TimesOnline Reports
The micro-blogging site Twitter has come under attack this afternoon, taking it down for more than an hour.
On the site's corporate blog, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said: "On this otherwise happy Thursday morning, Twitter is the target of a denial of service attack. Attacks such as this are malicious efforts orchestrated to disrupt and make unavailable services such as online banks, credit card payment gateways, and in this case, Twitter for intended customers or users.
"We are defending against this attack now and will continue to update our status blog as we continue to defend and later investigate."
The site is now back up and running, though Twitter said, "we are continuing to defend against and recover from this attack.
Graham Cluley, from the internet security specialist Sophos, explained on his blog: "A denial of service attack occurs when computers bombard a website with requests for information.
"Typically hackers can control thousands of innocent users' computers centrally and command them to visit a site that they wish to flood with traffic - making it impossible for other internet users to get through.
"It's a bit like 15 fat men trying to get through a revolving door at the same time - nothing can move. In the meantime, micro-bloggers around the world are likely to be left twiddling their thumbs."
Over the years, Twitter has experienced downtime like this before, but the cases have become increasingly infrequent as the site's stability has grown. The site has seen a huge rise in popularity in recent months, experiencing a 22-fold increase in traffic in the past year, according to Hitwise, the internet analysts. Twitter is now the 38th most visited site in the UK.
Reports suggested it was the first time the site has gone down in four months, and potentially the first time due to sabotage. The motive for the attack is as unclear as the identity of those responsible.
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MTV Reports
Five years ago, one of the greatest and most controversial entertainers in a generation died. Rick James, who helped bring R&B and funk to the masses and inspired an early wave of hip-hop with songs like "Super Freak" and "Give It to Me Baby," died of heart failure August 6, 2004. Following his struggle with drugs and a stint in jail, James received a second wave of popularity when he appeared on an episode of "Chappelle's Show" and Chappelle turned the phrase "I'm Rick James, bitch!" into a household phrase.
But his real legacy is being carried on by daughter Ty. In the five years since her father's passing, she has been working on a number of projects that will pay tribute to her dad's life and career, including a feature film and a stage musical. Though she remains tight-lipped about many of the projects, she admits that "the exact person that needs to play him has pretty much agreed to do it." She wouldn't say who that actor is, but she did bring up the fact that Eddie Murphy is a good friend of the family.
She is also launching a musical career of her own, though for a long time that went against Rick's wishes.
"For a number of years, he wasn't even aware of me going into the studio, because he was trying to keep me sheltered," she said. "He always told me, 'I don't want you going into the industry! It's dangerous!' But I'm his only daughter, so he was just trying to protect me from the lifestyle that he led."
Her dad's lessons didn't fall on deaf ears. "As far as drugs are concerned, I don't do anything white because of him," she said. "I've never had the urge to do cocaine. For him, it was the lifestyle. He was somewhat miserable, and that's why he resorted to those types of things."
Time has given her perspective on her father's drug abuse. "I've been able to deal with it, because he accomplished so much in his life. If that's the outlet that he chose to escape the world, what can I say about that? He gave so much of himself."
Growing up with her father, Ty got to see a side of him that the public never saw. "My dad was an excellent father, but he taught me by example," she recalled. "He taught me by his actions. 'Do this or don't do this, because I'm doing it' — that was how he worked. My dad was a character who knew how to command a room. But there were a lot of things that saddened me as well. But those were the ups and downs in the life of a drug addict. We had a studio in the house, so I would sneak in with my producers, and we would be recording during moments where he was not with us. I don't know if you know anything about a true drug abuser, but he would just not be with us for days at a time."
Ty knows that her father's work hasn't been forgotten, as she sees his influence every day. "All of my peers have so much respect for my dad," she explained. "Busta Rhymes is a really good friend of mine, and he did a tribute record for him. Everybody from Snoop to Kanye — they are totally aware of the effect that he had on the game. That gives me chills, the fact that all these guys know and respect my father."
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Posted by Billy Baymaac on August 5, 2009 at 10:20pm
Billy- Ok first off, whats going on Iron Mic how's everything been going with you & the Ruthless Bastards ?Iron Mic- Everything is good wit me and the Fam, makin moves gettin the business thing situated still doing music makin classics, mixtapes, videos, shows etc.Billy- That's wassup...still on the grind after all these years, now how did the group Ruthless Bastardz first form together back in the day ?Iron Mic- Well first off, we are all childhood friends who grew up in the same neighborhood. There were some local rappers in our hood that we were close to we kinda got inspired by them to do music along wit growin up in hip hops golden era. One of the members (Truck) who was a lil older than us was already writing songs and already had the craft mastered so he kinda inspired us also to get together and form a group. Shortly after Ruthless was born.Billy- Unlike most groups you's actually have a real history and real friendship behind the music...off topic quickly, I heard Truck is locked up at the moment will he be returning soon to the music scene ?Iron Mic- Yep exactly a lot of groups are put together, we all came up together, and we go thru things just like a family, we make up like brothers and its done. Yes Truck was locked up for 4 years, he is home now on work release and is back to business. His 1st day home we recorded some heat.Billy- Thats good, nice to know that he's out and back home recording...Had to clear that up for those who thought he was still locked up. Now I've also heard that Apocalipps is doing time right now, any truth to that and if so when is he expected home ?Iron Mic- Yeah Apocalipps is currently locked up he should be home around winter 2010, he's good tho, holdin his head, I correspond with him weekly.Billy- Good to know he'll be home sooner then we all know...now back to the music side, how did you guys link up with Rza & Wu Tang records years ago ?Iron Mic- Well we started recording music and created a local buzz on Staten Island and gained the attention of a lot of promoters etc. We linked up with Mike Mcdonald, the man behind the Wu dynasty, and started putting out some music on the independent side, from there we created an even bigger buzz, and started getting spins on hot 97. From there we had a meeting wit Penalty records around the same time CNN signed with them we didn't sign. Then we had a meeting with Steve Rifkind from Loud records still we didn't sign. Then Mike Mcdonald brought us to Rza and the Wu Tang deal happened. At that time the Wu was on top of the rap game. Which we thought was the best thing for us being from Staten Island. But it was the wrong move!Billy- I could see from how it looks and the situation itself being they were at the top at the time why it would seem like the best thing for you guys, but how did it play out into being a wrong move ?Iron Mic- Well there was a lot of friction going on, on the inside between the members and that whole thing where they were beefing about Rza having all their money etc. I don't wanna go all into that cuz I don't kno the specifics of that situation, but its obvious Rza wasn't being fair with the members. So eventually for some reason Wu Tang Records lost their distribution and that was the end of the Wu situation. But we did feature on the compilation album the Swarm which sold a lot of units it should be platinum, and we are very grateful to have had that oppurtunity because we are known worldwide because of it. And we all have gold plaques to show for itBilly- Yeah I remember from watching the U-God interview hearing about Rza and the money situation but that's on them, but I feel the situation between Rza & Ruthless B's could've been handled much better...now I heard all the shots taken on the Corner Store mixtape, how has that project been received from your fans so far ?Iron Mic- Its been great, there's really no beef at all between Ruthless Bastardz and Wu tang, but as individuals we just voice our displeasures wit the situation. But like I said there's no problems between us, I've done songs with Deck and I'm cool wit most of them, and I have the utmost respect for them and their movement, I was a big Wu fan and in my eyes they are the best rap group of all time. We were and are still considered the next Wu, which is a honor. Anybody who knows the history of the situation knos Ruthless Bastardz were supposed to come right after the Wu and keep Staten Island alive and that we will do!!Billy- Correct, and I believe out of all the groups under the Wu's wings you guys had the potential and talent to keep the ball rolling in Staten...and still do ! Now I remember hearing G-Clef saying you guys broke up a few years ago, was that true ?Iron Mic- No way, we are unbreakable! That probably came about when we started doing solo projects, but if you pay attention to those cds, we all featured on each others solo project. Ruthless is Forever a family not like these put together, make believe, wanna be groups. Excluding nobody!Billy- That's true, speaking on solo projects I'm listening to that "12 rounds vol 1" right now on datpiff.com and you killed it...& to me you showed you can easily stand on your own 2, how was it releasing that solo project and what do you feel that did for you ?Iron Mic- Thank you, I appreciate that. From the response and also from my own feelings I knew I could do my own thing and represent Ruthless to the fullest with a solo project. Behind that, the reason the solo projects started was because the members of Ruthless were constantly in and out of jail so as individuals we had to hold it down. Just wait till you hear 12 rounds vol. 2 hosted by dj Absolut, volumes 3 and 4 are also ready to go along with IRON MIC 12 rounds the albumBilly- Now whens that suppose to drop so everyone knows and where can we get it?Iron Mic- In a month or two and it will be available at hungrymen.biz. That is our independent lable. Hungrymen Entertainment/Pop ya head off Rec.Billy- Can't wait for that, now I have a few quick questions before we wrap this up...What's your all time favorite Ruthless Bastards album/mixtape ?Iron Mic- I would have to run wit the two raw for radio hosted by kay slay..Its a toss up between that and 12 rounds vol.2Billy- Yea I'd do with Too Raw for radio too...who are currently all the members in the Ruthless bastards right now ?Iron Mic- Iron Mic, Apocalipps, Truck,Sha gotti, Blizzard, P live, Beno tha kidd and Bless and Freezy the ceoBilly- Will there be a Corner Store Stickup 3 in the near future ? (Previous 2 hosted by Whoo Kid)Iron Mic- Probably so, were gonna drop a couple different projects before that, were gonna drop a few solo mixtapes, myself, blizzard, and p Live, were gonna release wu tang vs ruthless(who really runs Shaolin) and a mixtape called "Kings of the Symphony" using all the classic symphony beats.Billy- Sounds sick, can't wait for that Ruthless vs. Wu-Tang tape...I still listen to the Ruthless vs. G-unit tape...will we get a part 2 to that one? haha...Iron Mic- Maybe, there was dj from out here called dj storm , who dropped that mixtape, those mixtapes aint about no drama, they are just to compare the groups musicallyBilly- Exactly, just to get that cleared up so nobody gets the wrong impression...now any last words or shout outs and where fans can reach you and the other members for music & anything else ?Iron Mic- No doubt, my email is the closest thing to me, so they can hit me at iron456@tmail.com and also ironmicmusic at myspace, the Hungrymen websit which is the home of RUthless will be back up and running in bout 2 weeks, there the fans and real hip hop heads can get the whole Ruthless Bastardz catalog. I wanna send some love to Megatron from bet 106 and park, that's my right hand man,dj Absolut,my boy frado the beatman, Whoo kid and all the loyal Ruthless Fans who been following us from day 1, we will take over the rap game, I promise!!! Big shout out too Apocalipps and Sha Gotti, hold ya heads we got this and my lil brother weezy hold ya head, we love yall. And crazy respect to you, Billy for taking the time out to show Ruthless some love.Billy- No problem at all Iron Mic i appreciate you taking time out and doing this interview and we'll definitely link up and do another one real soon...Iron Mic- No doubt...www.myspace.com/ironmicmusic (Iron Mic's page)www.myspace.com/ruthlessbastardz (Group's page)
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According to Trey Songz, even as Drake was en route to the hospital after his onstage fall, the Young Money artist was planning his grand return home to Toronto. On Tuesday night, an injured Drake took to the stage to perform with his friend during Young Money Presents: The America's Most Wanted Music Festival stop in his hometown.
"I spoke to Drake the night that he actually fell, and you know what I mean — he was just pullin' up to the hospital and we rapped for a second," Songz told MTV News. "I been talking to him ever since then. He already had it made up in his mind that he was not gonna miss performing for Toronto."
Songz was already in Toronto for a club event, and Drake convinced him to stay an extra two days so they could rock onstage together.
"He came out to that 'Successful' — it was like an out-of-body experience," Trey gushed. "They went so crazy for the kid, man."
Since Drake had fallen and missed a couple of shows on the tour, his appearance on Tuesday surprised fans.
"He came out with his cane," Trey said. "He wanted to walk out. He wanted to take his time and he rocked on a stool. But the energy he was giving was like he was standing. With me and Wayne up there it was like an extension of him — [we were on] both sides of the stage. It was stupid ... the energy was so crazy.
"When we stepped off the stage, we gave each other hugs — it was love," he added. "All his peoples came, just givin' us love. It was crazy and we was taking pictures, and then we just sat and rapped about it for a second. He came back out for 'Every Girl.' But the energy was stupid when we got offstage. Everyone was just telling us how amazing it looked ... because none of it was really planned. Like when Wayne came back out — Wayne didn't know I was there — and when he came back out he stayed onstage. It was just the energy, man — it was unexplainable."
Although the night turned out to be successful, Trey said that people were having second thoughts about Drake taking the stage so soon after his injury.
"Everybody's nervous at every second," he said. "You know, making sure he got his cane, making sure he ain't putting too much pressure [on his leg]. I gotta tell him to sit down every now and then when I was up there — he's still a regular person. You want to be able to move. But he stayed on that stool ... there was a couple of times I seen he wanted to come up off that stool, but he stayed down. They went so crazy. Damn, I'm telling you — it was crazy."
Songz recorded a verse for a remix to "Successful," and will join Drake in front of the cameras for the video soon. There is no word if Lil Wayne will appear in the video.
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HipHopWired Reports
The man that brought you Black America cinematic classics like “School Daze” “Malcom X” and “Do the Right Thing” is teaming up with the reigning king of Hip-Hop classics for a special commercial. Spike Lee is directing Jay-Z for a commercial celebrating the ten-year anniversary of his Rocawear clothing line. The collaboration was confirmed via Twitter Tuesday by celebrity stylist and Rocawear co-hort, June Ambrose. Ambrose tweeted Tuesday:
“Tough Tuesday! Shhhh spike lee is directing the Jigga man!”
She then went on to post more details about the production revealing that it would be a three-day shoot and included picture of Jigga and Spike Lee on set.
Ambrose also included a video with behind the scenes footage for her followers.
While Jigga's staying busy on camera, his highly anticipated “Blueprint 3”'s tracklisting and album cover was revealed Monday. The album features Drake, Kanye, Nas, Kid Cudi and Rihanna.
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HipHopWired Reports
A poster of President Obama in make-up resembling the Joker, a character from the film "The Dark Knight," went viral immediately in the streets of Los Angeles, under the image is the word "socialism." The "artist" remains silent.
As if the picture isn't discourteous enough, the implication of Obama reforming the government into a socialist society completely undermines the mission and agenda of Obama's presidency.
The phantom "artist" created the poster from the October 2006 issue of Time Magazine featuring Obama on the cover and added the "Joker" face to the shot, according to the Associated Press.
According to various reports, the poster have been circulated and spotted throughout different parts of L.A. and Hollywood since Monday (August 3), particularly on highway ramps and underpasses. There have been reports of the poster sightings in Atlanta as well.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, L.A. activist and columnist has beckoned the creator(s) to come forward, announce themselves and explain the motivation behind the poster.
"Depicting the president as demonic and a socialist goes beyond political spoofery," says Hutchinson, "it is mean-spirited and dangerous.
"We have issued a public challenge to the person or group that put up the poster to come forth and publicly tell why they have used this offensive depiction to ridicule President Obama."
On behalf of the staff here at HipHopWired.com, we join Hutchinson and encourage the mastermind behind the poster to make themselves known, exercise their freedom of speech and explain his/her intention. Such a statement deserves expounding, otherwise the move could be rendered just as cowardly as white sheets and burning crosses.
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AllHipHop Reports
It’s been months since the release of the beef-igniting “Mafia Music.” But multi-division boxing champion Floyd Mayweather has not forgotten Rick Ross’ unprovoked jab at him.
While most focused on the lines aimed at Mayweather friend 50 Cent, Ross also questioned the validity of Mayweather’s wealth claims, despite the boxer grossing $50 million in 2007.
(“That Mayweather money looking funny in the light.”)
In an exclusive multi-part interview with AllHipHop.com, Mayweather framed Ross as an unoriginal artist who appropriated the lifestyles and appearance of other individuals.
“Cassidy already did ‘I’m a Hustla,’ [and] he’s an East Coast rapper. That’s already been done. Freeway already came out with the beard look. And then the real Rick Rosswas really getting it as a hustler,” Mayweather explained to AllHipHop.com. “I don’t have to take no shots at Rick Ross. I don’t think he’s making $20-$30 million every time he goes out there to perform. I got my own name, Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather. That’s original. With his rap career, I wish him nothing but the best.”
Regarding Ross’ initial flip-flopping on the corrections officer issue, Mayweather references that controversy as proof the Miami rapper is simply selling a false image.
“[His] stats and credentials don’t rhyme. One minute he said he wasn’t a CO or cop, next minute he is,” Mayweather told AllHipHop.com. “He can learn how to get money from me. If he’s a cop and rapping about selling drugs, I guess he was a dirty cop! You know me, I’m not ducking and dodging no one, it’s not hard to find me. I’m in Miami all the time, Atlanta, everywhere.”
Although cognizant that comments like his have a history of igniting “beefs,” Floyd Mayweather feels Ross is simply a disgruntled fan lashing out.
“Me and my manager Al Haymon were the ones that did Lil Wayne’s last tour. So when I seen Rick Ross in Miami on the first show, he broke his neck to speak to me,” Mayweather stated.
“Rap has truly changed. He was at my Hatton fight, cheering me on. I guess he got upset because I’m cool with 50 Cent. But like I said, if I need someone arrested I’ll call him.”
Floyd Mayweather is currently preparing for his anticipated September 19 return bout against fellow pound for pound elite Juan Manuel Marquez.
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The city council voted 4-3 Monday evening to reprimand transgender mayor Stu Rasmussen for violating the dress code for city leaders.
A citizen earlier filed a complaint that the mayor's choice of a short skirt and halter top at a children's event was too racy. At the time, Rasmussen defended the choice as appropriate for the hot and humid conditions.
At Monday's council meeting, citizens criticized and defended the first openly transgender mayor in the country. What started with Rasmussen's election as the remarkable ability of smalltown America to accept him wore thin at the city hall council chamber.
"I've always liked you Stu, but I think you're wrong on this issue," Ralph Amstutze said at the meeting.
Joe Craig told Rasmussen that the mayor had engaged in "shameless self promotion" nationwide about being a transgender mayor, instead of being engaged as mayor of Silverton.
Another resident, Mark Johnston, said Rasmussen needed to dress appropriately for all the city's residents, including those with conservative tastes like himself, "in consideration of all you represent."
Ilene Conrad offered a contrarian viewpoint. She said had a woman dressed like Rasmussen, there would be no complaint, no issue. "(The mayor) was condemned because he's Stu, and he's a man."
Rasmussen did not apologize, but reported telling council members earlier that "I will be more careful with my attire in the future when I represent the city of Silverton."
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Improper.Com Reports
Vanessa Hudgens just can’t seem to keep her clothes on, or stop from taking pictures of herself, which somehow manage to leak onto the Internet.
Nude photos of Disney’s “High School Musical” star, which she supposedly took for boyfriend Zac Efron, went viral today (Aug. 5) in another red-faced moment for Disney bigwigs.
The photos are blurry and look like Hudgens took them herself with a camera phone.
"Vanessa took some suggestive shots of herself in the buff as a surprise for Zac," a source told the National Enquirer.
The photos are likely drawing scorn from Disney executives, who like their stars to be squeaky clean.
The Enquirer claims a “third party” got their hands on the photos and was shopping them around. Celebrity Web site TMZ claims that the photos are legitimate, and not those of a look-a-like.
"This was a photo which was taken privately. It is a personal matter and it is unfortunate that this has become public," a rep for the star told the Web site.
"Vanessa's only 18, so she had no idea how her flirtatious act could threaten the future of the multimillion-dollar plans Disney has for the show," a source told the Enquirer. "She just wanted to keep Zac interested."
But that seems unlikely. Hudgens got into hot water the last time photos of her in the buff leaked on the Web and she probably knew full well that more photos could cause another scandal.
At least she’s 18 now, so publishing the photos is legal. It’s even possible they were leaked on purpose, because Hudgens, like so many maturing Disney stars, is trying to make the transition to an adult screen career – a route that is by no means clear.
The Enquirer breathlessly reported that the photos could ruin the High School Musical franchise. "It's a kids' show, aimed at children, teenagers and their parents and starring a bunch of cute, wholesome youngsters," said a show insider.
"Naked pictures of one of the stars would be catastrophic. "It could bring the whole 'High School Musical' franchise to its knees."
But that seems somewhat overblown as well. Most people are capable of separating a star’s personal life from their on-screen characters in most cases.
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HipHopWired Reports
Ever since Chris Brown was able to avoid the pokey a.k.a that 8 X 11 cell in his case, it seems as though he has been everywhere.
He even issued an apology to Rihanna through video on July 20, although he has received mixed reactions from audiences that have continued to question the actual authenticity of the boy who was once seen as someone who could do no wrong. He has assured all that he will do better.
Reports have stated that Brown will be appearing on Larry King Live today where he will finally shed light on his situation with Rihanna in regards to him beating her. His appearance will serve as Brown's first actual sit down interview since the that occurred back in February. It has also been rumored that this was the chosen venue to speak his peace and issue an apology as he felt he would not have to be hammered with brutal questioning.
Along with his interview on Larry King, Brown will also be facing the court once again as he will be sentenced for his crime. The singer is scheduled to receive a five-year parole sentence along with six months of community labor after pleading guilty in June for his felony assault charge. As appointed by the judge, his labor should involve work that is comparable to the removal of graffiti or roadside cleanup.
In terms of the victim, it has been stated that his former girlfriend Rihanna will not be appearing to hear his sentence. Her attorney, Donald Etra, added that he would be making a request to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg to withdraw the restraining order placed on the former couple that would keep them from meeting to talk with one another. There has instead been a request to have an order placed that will restrict him from harassing, annoying or molesting Rihanna.
Like T.I., this can be considered Brown's road to redemption as he has a large mess to cleanup in order to restore the faith in his fans and recapture his career. Just be happy with the parole because there's no amount of dancing that could have saved him from what could have been in store behind bars.
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The Sporting News Reports
In its own right, the recent news about Roger Mayweather, the uncle and trainer of boxer Floyd Mayweather, is tawdry material, another night of conflict and violence from the lunatic fringe, more turmoil among the Cops demographic. But looked at in the context of Floyd’s career and current circumstances, it could come to have enormous implications.
If you haven’t yet read the news, police were summoned to a private residence in Las Vegas on Sunday morning. They found Roger Mayweather there strangling Melissa St. Vil, a female boxer who was formerly trained by Mayweather. Among the grisly details of the encounter to make it into the press is that St. Vil began coughing up blood when Mayweather released her from his choke-hold. Evidently, he’d previously hit her in the ribs several times. Mayweather was immediately taken into custody at the Clark County Detention Center.
Over at Boxing Scene, there’s a description of the incident from Floyd Mayweather Sr., Roger’s brother and the father of Floyd Jr. Though he didn’t witness the altercation, Floyd Sr. said that there was tension between St. Vil and Roger because St. Vil recently had split with Roger as her trainer. St. Vil was staying with the boxer Cornelius Lock (also trained by Roger) in a condo owned by Roger, and this was what led to the physical confrontation on Sunday. Roger wanted her out of the condo and she refused to go. Evidently, during the scuffle St. Vil broke a lamp over Roger’s head, though it would appear that the majority of the violence was done by Mayweather.
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Melissa St. Vil
Though the Mayweathers are often fodder for hilarity, and have become the family you love to hate on HBO’s 24/7 documentary series, this is just not one of those “oh those guys are so crazy" kind of stories. Beating on a woman never is such a story, even if that woman happens to be a professional boxer. Throw into the mix that Mayweather has been down this road before and the story becomes even uglier. In 2006, Roger Mayweather did six months of prison time for beating the grandmother of his son.
It’s dark stuff. For Roger, it doesn’t seem unlikely that he could be facing more prison time. For his nephew, Floyd, it’s at the very least a possibility that he could be facing one of the most important fights of his career, his September 19 bout with Juan Manuel Marquez, without his trainer of the last nine years.
Floyd has fought without Uncle Rog in his corner before. When Roger was serving his sentence in 2006, Floyd fought Carlos Baldomir in a three-belt welterweight unification bout. Leonard Ellerbe, Floyd’s close adviser and manager, served as his trainer, and though the fight was boring in the extreme, it was also a virtual shutout for Mayweather.
Given Floyd’s work habits and his knowledge of boxing, I imagine that he’ll be fine come fight night with or without Roger in his corner. He hasn’t fought in almost two years, which makes the current situation a little more loaded than the Baldomir fight, but then again, Floyd is generally one of the hardest training fighters and most intelligent boxing minds of the last 20 years. The nuances of the game are inscribed in his DNA. I don’t think there’s anything that anyone could teach him at this point, not even Rog.
But the promotion of the Marquez fight is not nearly as healthy as Floyd’s boxing IQ, and that’s where this Roger Mayweather incident figures to have the most impact. There’s simply not a lot of buzz about Mayweather/Marquez right now in the sports world. Compare it to the buzz generated by the Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto fight, scheduled for November 14, and Mayweather/Marquez seems like a fly buzzing around a rhinoceros.
The main hope for changing that situation is HBO’s upcoming Mayweather-Marquez 24/7 series, which debuts on August 29. For all of Floyd’s ridiculous boasts about himself, one is undeniably true – he made the 24/7 franchise with his star-making turns in the premiere of the series, De La Hoya-Mayweather 24/7, and then the follow-up, Mayweather-Hatton 24/7.
And a big part of the compelling package of drama with Floyd is his crazy family - his crazy, wild-eyed trainer-uncle and his even crazier, poeticizing trainer-father, and all the feuds and turmoil and trouble among the three. Taken together, they are inarguably great television, some strange fusion of Wide World of Sports and The Wire.
But you have to wonder if this recent storyline with Uncle Rog isn’t too gruesome for even HBO to want to face head on. The 24/7 series has been built on celebrating the antics of the Mayweathers, but this, choking a woman and making her spit blood, is nothing to celebrate, to put it mildly. The situation at the very least will remove Roger from the light of the cameras, and even more, may cast a pall over the coverage of the whole Mayweather training camp. Because one way or the other, this incident is going to be a major issue in that camp. If Rog is there, it will be with the possible consequences of the incident hanging over his head. If he’s not, it will be because of the incident.
What this fight very much needed was a glowing 24/7 of the kind that the Mayweathers have delivered in the past, with all of their verbose, dysfunctional and often hilarious mayhem in full bloom. Now there is a dark, violent pall cast over the entire enterprise before it’s even begun. They say “all press is good press," but this situation may exceed the limitations of that adage. And the result may be that Roger Mayweather’s latest disaster has less impact on Floyd’s performance in the ring than it does on his performance at the box office.
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Justin Barrett, the Boston police officer suspended from the force for his e-mail likening Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., to a “banana-eating jungle monkey,’’ has filed a lawsuit against the Police Department, police commissioner, and mayor, saying the city violated his civil and due process rights.
The 18-page lawsuit accuses the three parties of “conspiring to intentionally inflict emotional distress and conspiring to intentionally interfere with the property rights, due process rights, and civil rights of the plaintiff.’’
Barrett added to the controversy surrounding last month’s arrest of Gates at his home in Cambridge, when he responded to a column by The Boston Globe’s Yvonne Abraham, using the racial slurs in reference to Gates.
When police officials learned of the biting missive, they quickly moved to fire him.
Later, during a national campaign to save his job, Barrett told CNN he is not a racist and “treats everyone with dignity and respect.’’
Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis suspended Barrett last Wednesday, stripping him of his badge and firearm and later released a statement calling the officer’s remarks “racist and inflammatory.
“These racist opinions and feelings have no place in this department or in our society and will not be tolerated,’’ Davis said.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino called for Barrett’s dismissal, saying: “He’s gone. G-O-N-E.’’
Representatives of both the mayor and commissioner declined to comment yesterday on the pending litigation.
According to the lawsuit, the mayor and commissioner’s actions caused Barrett pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, posttraumatic stress, sleeplessness, indignities and embarrassment, degradation, injury to reputation, and restrictions on personal freedom.
Barrett, on the police force for two years, requested that they be enjoined from decreasing, terminating, or withholding any wages. He also asked for money damages to compensate for the emotional and physical pain he suffered, attorney’s fees, and punitive damages.
The suit also contends that Davis and Menino’s treatment of the officer is “disproportionate to the allegations against Officer Barrett given he has not had any meaningful opportunity to prepare any defense to the allegations based on [their] statements.’’
Barrett had no prior disciplinary history; and no investigation has begun for his termination, but Davis said at a press conference last Thursday that a hearing would be scheduled within the next 10 days.
Barrett said in the lawsuit that Davis and Menino’s statements to the public in recent weeks have made it clear that he will be terminated and therefore any hearing or investigation will be tainted.
Boston police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said it was policy not to comment on pending litigation, and Menino’s press office said they knew the suit had been filed, but had not been formally served.
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