Bryant drops 40, Lakers beat Jazz in OT

The Black Mamba doesn't merely strike once. One night after dropping 48 on the Phoenix Suns, Kobe Bryant was scoring 40 in a winning effort on the Utah Jazz.


Call it the perennial chip on Bryant's shoulders or renewed knees that are fresh from European doctors, but the Lakers star looks to be in MVP shape after another dominant showing.


The Lakers were looking for their first road win and were facing a team that owns their crib. The Utah Jazz have shown a much different form since the Lakers saw them at Staples Center on December 27th.


The Jazz were 6-2 since that time, but you can now add another loss to their record as the Lakers took a close one in overtime, 90-87.


This was the season that the media decided Kobe Bryant was washed up. ESPN, in their infinite wisdom, declared that Bryant was the seventh-best player in the league.


We can safely assume that the Black Mamba has taken some form of inspiration from the sudden lack of respect from those who once lauded him. Well, it's time to get back on the Mamba bandwagon.


The clock's winding down, a final scramble and we didn't know what was going on," Hayward said. "There were 8 seconds left, so I got to make a play. Maybe I could have shot a 1-2 pullup, but I thought it was the right play, the right pass. We got a good look. Bynum just made a good play."
Bryant would block a long 3-point attempt by Devin Harris as the Jazz inbounded with 0.7 seconds remaining in OT.
The win was the first on the road for the Lakers (8-4), while Utah (6-4) is 5-1 at home.
"It felt good to get a road win here," Bryant said. "It's a very tough place to play and it was a huge test for us."
But even he wasn't so sure Gasol could knock down the 22-footer from the corner.
"Pau's been shooting them well in practice and coach has been urging me to trust him at the 3-point line," Bryant said. "I thought about passing it to him, it seemed like an eternity. But I said, 'What the hell.'
"You think Tebow prays? When that ball left his hand, I must have said 30 Hail Mary's."
Gasol finished with 14 points. He was just 5 of 14 overall, but hit his only 3-point attempt — his first of the season.
"Tonight was not a very effective game on our part, for the most part," Gasol said. "But we continued to fight through it. We forgot about everything else and we made two big plays down the stretch with the put-back and the block and I was able to make a couple plays. Hopefully we'll get the bodies that we have injured right now and it will give us a deeper rotation."
If the Lakers were celebrating a little more than usual, they say they earned the right.
"It was a tough game. It's hard to get a win here. Back to back, getting in here late last night, going to bed late. It's something to be proud of as a team," Gasol said. "Hopefully, we'll get some sleep and get ready for another back-to-back."
The Jazz also left feeling pretty good despite the loss, saying they are a different team than the one that faced the Lakers in the opener.
"We kept playing hard, didn't give up," Jefferson said. "It's one of those games at the end of the day we wish we could have won, but we could walk out with our head up. We played hard until the end. We just got to get ready for New Jersey."
The Jazz face the Nets on Saturday in a game that marks the return of Deron Williams for the first time since he was traded away last February.
"We're coming, we're getting better," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "We played against a good team tonight. They were a little bit better but our effort was great."
NOTES: Lakers forward Jason Kapono missed his second game so he could be with his wife, who gave birth Tuesday to twin girls. … Josh McRoberts (sprained toe/thumb) and Troy Murphy (stomach ailment) also did not suit up for L.A. … Jazz guard Raja Bell was assessed a first-quarter technical after giving Bryant a quick shove then having a few words with him. … Both teams were a combined 1-10 from 3-point range in the first half… Lakers guard Steve Blake suffered a rib contusion in the fourth quarter.

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bean Bryant, born August 23, 1978 is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school basketball player in the country. He decided to declare his eligibility for the NBA Draft upon graduation, and was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. As a rookie, Bryant earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest.
Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. A heated feud between the duo and a loss in the 2004 NBA Finals was followed by O'Neal's trade from the Lakers after the 2003–04 season. Following his departure Bryant became the cornerstone of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise. He led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, setting numerous scoring records in the process. In 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second most points scored in a single game in NBA history, second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962. He was awarded the regular season's Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) in 2008. After losing in the 2008 NBA Finals, Bryant led the Lakers to two consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010, earning the NBA Finals MVP Award on both occasions.
As of July 2011, Bryant ranks third and sixth on the league's all-time post-season scoring and all-time regular season scoring lists, respectively. He is also the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history. Since his second year in the league, Bryant has started in every NBA All-Star Game that has been held with thirteen All-Star appearances, winning the All-Star MVP Award four times (2002, 2007, 2009, and 2011). Bryant is tied for the most All Star MVP Awards in NBA History. He is a thirteen-time member of the All-NBA team and an eleven-time member of the All-Defensive team; he is also the youngest player ever to receive defensive honors. At the 2008 Olympics, he won a gold medal as a member of the USA national team. In 2009, Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the top NBA player of the 2000s decade.
In 2003, Bryant was accused of sexual assault after having sex with a hotel employee in Colorado. In September 2004, prosecutors dropped the case after his accuser refused to testify. A civil suit was later filed and settled out of court.


The Lakers started the 2010–11 season by winning their first eight games. In his ninth game of the season, playing against the Denver Nuggets, Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 26,000 career points. Bryant also recorded his first triple double since January 21, 2009. On January 30 against the Celtics, he become the youngest player to score 27,000 points. On February 1, 2011, Bryant became one of seven players with at least 25,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 5,000 assists. In Boston on February 10, Bryant scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half as the Lakers rallied from an early 15-point deficit for a 92–86 win over the Celtics. It was the Lakers' first victory of the season against one of the league's top four teams, as they entered the game 0–5 in previous matchups and had been outscored by an average of 11 points. Bryant, selected to his 13th straight All-Star game after becoming the leading vote-getter, had 37 points, 14 rebounds, and three steals in the 2011 All-Star Game and won his fourth All-Star MVP, tying Hall of Famer Bob Pettit for the most All-Star MVP awards. During the season, Bryant moved from 12th to 6th place on the NBA all-time career scoring list, passing John Havlicek, Dominique Wilkins, Oscar Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes, and Moses Malone. Bryant finished the season averaging less than 20 shots a game, his fewest since the 2003–04 season.


In the summer of 2003, the sheriff's office of Eagle, Colorado, arrested Bryant in connection with an investigation of a sexual assault complaint filed by 19-year old hotel employee Katelyn Faber. Bryant had checked into The Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in Eagle County in advance of undergoing knee surgery nearby. Faber accused Bryant of raping her in his hotel room the night before Bryant was to have the procedure. Bryant admitted an adulterous sexual encounter with his accuser, but denied her sexual assault allegation.
The accusation tarnished Bryant's reputation, as the public's perception of Bryant plummeted, and his endorsement contracts with McDonald's and Nutella were terminated. Sales for Bryant's replica jersey fell significantly from their previous highs. However, in September 2004, the assault case was dropped by prosecutors after Faber refused to testify in the trial. Afterward, Bryant agreed to apologize to Faber for the incident, including his public mea culpa: "Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter. Faber filed a separate civil lawsuit against Bryant, which the two sides ultimately settled with the specific terms of the settlement being undisclosed to the public.


Before starting the 1996–97 NBA season, Bryant signed a 6-year contract with Adidas worth approximately $48 million. His first signature shoe was the Equipment KB 8. Bryant's other earlier endorsements included deals with The Coca-Cola Company to endorse their Sprite soft drink, appearing in advertisements for McDonald's, promoting Spalding's new NBA Infusion Ball, Upper Deck, Italian chocolate company Ferrero SpA's brand Nutella, Russell Corporation. and appearing on his own series of video games by Nintendo. Many companies like McDonald's and Ferrero SpA terminated his contracts when rape allegations against him became public. A notable exception was Nike, Inc., who had signed him to a 5-year, $40–45 million contract just before the incident. However, they refused to use his image or market a new shoe of his for the year, but eventually did start promoting Bryant once his image recovered 2 years later. He has since resumed endorsement deals with The Coca-Cola Company, through their subsidiary Energy Brands to promote their Vitamin Water brand of drinks. Bryant was also the cover athlete for NBA '07: Featuring the Life Vol. 2 and appeared in commercials for the video games Guitar Hero World Tour (with Tony Hawk, Michael Phelps, and Alex Rodriguez) in 2008 and Call of Duty: Black Ops (alongside Jimmy Kimmel) in 2010.


In 2011, Bryant was featured in Taiwanese singer Jay Chou's single, "The Heaven and Earth Challenge" (天地一鬥, pronounced "Tian Di Yi Dou"). The proceeds for downloads of both the single and ringtones were donated to impoverished schools for basketball facilities and equipment. The music video of the single also features Bryant. The song was also used by Sprite in its 2011 marketing campaign in China.


Bryant is the official ambassador for After-School All-Stars (ASAS), an American non-profit organization that provides comprehensive after-school programs to children in 13 US cities. Bryant also started the Kobe Bryant China Fund which partnered with the Soong Ching Ling Foundation, a charity backed by the Chinese government. The Kobe Bryant China Fund raises money within China earmarked for education and health programs. On November 4, 2010, Bryant appeared alongside Zach Braff at the Call of Duty: Black Ops launch event at the Santa Monica Airport, where they presented a $1 million check to the Call of Duty Endowment, an Activision-founded nonprofit organization that helps veterans transition to civilian careers after their military service has ended.

Mark D. Siljander

Mark Deli Siljander, born June 11, 1951 is a former Republican U.S. Representative and deputy United Nations ambassador from the state of Michigan. He was convicted of obstruction of justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent related to his work for an Islamic charity with ties to international terrorism. Siljander pleaded guilty to the charges in Federal court on July 7, 2010.


Siljander was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he attended the public schools, having graduated in 1969 from Oak Park and River Forest High School. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1972 and a Master of Arts from Western Michigan in 1973. Siljander was awarded an honorary doctorate in humanities from Coral Ridge Baptist University, Jacksonville, Florida, and a Ph.D. in international business from George Wythe College, Cedar City, Utah (accreditation pending), where he was listed as a faculty member.[2] He served as a trustee on Fabius Township Board in St. Joseph County, Michigan, from 1972–1976 and also worked as a real estate broker.


Charges of money laundering are at the root of the Siljander indictment, with "conspiracy and obstruction" built around those accusations. However, the basis of the Bush Department of Justice "money laundering" charges theoretically make any funds received from a blacklisted charity, a list devoid of "due process", whether banning is public or secret, whether funds are distributed before or after "blacklisting," guilty of a criminal act in support of "terrorism."
With such overbroad application of enforcement, according to OMBWatch, any vendor or supplier could face prosecution. Equally, no person could donate funds to any charity organization where the remote chance that any relationship, no matter how tenuous or obscure, may exist or have existed with any organization or individual tied to a "blacklist."
An argument would thus follow that the issue of prosecutorial targeting tied to political concerns, rather than security issues would provide a basis for an affirmative defense, supported by the wide number of controversies tied to Gonzales appointees and the litany of accusations they face as outlined here.
The Afghan warlord tied by this indictment to the IARA, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, is reported to have had a long relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency and to have been the recipient of millions in US funding:
"As the US mobilizes for covert war in Afghanistan (see 1978 and July 3, 1979), a CIA special envoy meets Afghan mujaheddin leaders at Peshawar, Pakistan, near the border to Afghanistan. All of them have been carefully selected by the Pakistani ISI and do not represent a broad spectrum of the resistance movement. One of them is Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a drug dealer with little support in Afghanistan, but who is loyal to the ISI. The US will begin working with Hekmatyar and over the next 10 years over half of all US aid to the mujaheddin will go to his faction (see 1983).
Few articles in the mainstream press mention the far more substantial historical association: that between Hekmatyar and the CIA. During the 1980s he received fully 90% the CIA-supplied funds doled out via Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) to the Mujahadeen Islamic warriors (see Ahmed Rashid, Taliban [Yale University Press, 2000], p. 91). These funds amounted to some half-billion dollars per year throughout the 1980s, matched by equal sums from that other enthusiastic Mujahadeen patron, acting in close cooperation with the US: Saudi Arabia. Hekmatyar is Mr. Blowback, among the most vicious of former US clients now at odds with their one-time paymasters. So his career deserves some study. Born in Baghlan around 1950, Hekmatyar attended a military academy, then Kabul University where by some accounts he was for several years a member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), a party aligned with the Soviet Union.


The possibility that the IARA or elements of that organization may have been working in close association with US intelligence agencies throughout this period without the knowledge of Missouri based Justice Department officials or local FBI agents there and that key intelligence capabilities may have been cripled through the lack of interagency cooperation is suggested but essential facts supporting this hypothesis remain classified.
"Commingling" of USAID funds in IARA accounts is a critical issue in the series of indictments. Though the USAID claims none of its funds were used to support terrorism, a statement that would render all claims in any of the indictments as void, the timeline of FBI contacts with Khaleel and "revelations" of his terrorist involvement, when superimposed on records of continued funding by the US of his activities shows an unavoidable set of conflicting facts either demonstrating ineptitude by US government agencies or inadvertent exposure of a covert intelligence gathering program. As US funding ended in 1999, it wasn't until 2004 that the US shut down operations yet several indictments are based on dispersal of funds of only USAID origin while funds from other sources may have been resident in the IARA accounts.
Further supporting this line of inquiry is the 1996 release by the CIA of a classified report stating that the IARA supplied weapons to Bosnian fighters and was affiliated with Sudan's government and elements in Saudi Arabia. Evidence that the U.S. government continued to fund this group despite this additional set of revelations could be seen as additional support to the hypothesis that the Siljander/IARA indictments exposed a covert intelligence operation of the United States. Siljander is said to have had ties to the CIA and was once targeted for assassination by the PLO.


On July 7, 2010, Siljander pled guilty to obstruction of justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent.


Siljander, Mark D. (October 2008). A Deadly Misunderstanding: A Congressman's Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide. New York: HarperOne. ISBN 9780061438288.
Belz, Emily. "Bad Connections". WORLD magazine. 14 August 2010. pp. 44–6.

Mark Siljander of Michigan sentenced to 1 year in prison

Mark Deli Siljander, a former U.S. congressman who in 2010 pleaded guilty to obstructing justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison.


Siljander, 60, a Michigan Republican who served in Congress from 1981 to 1987, was charged as part of a wider criminal case against members of the Islamic American Relief Agency, which prosecutors said had ties to the Pakistani Taliban, al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, who was killed by U.S. forces in May.


He was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey in Kansas City, Missouri. Four members of the now- defunct Columbia, Missouri-based IARA were also sentenced, U.S. Attorney Beth Phillips said in a statement.


After secretly sending more than $1 million to Iraq in violation of U.S. economic sanctions, “IARA then hired a former congressman to lobby the government on its behalf after it was listed as a specially designated global terrorist organization,” the prosecutor said.


The group’s executive director, Mubarak Hamed, and fundraiser Abdel Azim El-Siddiq in 2004 hired Siljander to lobby for the group’s removal from a U.S. Senate list of charities suspected of aiding international terrorism, Phillips said.


Prosecutors said Hamed conspired to hire Siljander to lobby for the charity's removal from a government list of charities suspected of funding international terrorism. The charity closed in October 2004 after being designated a global terrorist organization by the U.S. government.


Hamed, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Sudan, pleaded guilty in June 2010 to conspiring to transfer more than $1 million to Iraq and obstructing the administration of laws governing tax-exempt charities.


Siljander pleaded guilty the following month to obstruction and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Prosecutors said he got $75,000 from the charity to push for its removal from the list, and that $50,000 of it was part of unused grant money that was supposed to have been returned to the U.S. Agency for International Development after it terminated its grants for two relief projects in Mali, Africa, with the charity in 1999.


Of the $2 million the charity received, $85,000 was supposed to have been returned to the agency and wasn't, according to Don Ledford, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Western District of Missouri.


The indictment said Siljander and three charity officers agreed to cover up the money's origins and use it on the lobbying effort. Money was funneled to Siljander through nonprofits, prosecutors said.


Prosecutors said Siljander, who now lives in Great Falls, Va., told investigators the money he received was a donation to help him write a book.

Passing of Bissau-Guinean President Malam Bacai Sanha

BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau — President Malam Bacai Sanha, who was elected in this tiny, coup-prone nation on Africa’s western coast about two years ago after the previous leader was assassinated, died Monday in Paris after a lengthy hospitalization.


No immediate cause was given, but the 64-year-old president was known to have diabetes and had undergone medical treatment in both France and neighboring Senegal during his time in office. National radio announced his death Monday afternoon.


The head of the National Assembly, Raimundo Pereira, is again expected to take over until new elections can be organized. He already had served as interim head of state after the 2009 assassination of former President Joao Bernardo “Nino” Vieira.


Since independence from Portugal in 1974, the nation has been wracked by coups and has become one of the main transit points for drug traffickers ferrying cocaine to Europe. Just two weeks ago, the army said a top military official had attempted unsuccessfully to seize power while Mr. Sanha was ill.


Mr. Sanha won the 2009 presidential election held after Vieira’s death, a peaceful transition of power that marked a rare bright spot for Guinea-Bissau. He became less known for what he did as president than for his frequent hospitalizations abroad, which were always described by aides as routine checkups.


United States remains a longstanding friend of the Bissau-Guinean people, and we will continue to support their aspirations for peace, stability, and prosperity.


We are pleased that the government of Guinea-Bissau and its military recently worked well together in addressing an internal threat to democratic governance. We look forward to collaborating with the international community and working with Acting-President Pereira to arrange timely elections.

Malam Bacai Sanha

Malam Bacai Sanha, 5 May 1947 – 9 January 2012 was a Guinea-Bissau politician who was President of Guinea-Bissau from 8 September 2009, to 9 January 2012. A member of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), Sanhá was President of the National People's Assembly from 1994 to 1999 and then served as acting President of Guinea-Bissau from 14 May 1999, to 17 February 2000, following the ouster of President João Bernardo Vieira. Standing as the PAIGC candidate, he placed second in the 1999–2000 presidential election as well as the 2005 presidential election before winning the June–July 2009 presidential election.


A long-time member of PAIGC, Sanhá served as governor of the Gabú and Biombo regions and held several cabinet ministries before becoming President of the National People's Assembly in 1994. A Civil War broke out in June 1998 between elements of the army loyal to General Ansumane Mane and those loyal to President João Bernardo Vieira; on 26 November 1998, Sanhá addressed the first session of the National People's Assembly since the beginning of the war. Even though he was critical of both the rebels and Vieira, he focused more of his criticism on Vieira. Following the ouster of Vieira on 7 May 1999, Sanhá was appointed as acting President by the military junta led by Mane on 11 May. His appointment to succeed Vieira was intended to be in accordance with the constitution, and he was to serve until new elections could be held later in the year. Sanhá was sworn in on 14 May 1999, promising peace and an end to political persecution.


In the 2009 presidential election, Sanhá placed first in the first round of voting, then defeated Kumba Ialá in the second round. He was sworn in as president on 8 September. On that occasion he promised to investigate the March 2009 killings of Army Chief of Staff Batista Tagme Na Waie and President Vieira, and he also vowed to fight crime, drug trafficking, and corruption.


Sanhá was a diabetic. In early December 2009, Sanhá was due to visit Portugal but delayed the visit due to health problems. After fainting, he was taken to Dakar and then Paris for medical treatment where he said that he was a diabetic and that he had suffered a drop in hemoglobin; even though he insisted that his diabetes was "not as serious as people want to make out;" he added that he intended to be more attentive about his health. Sanhá spent ten days in Paris and subsequently stayed in the Canary Islands for a time before returning to Bissau on 30 December 2009. His chief of protocol stated that he had recovered and was in good condition.[14] Since that time he spent regular intervals in hospitals in Dakar and Paris. During his stay in Paris, a coup as a result of infighting within the armed forces was put down less than two weeks before his death.


The presidency informs Guinea-Bissau and the international community, with pain and dismay, of the death of his excellency Malam Bacai Sanhá this morning at the Val de Grace in Paris where he was undergoing treatment.
The government issued a decree that it would observe 7 days national mourning during which the flag will be flown at half-mast and all concerts and festivities would not occur. It also sought to repatriate Sanhá's body for burial.
Under the constitution an election is scheduled to be held within 90 days. In the interim the President of the National People's Assembly Raimundo Pereira, from the same party, will be sworn in as the acting president.

Manny Pacquiao opposes mining and illegal logging

For two years, the biggest impediment to a Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight was Bob Arum's reluctance to make it.


Today, it is Pacquiao's failure to take control of his own career, and to tell Arum, his promoter, what's in his heart -- if, in fact, the desire for a Mayweather fight burns there.


Arum planned to fly to The Philippines today to present four potential opponents to Pacquiao, none of them Mayweather.


The first word out of Pacquiao's mouth should be, "Why?"


The machinations of power, money and influence converged upon a Las Vegas courtroom Friday. Mayweather was supposed to go to jail for 87 days, more or less, in a domestic incident. But his attorneys filed a last-ditch motion to delay it, based on pre-existing contractual obligations for a May 5 fight in that same city.


Maybe that shouldn't matter. But it does. Casinos are to Las Vegas what cars are to Detroit. A big fight draws big action. And no fight is bigger than one with Mayweather on the marquee.


However, local people bear the brunt of enormous social and ecological costs from mining (and illegal logging). As mentioned, social costs come in the form of corruption. Portions of the public treasury are diverted towards "special interests" (mining) infrastructure and not on programs that expand the economic base like education and job training.


Natural calamities, which kill hundreds, routinely occur due to soil depletion and/or instability. Public resources such as underground water and natural streams are permanently harmed. Additionally, damage to the ecosystem harms farmers who depend on agriculture for their livelihood.


Local mining places a downward pressure on the Philippine peso while improving the strength of foreign currencies.


Finally, investable capital (profits) is exported overseas to develop other economies while local communities receive a tiny percentage of royalties.


The Philippines has had a long history of receiving crumbs from outside industry in exchange for its vast wealth of resources. Officials look at the cash payments from bribes as a way to stay in office.


But if you take a closer look, the country sits atop enormous natural resources such as minerals, natural gas and agriculture, and is indeed one of the most resource-rich nations in the world.


For decades, the Philippines never developed local industries (such as a competitive manufacturing base or processing industries such as energy refineries), to take advantage of these resources. It never developed its massive natural gas repository due to widespread corruption that would impede energy operators from doing their jobs.


Unlike India and China, the Philippines also never significantly improved the quality of its workforce (with the exception of English and medical-related skills) to meet the evolving demands of the global marketplace.


Today, the biggest segment of the Filipino population live at or below the poverty line. Ten percent of the population have chosen to seek work outside of the country.


Who's responsible? There's an easy answer. And it's not the foreigners.

Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr. already fighting

MANILA, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao's camp says there is no economic sense in setting up a bout with Floyd Mayweather on May 5 after the unbeaten American publicly challenged the Filipino champion via Twitter.


Pacquiao's financial adviser Michael Koncz told The Associated Press on Thursday that a 45,000-seat boxing arena being built in Las Vegas won't be finished before the end of May and staging the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight in a smaller venue is "foolish from an economic standpoint."
Mayweather challenged and taunted Pacquiao to a May 5 bout in a tweet on Tuesday.


The extra time is needed for construction of an arena, said Arum, claiming the fighters could generate an extra $40 million by fighting at a 40,000-plus-seat venue on the Las Vegas Strip rather than holding the bout at the 16,000-seat MGM. "You don't throw $40 million away," Arum said.


Arum said he's skeptical of Mayweather's Tuesday Twitter posts urging Pacquiao to "step up punk." Mayweather tweeted, "Manny Pacquiao I'm calling you out let's fight May 5th and give the world what they want to see." Arum said he has heard Mayweather is negotiating with Robert Guerrero for a May 5 fight.


After giving Pacquiao videos of possible opponents Miguel Cotto and Lamont Peterson, Arum expects Pacquiao to choose among those two, Timothy Bradley or Juan Manuel Marquez as an alternate opponent to Mayweather before the promoter leaves the country this weekend.

New York Knicks: 7 Most Anticipated Games

NEW YORK -- Philadelphia was beating up on everybody until they couldn't solve the Knicks' sturdy defense.


New York turned to defense again to overcome another offensive struggle, snapping the 76ers' six-game winning streak.


"Philly is one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now. For us to hold them to 79 points, that's a big deal," Carmelo Anthony said.


Anthony had 27 points and the nine rebounds. Amare Stoudemire added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and rookie Josh Harrellson contributed 13 desperately needed points from the bench as the Knicks won their fourth in a row and improved to two games over .500 for the first time this season.


Have put together the top seven games that you should watch to know if the Knicks are actually legitimate contenders before February 24rd (All-Star break).


If you don't agree with some, or feel like another game is more important, leave a comment and we'll debate!

Jennifer Aniston as the Mother? How I Met Your Mother

Today’s How I Met Your Mother panel at the Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles was certainly less heated than, say, that of Two Broke Girls. But the lack of drama thankfully didn’t translate into lack of scoop.
In fact, executive producers Carter Bays and Craig Thomas were rather forthcoming about what’s coming up on their hit comedy, and (joined by stars Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel on stage) dolled out some pretty good scoop on what’s to come. We’ve picked out the five best bits.


The casting of the mother is "very tough" for the HIMYM team. "There's one school of thought where she turns around and it's Jennifer Aniston, some huge star. Or you might want someone you've never seen before.


Bays and Thomas have "talked about" when to end the series, and they definitely plan on letting fans know when the end is coming. "I would imagine going into the final season we'd probably hint people to that. I think we're keeping undecided as for now and we'll see how things shake up."
Jason Segel is also on aboard if the show goes past his contract. "I really agree that I'd like to see the story come to its natural end, whether it's 8 years or 9 years. I was so relieved when I found out there was an actual plan," he laughs.
Ted (Josh Radnor) will eventually address why he is no closer to getting married since Lily and Marshall's engagement in season one. "We're going to see Ted do that exact assessment. He's going to come up with what he thinks is the answer and then we're going to explore whether it is the right answer for him. There's big soul searching going on for Ted in episode 16, 17 and 18," Thomas reveals.
How will the gang manage to all hang out together in the bar with Lily's baby situation? "We have a solution to that and you'll see how it unfolds," Bays teases. And though Marshall and Lily are hanging out a lot in the East Hampton house, they might not permanently shack up there. " We're going to explore them realizing it's isolating living in the suburbs. Its not necessarily a permanent stop."
Do you think the mother should be a big well-known star or an unknown? When do you think HIMYM should wrap up?

How I Met Your Mother

Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan, Josh Radnor
 and Neil Patrick Harris

How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, and directed by Pamela Fryman.
As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting their mother, which explains the title and allows for a narration in the past tense. How I Met Your Mother follows Ted alongside his friends Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders), Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan) and Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris).
How I Met Your Mother has been a critical success, and has received consistently strong ratings throughout its run. It has won five Emmy Awards, including a nomination for "Outstanding Comedy Series" in 2009.
The seventh season of the series was announced in March 2011 and premiered on September 19, 2011, with back-to-back episodes, along with confirmation of an eighth season.


How I Met Your Mother was inspired by Bays' and Thomas's idea to "write about The very best friends that anyone could have in forever and ever and ever in New York". The two drew from their friendship in creating the characters, with Ted based loosely on Bays, and Marshall and Lily based loosely on Thomas and his wife. Thomas's wife Rebecca was initially reluctant to have a character based on her, but agreed if they could get Alyson Hannigan to play her. Fortunately, Hannigan was available, and was looking to do more comedy work.
The bar MacLaren's, in which some of the show is set, is based on a bar in New York City called McGee's. It has a mural that Bays and Thomas both liked and wanted to incorporate into the show. The name for the bar is from Carter Bays' assistant, Carl MacLaren; the bartender in the show is also called Carl.
Usually each episode is shot over three days (most sitcoms are typically shot in a single day) in the Los Angeles-based Soundstage Studio 22 and features upwards of 50 scenes with quick transitions and flashbacks. The laugh track is later created by recording an audience being shown the final edited episode. Thomas claims that shooting before a live audience would be impossible, and doing so "would blur the line between 'audience' and 'hostage situation'". Later seasons started filming in front of an audience on occasion when smaller sets are used.


It is revealed that Marshall and Lily conceived their child in Barney's bathroom during Hurricane Irene and also that Robin and Barney almost kissed a day after that but were interrupted by a call from Robin's father. While reminiscing about this, they end up kissing in a cab and sleeping together. Barney and Robin both realize what they've done and decide to tell Nora and Kevin. Things take an unexpected turn, however, since Barney ends up breaking up with Nora for Robin. Robin decides to stay with Kevin. Marshall and Lily decide they want to move to Long Island.
Robin's period is late, making her believe she is pregnant and (as she had not yet slept with Kevin) Barney is the father. Both Barney and Robin are worried at this news, as neither of them want children at the present time. Going to the doctor, Robin learns that she is not pregnant. However her happiness is cut short when she learns that she cannot have children, which leaves her devastated.
Marshall tailgates at his father's grave to keep a tradition alive. Ted and Barney start their own bar. Robin is pressed into service when Sandy is too drunk to be on the air, something that would turn out to be an important moment in her career.


The Bro Code, cited by Barney many times throughout the series, is a set of written rules for bros to follow, and has been published as a tie-in novel, an audiobook  and an iPhone Application. Barney alleges it was written by Barnabas Stinson (an assumed relative of Barney), a contemporary of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. A similar code for females, The Chick Code, is also sale on the App Store.
Bro on the Go, a companion to The Bro Code, released in 2009.
The Playbook, (based on the fifth season episode of the same name), by Barney Stinson and Matt Kuhn.


Barney's Blog — Throughout the series, Barney makes references to his blog. The blog is written by Matt Kuhn and hosted by CBS.
Barney's Twitter — CBS also updates a Twitter account for Barney
Internationalsuitupday.com - International Suit Up Day 2011
Swarley.com — At the end of the episode “Swarley,” Barney tries to pretend he loves his new name to avoid being called Swarley again. Though not shown in the episode, there used to be a website called swarley.com about it.
TedMosbyIsAJerk.com — In the episode "The Bracket", it is revealed that one of Barney's former one-night-stands, whom he told his name was Ted Mosby (in "Ted Mosby: Architect"), created a website denouncing him called TedMosbyIsAJerk.com. There is also TedMosbyIsNotAJerk.com.
Marshall and Lily's Wedding[dead link] — A website with videos and pictures of Marshall and Lily's honeymoon, never shown on the program (the honeymoon part was never shown) but available as a special feature on the Season 3 DVD.
LilyAndMarshallSellTheirStuff.com (archived) — In Season 3, Episode 19 (Everything Must Go) Marshall made a website so Lily could sell her clothes to pay for a contractor to fix the floor in their new apartment. The site was promoted at the end of the episode, as an actual online auction of memorabilia from the show. The proceeds were given to the Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The site was shut down after the auction was completed.
GuyForcesHisWifeToDressInAGarbageBagForTheNextThreeYears.com — Lily proposes this name for their clothing auction website, after Marshall suggested “LilyAndMarshallSellTheirStuff.com.” To their surprise, Lily’s name has already been taken.
Mysterious Dr X — The website of Ted’s mysterious identity when he was in college, as seen on the episode "The Possimpible".
Barney’s Video Resume — In the episode "The Possimpible", Barney reveals he has created an online video resume.
The Wedding Bride — In the episode "As Fast as She Can", it is revealed that Tony wrote a screen play entitled "The Wedding Bride" that became a big hit and has an "official" website. This is the tie-in site for the movie, with a trailer featuring Chris Kattan, Malin Åkerman, and Jason Lewis, who play movie versions of Ted, Stella, and Tony, respectively, in this movie.
canadiansexacts.org — In the episode "Old King Clancy", Barney reveals this site as the source of his knowledge of Canadian sex acts and has it bookmarked on his laptop. Except for the Lily & Marshall interactive wedding album, this is the most extensive of all the HIMYM fake websites. Canadian actor Alan Thicke makes several cameos.
slapcountdown.com — In the episode "Wait For It" (and again in "Slapsgiving") Marshall debuts this website to torment Barney by counting down the days until he next gets slapped, the result of their Slap Bet. Visiting the website prior to the airing of Slapsgiving displayed the same countdown as featured on the show,[32] albeit counting down until the air time of the episode; after the episode aired, the site redirected to CBS' How I Met Your Mother YouTube channel. Currently an additional website, theslapbetcountdown.com is counting down to a future date, estimated to be Monday May 6, 2013.
itwasthebestnightever.com — In the episode "The Sexless Innkeeper", Marshall made this website after he and Lily went on a couples date with Barney and Robin. It features a photo-montage of the evening and a music video of Marshall and Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme called "Best Night Ever", in which Marshall describes what a great time he and Lily had with Robin and Barney. The video was a parody of Extreme's "More Than Words" video.
bigbusinessjournal.com, extremitiesquarterly.com and balloonexplorersclub.com — Part of Barney's scheme, 'The Lorenzo Von Matterhorn', to "pick up chicks". Also, the website lorenzovonmatterhorn.com.
grademyteacher.net — In episode 4 of season 6, Marshall mentions this website to Ted, who goes looking for his own evaluation on it, and is disappointed by the result.
notafathersday.com - Season 4, episode 7. Barney creates this website as part of a new holiday for single, childless men.
StinsonBreastReduction.com - In season 7, episode 4, Barney reveals to his friends that he pretended to be a breast reduction doctor to trick big-breasted women into meeting with him, creating this website to further the ruse.
LinsonBreastLawsuit.com - In the same episode, Barney tells his friends that he also created a website where he poses as a lawyer willing to sue the breast reduction doctor who was another of his roles.
TheSlapBetCountdown.com - Similar in design to the aforementioned website SlapCountdown.com, this site currently features a countdown to May 6, 2013 17:27. This date would coincide with the airing of one of the final episodes of season 8.
PuzzlesTheBar.com - This was a website about the bar that Ted and Barney opened in Ted's apartment.


Tags:   Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan, Josh Radnor, Neil Patrick Harris

People's Choice Awards Ruled By Katy Perry, 'Harry Potter

The singer-actress won the most People's Choice Awards at Wednesday's 38th annual fan-favorite extravaganza, but viewers wouldn't have known it from watching the ceremony. An absentee Perry was honored in five categories, including favorite female artist, tour headliner, song of the year for "E.T." with Kanye West, music video for "Last Friday Night" and TV guest star for "How I Met Your Mother."


Despite originally being touted by the show's organizers as among the nominees expected to attend, Perry told fans on Twitter earlier this week that she wouldn't make it to the show but that "I want to thank u all for voting for me, fingers crossed!" It would have marked Perry's first public appearance since British actor-comedian Russell Brand filed for divorce from Perry last month after 14 months of marriage.


"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," the final installment of the magical film series starring Daniel Radcliffe, followed behind Perry with four wins for favorite movie, action movie, book adaptation and ensemble movie cast, but the film's stars also weren't present at the ceremony, leaving more screen time on the CBS broadcast for other winners in the show's 43 categories honoring TV, film and music.


Ellen DeGeneres, Nina Dobrev, Chloe Grace Moretz, Adam Levine, Lea Michele and Demi Lovato, who performed "Give Your Heart a Break," were among the winners on hand to accept their awards selected by Internet votes.


Cory Monteith and Julianne Hough shared some banter before they handed Chloe Moretz the Favorite Movie Star Under 25 prize. "I can't even imagine that I'm in the same category as the whole 'Harry Potter' cast and I won," the 14-year-old said before thanking her fans.


Robert Pattinson accepted the award for Best Drama Movie for the sweeping and romantic "Water For Elephants." "Thank you very much," Pattinson said. "When I was doing this movie, I had so much fun doing it."


"Once Upon A Time" leading ladies Ginnifer Goodwin and Jennifer Morrison gave the Favorite TV Drama Actor trophy to "Castle" star Nathan Fillion. The show also won for Best TV Crime Drama.


"Vampire Diaries" hotties Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley showed their funny side when they presented "Bridesmaids" with the award for Favorite Comedy Movie. "We'd like to thank everyone who voted for 'Bridesmaids.' We'd especially like to thank Kristen Wiig," Producer Judd Apatow said with the female-driven cast behind him, who then launched into a rendition of Wilson Phillips' classic "Hold On."


"Haywire" star Ewan McGregor had the distinction of handing out the Favorite Movie Icon prize to Morgan Freeman. "When I found out I had been nominated... I decided to look up icon so here's what I found," Freeman said, going on to joke about the many definitions of the word, before he said he was "forever grateful for this honor."


"How I Met Your Mother" were the last to take the stage home when the cast accepted the award for Favorite Network TV Comedy.


By the end of the night, stars ranging from Rihanna (Favorite R&B Artist) to the cast of "2 Broke Girls" to Lady Gaga (for her album Born This Way) had nabbed a Waterford Crystal trophy.

People's Choice Awards

People's Choice Awards is an American awards show recognizing the people and the work of popular culture. The show has been held annually since 1975 and is voted on by the general public. The People's Choice Awards air on CBS and are produced by Procter & Gamble and Survivor magnate Mark Burnett. In Canada, it airs on Global. Global promotion provided by Kroszover Entertainment.
The award show's creator, Bob Stivers, produced the first show in 1975. The first awards recognized The Sting as 1974's Favorite Picture, Barbra Streisand as the year's Favorite Film Actress, and John Wayne as its Favorite Film Actor. Ratings for the annual event peaked in 1977, when the 3rd People's Choice Awards attracted 35.3 million viewers who witnessed Farrah Fawcett-Majors win for Favorite Female TV Star, Star Wars win as the Favorite Picture, and Streisand and Wayne win again in the Film Actress and Actor categories.
Procter & Gamble, the show's only sponsor, bought the show from Stivers in 1982.


The award categories have varied over the years. For example, the 16th People's Choice Awards had categories including Favorite All-Around Movie (Batman), and both a Favorite Movie Actor (Tom Cruise) and a World Favorite Movie Actor (Dustin Hoffman). At the 23rd People's Choice Awards, Rob Reiner was named the People's Choice Awards Honoree. More recently, the 32nd People's Choice Awards (broadcast in January 2006) included categories such as Favorite On-Screen Match-Up (Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in Wedding Crashers), Favorite Leading Lady (Reese Witherspoon), Favorite Tour (U2), and an award named after a Procter & Gamble brand: Nice 'n Easy Fans Favorite Hair (Faith Hill). In 2008, the People's Choice Awards introduced a new category: Favorite Sci-Fi Show. The nominees were Stargate Atlantis, Battlestar Galactica, and Doctor Who. Stargate Atlantis ultimately became the first recipient of the award.


Throughout the 20th century, the awards were based upon results from Gallup polls. Each year, Gallup took a survey of different categories for favorite actor, actress, movie, artist, television program or group. The scope was unlimited—the public could choose whomever or whatever it liked. The results of the annual survey were announced in the form of the People's Choice Awards.
Since polls have margins of error, many years' awards have had ties in at least one category, when Gallup declared that the voting was so close that a single winner could not be chosen. For instance, in 2003, both Spider-Man and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring were recognized as Favorite Motion Picture.


The nominees for the 2010 People's Choice Awards were determined by media research company Visible Measures, which specializes in measuring Internet Video audience behavior. The announcement of this partnership stated, "For the first time ever, the People’s Choice Awards has incorporated Internet video viewing data into the initial nominee selection process, depending on Visible Measures’ True Reach metrics to objectively measure online video popularity. Visible Measures worked with the People’s Choice Awards to determine each potential nominees’ popularity on a True Reach basis, a unique measure of the total audience that has been exposed to an online video campaign – regardless of how widely the campaign spreads or where it appears. To measure True Reach, Visible Measures deploys a robust and patented set of technologies with the goal of capturing the universe of Internet video viewership data in near real-time."
The awards have received a fair amount of criticism for this selection process as essentially rewarding any celebrity who will show up.


In 1988, Nickelodeon created the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, a children's version of the People's Choice Awards; beyond the similar names however, the two entities are entirely unrelated. Also similar but unrelated is the Teen Choice Awards.

Manny Pacquiao

Emmanuel "Manny" Dapidran Pacquiao, PLH, born December 17, 1978 is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is the first eight-division world champion; having won six world titles, as well as the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 2000s by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). He is also a three-time The Ring and BWAA "Fighter of the Year", winning the award in 2006, 2008, and 2009.
Currently, Pacquiao is the WBO Welterweight Champion. He is also rated as the best pound for pound boxer in the world by some sporting news and boxing websites, including The Ring, BoxRec.com and Sporting Life.
Aside from boxing, Pacquiao has participated in acting, music recording, and politics. In May 2010, Pacquiao was elected to the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress of the Philippines, representing the province of Sarangani.


Pacquiao was born on December 17, 1978, in Kibawe, Bukidnon, Philippines. He is the son of Rosalio Pacquiao and Dionesia Dapidran-Pacquiao. His parents separated when he was in sixth grade, after his mother discovered that his father was living with another woman. He is the fourth among six siblings: Liza Silvestre-Onding and Domingo Silvestre (from first husband of his mother) and Isidra Pacquiao-Paglinawan, Alberto "Bobby" Pacquiao and Rogelio Pacquiao.
Pacquiao is married to Maria Geraldine "Jinkee" Jamora, and they have four children: Emmanuel Jr. "Jimuel", Michael, Princess, and Queen Elizabeth "Queenie". He resides in his hometown General Santos City, South Cotabato, Philippines. However, as a congressman of lone district of Sarangani, he is officially residing in Kiamba, Sarangani, the hometown of his wife.


On May 7, 2011, Pacquiao successfully defended his WBO welterweight title against three-division world champion Shane Mosley via lopsided unanimous decision at the MGM Grand Arena. Rapper LL Cool J performed as Mosley entered first the arena, while vocalist Jimi Jamison of the rock band Survivor sang "Eye of the Tiger" as Pacquiao approached the ring. Pacquiao knocked Mosley down in the third round using a one-two capped with a left straight. Mosley was left dazed by the knockdown but managed to stand up.[106] Mosley floored Pacquiao in the tenth round with a push, but referee Kenny Bayless inexplicably ruled it a knockdown. None of the judges seemed to have bought it judging from the scores. Replays showed that Pacquiao was throwing a punch off balance, had his right foot stepped on by Mosley's left foot and went down with a little help from Mosley's right hand. Bayless apologized to Pacquiao after the fight for the mistake. Pacquiao gained one-sided verdicts from all three judges – 119–108, 120–108 and 120–107. Pacquiao reported that the only thing preventing him from knocking out Mosley was a cramp in his legs. Freddie Roach said that Pacquiao had problems with cramping before but usually in training sessions and not in the middle of bouts. After the fight, there was much controversy over Shane Mosley reportedly told Floyd Mayweather that he should have made Pacquiao "take the test".
Bob Arum talked about having Pacquiao's next bout at the MGM Grand on November 5, 2011 or across town at the Thomas and Mack Center on November 12, 2011. Arum listed Juan Manuel Marquez as the first choice and then mentioned Timothy Bradley and Zab Judah as other options.
Third fight against Juan Manuel Márquez
Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum stated that a third meeting with Márquez could happen in November 2011, providing Pacquiao defeated his next opponent Shane Mosley on May 7. On May 10, Márquez accepted an offer from Top Rank to fight Pacquiao for his WBO Welterweight Title at a catchweight of 144 pounds. On May 18, Márquez signed the deal to fight Pacquiao for the third time on November 12 at Las Vegas.
On November 12, Marquez lost to Pacquiao via majority decision by garnering scores 114-114, 115-113 & 116-112 from scorecards of three judges. Upon the results being announced, the crowd reaction was largely negative with thousands continuing to boo as Pacquiao spoke with Max Kellerman. Tim Smith of New York's Daily News wrote that Márquez "was robbed of a decision by judges who were either blind or corrupt. However, ringside punch stats showed Pacquiao landing more strikes, 176 to 138, and landing more power punches, 117 to 100. Michael Woods of ESPN stated that Marquez was not robbed noting the Compubox stats, all of which favored Pacquiao.


On November 21, 2009, Pacquiao confirmed that he would run again for the congressional seat but this time in Sarangani province, the hometown of his wife Jinkee. He originally planned to run for congress under his own party, the People's Champ Movement, but has since joined the Nacionalista Party headed by Manny Villar. Villar said arrangements were made to accommodate Pacquiao’s People’s Champ Movement in a coalition with the Nacionalista Party for the May 2010 elections in Sarangani.
On May 13, 2010, Pacquiao was officially proclaimed congressman of the lone district of Sarangani. He scored a landslide victory over the wealthy and politically well-entrenched Chiongbian clan that had been in power in the province for more than thirty years. Pacquiao got 120,052 votes while his opponent for the seat, Roy Chiongbian, got 60,899 votes.


A film based on Pacquiao's life, Pacquiao: The Movie, was released on June 21, 2006, featuring Filipino actor Jericho Rosales as Manny Pacquiao and was directed by Joel Lamangan. The film flopped at the box office, grossing a total of only P4,812,191 (approximately US$99,322), as confirmed by Lamangan.
Pacquiao is featured in the boxing video games Fight Night Round 2, Fight Night Round 3, Fight Night Round 4 and Fight Night Champion. EA Sports released a limited edition demo of Fight Night Round 4, featuring Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton prior to their May 2 fight.
Pacquiao became the first Filipino athlete to appear on a postage stamp.
Pacquiao became the first Filipino Olympic non-participant to be Team Philippines’ flag-bearer during the August 8 opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium. Swimmer Miguel Molina, 2005 Southeast Asian Games’ Best Male Athlete, yielded the honor to Pacquiao, upon the request of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the national sports officials on the Philippines at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Pacquiao plays basketball as a cross-training to keep himself in shape. He is playing in the semi-professional basketball league, Liga Pilipinas, with the team he owns, the MP-Gensan Warriors. He made his debut in the Smart-Liga Pilipinas Conference II in January 16, 2009. He wears jersey number 17.
Pacquiao became an honorary member of Boston Celtics. The honorary membership was bestowed on him in a brief ceremony and he was presented with a replica of a green and white Celtics jersey bearing his name and number 1. As a measure of gratitude, Pacquiao delivered a stockpile of red autographed boxing gloves to TD Garden. On March 10, 2010, prior to the night's game with Memphis Grizzlies, many of the Celtics had a special motivational gift waiting for them in their lockers.
With his popularity, various business sectors have solicited Manny Pacquiao's help in endorsing their products through commercial advertisements in print and in broadcast media. These include detergents, medicines, foods, beverage, garments, telecommunications, and even a political ad for politicians during the 2007 and 2010 Philippine elections. His most acclaimed commercials yet were for Nike's "Fast Forward" campaign (alongside Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer, Cristiano Ronaldo and Liu Xiang) and San Miguel Beer with Jet  and Érik Morales.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. picks fight with Manny Pacquiao

Home Sport More Sports Boxing
Floyd Mayweather calls out Manny Pacquiao for May 5 showdown
By Simon Head 11/01/2012
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Floyd Mayweather has challenged Manny Pacquiao (Pic: Getty)
Could the fight the world wants to see finally be close to being agreed?


Judging by the very public conversation between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao, it's certainly a fight both men want to see happen.


The hype was cranked up last night when Mayweather took to his Twitter account to challenge Pacquiao.


"Manny Pacquiao I'm calling you out let's fight May 5th and give the world what they want to see," he said.


"My Jail Sentence [sic] was pushed back because the date was locked in. Step up Punk."


The opponent was originally thought to be American Robert Guerrero, but Mayweather's comments on Twitter suggest his opponent is still to be confirmed.


Mayweather, who has a perfect professional record of 42 wins from 42 bouts with 26 knockouts, has held seven world titles, across five weight divisions and is considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.


The only man capable of challenging that accolade is Pacquiao. The Filipino is the world's first-ever eight-division world champion and thought to be the only man capable of dethroning Mayweather.


Mayweather is available for a May 5 fight at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas because a judge last week postponed the 87-day sentence he is to serve on a domestic violence charge. Pacquiao said last summer he’d fight Mayweather in 2012 and this week he repeated that.


“I’ve said this over and over before and I’m saying this again: I want Floyd Mayweather Jr. to be my next opponent,” Pacquiao said in an interview with PhilBoxing.com in the Philippines. “I haven't changed my choice despite recent developments.”


It might be in Pacquiao’s best interests to sidestep Mayweather for a while. Judging by a tweet after the BCS title game between Alabama and LSU on Monday night, he’s on a roll.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Floyd Joy Mayweather, Jr., born Floyd Sinclair; February 24, 1977 is an American professional boxer. He is a five-division world champion, where he has won seven world titles, as well as the lineal championship in three different weight classes. He is a two-time The Ring "Fighter of the Year" winning the award in 1998 and 2007, and also Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) "Fighter of the Year" in 2007. He is undefeated as a professional boxer.
Currently, Mayweather is the WBC welterweight champion. He is also rated as the best pound for pound boxer in the world by most sporting news and boxing websites, including Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Fox Sports, Yahoo! Sports and About.com. On 21 December 2011, Mayweather was sentenced to serve 90 days in jail for battery.


Boxing has been a part of Mayweather's life since he was in diapers. When other children were throwing baseballs or footballs, he was throwing punches. He never seriously considered any other profession. "I think my grandmother saw my potential first," Mayweather said, smiling. "When I was young, I told her, 'I think I should get a job.' She said, 'No, just keep boxing.' 
"When I was about 8 or 9, I lived in New Jersey with my mother and we were seven deep in one bedroom and sometimes we didn't have electricity", Mayweather says. "When people see what I have now, they have no idea of where I came from and how I didn't have anything growing up."
Mayweather was born in Grand Rapids, Mich., into a family of boxers. His father Floyd Mayweather Sr. was a former welterweight contender who fought Hall of Famer Sugar Ray Leonard and his uncles Jeff Mayweather and Roger Mayweather were all professional boxers, with Roger – Floyd’s current trainer – winning two world championships. Mayweather was born with his mother's last name, but his last name would change to Mayweather shortly thereafter. Mayweather's father, Floyd Sr., had a side job - selling drugs. That job made him a mean taskmaster at home. His punishment of little Floyd was often harsh and brutal, according to Mayweather Jr[citation needed]. He says that when he was a baby, his father used him as a shield to keep his brother-in-law from shooting him.


Mayweather appeared at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s No Way Out pay-per-view on February 17, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he was involved in a storyline physical altercation with The Big Show, after Mayweather jumped a security barricade and attacked him with a punching combination, in an attempt to help Rey Mysterio, whom Show threatened to chokeslam. Originally, Mayweather took on a babyface role in the storylines, though met with some reluctance from the fans. The attack resulted in Big Show receiving an actual broken nose, reportedly not part of the storyline. The following night on Raw, Big Show challenged Mayweather to a one on one No Disqualification match at WrestleMania XXIV, which Mayweather accepted. At WrestleMania, Mayweather defeated Big Show by knockout using brass knuckles to maintain his unbeaten record.[135] Mayweather claimed that he was paid $20,000,000 USD for the fight, but WWE's financial statements do not show the number.


Mayweather appeared on the fifth season of Dancing with the Stars. His partner was the famous Ukrainian American born professional ballroom dancer Karina Smirnoff. On October 16, 2007, Karina and Floyd were the fourth couple to be eliminated from the competition and came in 9th place.
Domestic violence cases


In 2002 Mayweather was charged with two counts of domestic violence and one count of misdemeanor battery. He received a 6 month suspended sentence, 2 days of house arrest and was ordered to perform 48 hours of community service. In 2004 he was given a one year suspended jail sentence, ordered to undergo counseling for "impulse control" and pay a $1000 fine or perform 100 hours of community service after being convicted of two counts of misdemeanor battery against two women. In 2005 Mayweather pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge after kicking a bouncer and received a 90 day suspended jail sentence.