’s leading rusher.

If you don’t get drafted no big deal. Just sign a free agent contract when the draft ends. That’s exactly what Terrell Watson and Cody Clay from Azusa Pacific did Saturday. Both players had worked out for various NFL scouts since the season ended. Watson, the Division 2 offensive player of the year, just needed a chance to show what he can do and he’ll get that now with the Cincinnati Bengals. Clay, an offensive lineman will get his shot with the Atlanta Falcons.

I remember when Ellis McCarthy was a tall skinny kid playing center for the Monrovia basketball team. Now he’s a member of the Miami Dolphins after signing his free agent contract Saturday. Pretty cool!

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I still think the Dodgers are the best buy in town. If you shop around you can still find a good loge or field level seat for $35.00 – $40.00 and if you go on Friday nights you can watch fireworks from the field after the game. Sure you might pay a little more for Dodger Dog but look at the bright side. You aren’t paying a hundred bucks to see two guys clinch in the middle of the ring.

That’s my principle.

Tim can be reached at tim@midvalleysports.com or on Twitter @tspeterson40.

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