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Tri-County Sentry
Friday AUGUST 29, 2014
Sports News Marcos Maidana:
'Floyd Mayweather Not as Good as People Think'
By Elias Cepeda Marcos Maidana exceeded most pundits' expectations last May when he lost a majority decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. Heading into his Sep. 13 welterweight title rematch against "Money," Maidana is letting the world know that Mayweather didn't live up to billing. "He's not as good as people think," the Argentine said during a recent Showtime media round table. "I was able to pin him to the ropes and land punches, so he's not as difficult or as invincible as people think. He's hittable. You can land on him. I made mistakes. I was a little too anxious. He never hurt me, but he's got a respectable punch. You've got to respect him." Maidana insists that he hasn't tried to overhaul himself in this current camp for Mayweather. "[I'm] just working on my distance control and a couple other minor changes," he said. However, the brawler expects that he will have improved more than Mayweather could have from their first fight. "(Mayweather) can obviously change and get better, but I can change and get better
Marcos Maidana [L] believes Floyd Mayweather Jr. isn't all he's cracked up to be. too," he said. break and catch my breath "The only thing he can a little bit. I had to pace do is box and that's what he myself. I have to not get as did in the first fight. He was anxious for this fight." moving a lot. What is he Perhaps Maidana has algoing to do? Move more?" ready gotten past the point One area that Maidana of excessive nervousness acknowledged he could for the Mayweather reimprove upon is his condi- match, or perhaps it's still a tioning and pacing. In the work in progress and all his first fight, he tired late in the confident words are meant fight - something he attri- to bolster his psyche. For butes, in part, to nerves - and now, he's insisting that he knows he'll have to go despite not making major strong for the entire fight in changes in his training order to improve his chanc- he'll be more improved than es of beating Mayweather. Mayweather, and that he's "Yes. I did [tire in the had enough time to prepare second half of the fight for boxing's biggest star. with Mayweather]," he ad"I've had a little more mitted. time to prepare for this "I came out strong the fight," he concluded. first six or seven rounds, "So this time I'm going and after that I had to take a to be ready."
By Zachary Fagenson MIAMI - Miami Heat basketball star Ray Allen is likely to press charges against a group of teenag-
ers who in the middle of the night slipped into his south Florida home, entering the bedroom where his wife Shannon and four
NBA's Allen May Press Trespassing Charges Against Miami Teens
Ray Allen children were sleeping, officials said. “Shannon, Ray and (their lawyer) are going to be meeting with authorities,” family spokeswoman Meredith Geisler said. Allen, in a statement questioned the decision of law enforcement officials, who said they were unable to charge the seven 18 and 19 year-olds with burglary or trespassing. “The suggestion that anyone can unlawfully enter into someone’s locked home and then into an occupied bedroom in the middle of the night without consequences is unsettling,” Allen said in a statement to Reuters. The group, which had been attending a nearby party, entered Allen’s home and fled after startling Shannon Allen while she slept, according to Coral Gables police spokeswoman Kelly Denham. There was not enough evidence to charge the group with burglary, and police could not charge trespassing as no officer saw the incident, officials said. Only a member of the family who witnessed it can file charges, said Denham.
Melo Follows LeBron's Lead
Just like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony is dropping a bit of weight heading into the 2014-15 NBA season. According to the New York Post, the Knicks forward aims to get his weight down to around the same as when he entered the NBA in 2005 as a 230-pound rookie with the Denver Nuggets. Last season, Anthony was listed at 240 pounds, but he likely got heavier as the season went on. Melo has been criticized as "too tired" to hit critical shots late in games. Among the NBA's top 25 scorers last
Carmelo Anthony season, his drop in shooting percentage from the first to the fourth quarter
UFC's Anthony Johnson:
was the steepest. "He wants to be as athletic as he was when he was a rookie," the Post reported. According to another source, Anthony has been in the gym three times a day performing basketball and agility drills, lifting weights and doing yoga. "[Being thinner] will prolong their careers," said Reggie Miller, the slender star of the Indiana Pacers who was known for making clutch 3-pointers in his prime. Miller said extra weight on aging NBA players means more wearand-tear on their bodies.
'I'll Never Fight Rashad Evans'
Former teammates Rashad Evans and Jon Jones eventually fought one another after a bitter feud, but current Evans teammate Anthony Johnson says that will never happen with him and "Suga." "That just won't happen," Johnson told UFC.com. "That's just how it's going to be with me. I'll tell them I'll go up to heavyweight and fight. By that time Rashad should have a fight, and whatever the outcome is going to be, is going to be. Then I can have my fights at heavyweight or light heavyweight. “But I won't fight him, ever. We fight each other every day in the gym, so I think it's just pointless to go down that road and fight a brother." There are plenty of people on the resurgent UFC star's hit-list, however. First off, he'd like to fight Ryan Bader in October. Bader beat Ovince St. Preux via unanimous decision. Johnson was critical of the fight but still admires Bader's skill. "It was a boring fight,"
Anthony Johnson has a clear plan to becoming UFC champ. he said of Bader's win. "Exciting fighters put on exciting fights, and that's what fans want to see." Johnson is finally willing to call out potential opponents. “People finally want me to start calling people out, you know what I mean?" he said. "I never did that before. But I've always wanted to fight Ryan Bader because I've always thought he was a tough fighter. "Nobody has really seen my wrestling, so a fight with [Bader] would
be a good way for me to display my wrestling. In my opinion, he is a better wrestler than Phil Davis." After Bader, Johnson says he'd like to fight number one contender Alexander Gustafsson on the same Jan. 3 card where Daniel Cormier will challenge Jon Jones for his light heavyweight title. "It will be a good fight," he said of fighting the Swede. "Gus is taller than me, but I think we have the same amount of length of reach. So it'll be interesting. Gus likes to move a lot and I like to stalk people and see what they have to offer. It will be a hell of fight. I definitely want to give the fans what they want to see. “Hopefully we can make the Jones-Cormier fight, one of those fights where that whole card is like a preview of what the light heavyweights have to offer." Johnson's loyalty to teammates and ambition are both admirable. Do you think he can continue to roll through the 205 pound division to a title shot?
Agent for Greg Monroe Pursued Sign-and-Trade Deals with Five Teams
By Brett Pollakoff Restricted free agency hasn’t been kind to Greg Monroe of the Pistons. But it’s not for a lack of effort on the part of agent to get an agreeable deal done. Monroe averaged 15.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game last season, and many believe that’s just the beginning of what he will be able to do over the life of his career. But since the Pistons could match any offer Monroe might have received from other teams this summer, his representation didn’t bother to seek any that could have potentially set an artificial value on his services, and restricted his earning potential over the next four years. Monroe’s agent did, however, seek to find another way out. From Michael Lee of the Washington Post: Monroe and his agent, David Falk, never sought an offer sheet from another team but pursued sign-andtrade proposals with at least five other teams, including Portland and Oklahoma City, according to person familiar with the discussions. Monroe denied re-
Greg Monroe ceiving a reported five-year, $60 million offer – or anything close – from Pistons and would’ve been unlikely to accept either way. His frustrations with the Pistons are understandable since he is about to have his fifth coach in five years with incoming coach Stan Van Gundy (who will also serve as team president) and Detroit is no closer to being a playoff team than it was when he arrived. Monroe doesn’t have anything against Van Gundy but is uncertain if he has the patience to invest four or five more years in the Pistons. Next summer, Monroe might be able to go where he pleases without
much competition. Kevin Love is likely to re-sign with Cleveland (once the Cavaliers consummate the expected trade with Minnesota) and Marc Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge will be the only other quality big man available. Several teams will also have cap space under a steadily increasing ceiling that could mean more money for the 24-year-old Monroe. Monroe would certainly have options as an unrestricted free agent following the conclusion of next season, but only if he continues to improve, and only if he manages to remain as durable as he’s been during his first four years in the league. Financially, seeking a max contract via sign-andtrade is the way to go if the Pistons aren’t coming with the amount of money he’s seeking, and if that doesn’t work out, playing for the qualifying offer of just over $5 million next year in order to reap the benefits the following season would, in theory, make a lot of sense. But the injury risk is real, which makes Monroe’s situation extremely interesting, no matter how it ultimately plays out.