Birthday Fight

Yesterday was my birthday, and I made plans to see the Mayweather/Hatton fight. Mike told me while we were in the gym Friday night that he was going to pop for the pay-per-view. He invited several people over including Steve and JJ.

Ricky Hatton, a tough guy from England, had Floyd Mayweather Jr. going for the first five rounds. Hatton was constantly moving around, and he popped Mayweather good several times. Unfortunately, Hatton stopped moving his head during the sixth round. Then, from that round on, Mayweather figured out his style and started timing him. Not long into the 10th round, Mayweather put a combination together and knocked Hatton down. Hatton got up as referee Joe Cortez ("I'm fair but I'm firm!") reached the count of eight. Mayweather caught Hatton again with another set of punches, and Hatton couldn't get up as easily. Cortez stopped the fight, Hatton's corner through the towel in, and Mayweather remained undefeated.

I was hoping that Hatton would win, just to bring cocky Mayweather down a notch. Hatton had been undefeated too, up until last night. The British fans were in force last night. They even had a guy with a drum and a few guys with trumpets playing in the audience. Ol' fine Tom Jones sang the UK's national anthem, and Tyrese sang the American national anthem; celebrities like Brad Pitt and Will Ferrell were in the audience. The Golden Boy Promotions executives -- Oscar De LaHoya, Bernard Hopkins, and "Sugar" Shane Mosley -- were in attendance, along with old school boxer Thomas "The Hit Man" Hearns. It was an exciting fight.

JJ did lose his fight at Brooks this past Friday night.

Jordan's friend, the recovering addict, came in Friday night, but wasn't able to work out like he wanted. Steve checked his receipt for the gym fee, and discovered the guy had signed up for the winter session, which doesn't begin until January.

Carla, who used to come to the gym, is getting married next month in a civil ceremony. She'll have a bigger ceremony in Hawaii in February. She was talking about coming back to the gym. The main reason she stopped going was because she moved farther away.

Missing Brooks

Steve had another interview last night, so the gym was closed. JJ, however, had a fight lined up at Brooks Park. Mike drove him out there. I would have gone, but I wouldn't have been home in time for Mike to pick me up. I'll find out later what the results were.

I hope both Mike and Steve didn't have much trouble driving yesterday. It snowed again, more ice formed on the ground and it was very cold. I saw a little dog tied outside of a mom & pop store on Sheridan after work. The poor thing was shivering and whimpering until its owner came out and picked it up.

Even though ESPN won't show boxing again until January, and I don't have HBO or Showtime, I keep forgetting that VS. has matches on every Thursday. They show them again later in the week, but I always seem to catch them by accident when I flipping channels.

Speaking of upcoming matches, I'm hoping that Steve will get the Mayweather Jr./Hatton match on pay-per-view this Saturday. If not, I'll find a bar where I can watch the fight. I had nothing else planned for my birthday, which is on Saturday, so seeing the fight will be a good activity.

Fight Inquiries

No sooner than Mary opened up the gym, and I turned the radio on, a woman came in with a young guy. She was his mom, and she was interested in signing him up for the gym. Somebody told her she had to talk to Steve, who was still out. I advised her to wait a couple of weeks to sign up for the winter session, as the fall session is quickly coming to a close. She appeared to be more interested than her son. The 20-year-old guy seldom said anything the whole time they were there.

Another set of guys who were in the building for a basketball game stopped by and asked many questions about getting involved in boxing. Jordan had come in by that time, and he interjected with some of his own opinions.

Mike came in and brought Eric with him, and Arin was there. It was a light turnout. Keith came in briefly, asking where Steve was. "He's interviewing for professor positions", Mike and I told him. "Wow, he's trying to get out of here," Keith laughed.

I had a little more energy last night than I had on Wednesday. Mike held the punch mitts for me, but after a couple of rounds, I was worn out.

Type 1 and Type 2

Steve is out this week, so Mike and I are opening and closing the gym. Mike brought his friend Eric in again, who revealed that he is a Type 1 diabetic. He's a strong, basically strapping guy who did service in the military. You'd never suspect he had a condition. Type 1 people have to take insulin. Since I'm Type 2, I'm on pills -- for the time being.

Jordan did some pad work with Mike. Mike asked me if I wanted some work too, but I was too tired. "My diabetes is messing with me today," I said. I was sitting down more than I was working out last night. When I saw my doctor this past Monday, I informed him that I have been feeling fatigued a lot. It appears to be a symptom of the condition: being at a regular energy level one day, and feeling wiped out on others. I can't afford to be fatigued half the time. I have too many things to do.

Two Interviews and Holiday Eating

Steve has scored two interviews with two different colleges, so he'll be away from the gym next week. Mike and I agreed to watch the gym while he's out. It appears the fieldhouse is closed early today in observance of Thanksgiving tomorrow, so the gym won't be open. It's not open on Friday, so we'll be back on next week.

This was the month that I had planned to add some extra days of exercise, this might be a good night to pull out that Laila Ali/Sugar Ray Robinson fitness boxing DVD. I recently picked up a stretching exercises DVD, too, but I haven't looked at it yet. Having good flexibility is very important as one becomes older, so I figured I'd better work on it now.

I really need to get some exercise in this week, especially since I know I will be eating too much at my aunt's house on Thanksgiving. All of aunts are bringing food, and they are good cooks. I'll come home with two to three plates of food. All of that will need to be worked off. I've lost some weight, but as everybody knows, the holidays can saboutage the best of healthy eating intentions.

The Little Boy Named Danger

Danger is the middle name of Steve's son, Eli. Steve admitted that he would like a second child. "Their middle name could be Trouble. Wouldn't that be cool if one of their friends was talking to another friend and said, 'Hey, I'm coming over and I'm bringing Danger and Trouble!'" I found that to be very funny. But what if the second child is a girl? Reminds me of something my late father used to say, "I'd rather have had all boys because girls are nothin' but trouble."

Eli had a ball to play with. At one point, I was bouncing the ball around in the gym. Eli, who's one and a half years old, walked up and abruptly took it away from me. "I guess he told you," Mike laughed. I had to laugh, too.

Steve told us that his dad would really spank him and his brothers when he was a kid (but not so much his sister). "Neither I or Ellen will ever spank Eli. Spanking's not necessary." JJ and I told him how our fathers would knock us about when we were kids. All my dad had to hear was that one of had done something. He never investigated the facts or whether or not it was true. He'd just walk up on you and backslap you. After yelling at him and proving I didn't do something, his response was, "Well, that'll serve for next time."

I overheard Steve saying he wishes he could have the old speed bag platform up. The new one won't hold the new speed bag. No one can touch the bag for too long without it falling to the floor. There's a need for a bigger wrench to attempt to screw the speed bag in so that it stays, but one is not available at this time.

The USA Amateur Boxing rules are sitting somewhere on the floor in my apartment. I managed to clean the bathroom and the kitchen over the weekend, but the main room needs work. It won't be long before announcements regarding signing up for the Golden Gloves appear. I'll have to register as a coach when that happens, but I need to attend a certification class before then. I need to read up on the rules before then.

Back To The Gym

I was sick with a bad cold all last week. Last night was my first night back in the gym. Before leaving for the gym, I noticed that the door of a neighbor down the hall was open. Their lights were off. Assuming that they were coming out soon, I thought nothing else of it and left for the gym.

Mike came in with a friend of his named Eric. Mike was showing him the basics. Jordan's friend, the one who's been drug-free for a few years, showed up, too. He was hitting the one of the heavy bags with no gloves. Over and over again, people have to be told not to do that. It's too easy to injure one's hands like that. Jordan told me, "That's how we train in martial arts, on concrete, on glass, etc." Steve told Jordan's friend that he couldn't hit the bags, anyway, unless he pays the gym fee. He probably could have filled out a waiver form, like Eric did, in order to get a workout in for that night only. It appears, however, that Jordan has been telling his friend that he can just show up and use the equipment, which is not correct.

A lanky 14-year old kid, Rashaun, was standing at the entrance of the gym for a long time, peering in. I talked to him, and gave him info to take home to his mom. He stated that he would like for her to sign him up for boxing.

Javonte showed up. He said that his new daughter's name is Sierra, which is a pretty name. However, he hinted that things were not going well between him and the baby's mama. I asked him to bring in pictures of the baby the next time he comes in.

JJ had a fight on Monday, so he wasn't in. Probably took the night off. I don't know how he did, though, and I forgot to ask Steve.

When I got home after the gym, I saw that my neighbor's door was still wide open. I went to the door, called out "hello", but got no response. Then I noticed the frame was damaged, indicating that someone might have kicked the door in. I called the police. They said it looked like a break-in, too, but it appears that nothing was taken. However, they couldn't be sure because the tenant wasn't there to verify it. I gave them the number of the building manager, and I called the building manager's answering service to let them know what happened. The on-call management person didn't show before the cops left, so the cops secured the door the best they could.

Judgement Call

Maybe I judged Jordan a little too harshly in my last entry. Steve saw potential in the 21 year old, while I grumbled about what came across as rudeness and inconsiderate behavior out of Jordan. I have a habit of judging folks too fast. But to an extent, the jury is still out.

Jordan showed up this past Friday with a friend of his. The friend wanted to get into professional boxing. That was all good and fine, with the exception of the fact that the friend was the same age as I am. The guy had also lost a lot of time due to a drug habit that he said he's kicked. He sang the same song I've heard younger guys who've come into the gym say: "I want to make money." Steve explained to him that Illinois has tough boxing licensing rules. Amateur boxers over the age of 35 have to jump through all kinds of hoops to get licensed. The possibility of a middle aged boxer be allowed to turn pro is extremely remote. The guy brought up George Forman and some other boxers who fought past 35 years of age. "They started when they were teenagers and young men," I pointed out.

I was sick on Monday and Tuesday of this week, and I stayed home from work. A cold suddenly came upon me on Sunday, and I was caught without the "care package" supplies that diabetics are supposed to have when they become ill. I had to go out briefly to get something to eat. I saw Jordan crossing the street while smoking a cigarrette. It was the middle of the day, so I assumed he either has no job, or works part-time. There seems to be too many young men in that situation these days.

Continuing Rudeness

I witnessed a boxer shove a female volunteer with the World Boxing Championships yesterday. I had gone to see some of the matches that afternoon. Since I had my volunteer badge on me, I decided to ride the shuttle bus back downtown from the event venue. The female volunteer was trying to make sure that the bus we were on wouldn't be overcrowded. It could only hold so many, and since it was a coach bus, standing passengers were not allowed. One boxer decided he was going to get a seat regardless. She grabbed his arm, but he snatched away from her grip.

She told a police officer and another volunteer who were standing outside of the bus, "They are not supposed to touch me!" Then she snapped at the guy, "Do you want to walk to the hotel? It can be arranged!" He probably didn't understand English, but there was no mistaking that everyone on the bus knew she was ticked off. She told someone via her walkie-talkie, "These guys don't respect a woman in charge!" as she reported the boxer's behavior before the bus took off. That's been a major problem throughout the entire event.

Jordon, a guy who showed up once a few weeks ago, returned to the gym last night. He claimed he just now scraped together money for the gym fee. Then he proceeded to tell JJ about his training regime, which included shadowboxing with 10 pound weights strapped around his arm. JJ was giving him pointers on how to use free weights during shadowboxing to make his hands faster, but Jordan wasn't listening. That was the first strike. After all that pumped up talk in the hall about training, Jordon didn't do much once the gym door was open. He spent some of his time just staring at people when he wasn't half-doing the moves he claimed he already knew how to do. He had pointedly ignored me and Nina, the only two women in the gym. That was the second strike, so I didn't feel the need to act friendly.

In fact, he stepped on my foot twice while doing some light sparring with Ben. The sparring was a no-no, because Steve hadn't approved it. I was sitting off to the side, watching. I hoped Jordan wouldn't accidently hurt Ben. The whole time Jordon was bragging on his dubious skills: "Man, I could have hit you twenty times by now!" He wasn't aware of the space they had -- they were sparring amongst the heavy bags -- which is how my foot was stepped on. The second time, I pointed out to Jordon that he needs to watch out. He told Ben, "Let's move over here," but he never apologized to me. That was the third strike.

Steve was in the middle of showing Andy something, and Jordon felt the need to interrupt by giving Andy advice. Since he had already struck out, I didn't know what to call that. I knew Steve didn't care for that much, but to his credit, he held back on calling Jordan on it. It was hard to tell what was up with Jordan. I've said it before -- boxing gyms attract some odd folks, and it looks like we've got another one.

International Fighting

Yesterday, G hooked us up with some tickets to see the fights at the World Boxing Championships. JJ invited along two friend of his, and Steve brought Eli. Several countries were represented including the USA, a guy named Demetrius who won over a guy from Latavia.

Two rings were set up in the UIC Pavillion, and the judges watched the action on laptop computers set up in front of them. Counters showing the points each boxer scored were in front of each ring. The fights were also broadcast on a huge screen, along with trivia about the World Boxing Championships. I found out that this is only the third time the event has taken place in this country.

I heard that professional boxer Andrew Golota was somewhere in the building. I saw referee/official Shifty running gloves back and forth, as well as Rita, another professional boxer, doing the same thing.

The fights themselves were a little slow. Olympic-style boxing is a bit different from regular amateur boxing and professional bouts. There are many rules, and I noticed the referees giving hand signals to the boxers to indicate which ones they had broken.

There was a fighter from Mongolia competing, and when he was in the ring, it seemed that the entire Chicago Mongolian community was there cheering him on. The Irish boxer who fought and won had a good sized cheering section, as well.

Training Day

I spent six hours down at UIC today, as a volunteer for the World Boxing Championships. I was stationed at the training center. Several teams came through, including England, Belarus, Italy, Korea, Japan, the Ukraine and China.

Some of the women who were there kept going on about how nice the team from Ireland was. They had volunteered the previous weekend, and said that the guys on that team were very sweet. I wanted to meet them, but they didn't come to the training center today.

There were tales of rude behavior from some of the teams. One woman said she was told to "shut up" by a boxer from Turkey. That team wanted to have access to a VIP area at the Palmer House Hotel, and were denied. There were also stories of the women being ignored when they were attempting to help the athletes. Unfortunately, that behavior from foreign men who come from countries where women aren't empowered, is common. They just can't stand having to deal with women who have authority. Fortunately, I neither witnessed or experienced any of that crap today.

The training center had several rings set up for the boxers to use. The teams were allowed one hour in the ring, and George was tough about getting them out on time. George is the coach over at Garfield Park, and he was in charge of running the rings there. Percy, whom I met at the Golden Gloves earlier this year, was also helping out.

The volunteers helped keep the rings clean, passed out towels, alerted teams when the shuttle buses were coming and going, and helped the boxers find their way around the building. At one point, I showed one of the British boxers where the washrooms were. It was somewhat like going through a maze to find the toilets in the lower level of the building.

After my shift was over, I took the shuttle back to the Palmer House. Volunteers were allowed to do this as long as they showed their credentials, or IDs. I enjoyed my volunteer time today. Now I wish I had signed up for more shifts. However, they need people during the day, and my job prevents me from being there.

Tomorrow, there are plans to see the bouts as spectators. Last night, Steve said that G is going to have tickets for those who want to go. I forgot that I told Ron, the church organist, that we could type up (well, I'm the one doing the typing) the program for the cabaret show we're doing in early November. We have to go to my office, since my laptop at home doesn't have Microsoft Publisher on it. Hopefully, that won't take more than an hour, so I can make the fights. I'll have to call Steve later tonight to see what the plan is for meeting up with everybody.

New Dwindles While Old Increases

Steve had to stay home with Eli. The little guy had a bad reaction to some medicine. Plus, Ellen had an interview outside of the city. Steve thought it best not to leave their son with babysitters last night, which was a good idea.

Most times when Steve is out, someone shows up whom none of us have seen in awhile. Last night, our own 2007 Golden Gloves winner, Mort came in. Also, Big Jermaine showed up along with his buddy, Danny. I hadn't seen Danny since last winter, I think. He told me since the weather was cooling down, he'd be coming in the gym more often. Last, but not least, Antonio, a MMA fighter who also won a Golden Gloves trophy earlier this year, came in to train.

Antonio, Mort and I got into a discussion about food, which made me more aware that I should watch what I eat. I had grumbled on a diabetes forum earlier that day how I hated having to think about the condition every day and adjust my habits. The forum monitor suggested a couple of books for me to read, and added, "The books will explain what bad things can happen if you don't eat right!" Antonio explained that he likes to eat a lot of Korean food. "It's the best because it's so healthy. It's full of vegetables," he said. Both he and Mort agreed that eating White Castle hamburgers was dangerous. I admit that I like "sliders", but even I can't eat them every day. Once every few months, I'll get a strong craving for them.

Antonio told me that he has opened his own gym, which is located on North and Elston. In addition to MMA, he teaches other martial arts and boxing. I would like to go there and check it out.

Only two of the new people came in, and they were gone at least fourty-five minutes before class was over. The male half of the married couple (I still can't think of his name), and Arin worked out a little, but I didn't do a formal lesson with them. I would have worked with them if they asked for help with specific things, however.

When I got to the gym, I noticed that I left one of my new boxing shoes at home. I never check to see if I have everything in the bag before I leave the house. It's the umpteenth time I've discovered I'm missing something; it's annoying. Must be one of those "senior moments" people joke about. Luckily, I had an old pair of flat tennis shoes in my locker to wear.

I watched the first semi-final match of "The Contender" late the night before. I had taped it because I had gone to a women's fellowship meeting sponsored by my church earlier. I knew Jaidon was going to beat his opponent, but I didn't expect the beat down to be so sudden. He caught the guy with a right cross, and his opponent crumbled to the canvas. He made it up before the referee finished the count, but his legs were not under him. The fight was stopped. He'll fight whoever wins the second semi-final match: Sakio Bika or Sam Solliman. That's a hard fight to predict. Both of them are tough men.

Friday Only

I wasn't feeling well on Wednesday, so I didn't go to the gym. I went in this past Friday, and the crowd was small. The married couple, Andy, JJ and Tommy were there.

When I picked up my World Boxing Championships uniform earlier in the week, I was given four free tickets. I chose to go to the matches on Halloween, since I took that as a vacation day. Steve and JJ expressed interest in going, but JJ has to work, so he may not be able to go. I also told Steve that since Barry and Gary are also volunteers, they should have free tickets, too.

Tommy and I were laughing about the Oscar DeLaHoya picture incident, the one where pictures were posted of him in risque clothing on the Internet. DeLaHoya has denied the pictures are of him, and Steve said the photos looked like a Photoshop job. "He's too much of a businessman, and too much of a big image to mess up to do something like that," Steve said.

Terrell and Wally came in. Wally announced that he has graduated from college, with a degree in computer science. "I'm just waiting on Terrell to get finished," he said. Terrell is a junior at a college in Mississippi, carrying a double major in biology and chemistry. "Those are some tough subjects," Steve pointed out. "But they go well together," I told Terrell. He's better than I: science was one of my worst subjects while I was in school.

Yesterday, I ran into Tall Ben, who was walking with his girlfriend and their kids. "You don't spar down there, do you?" he asked. "No women are available. The new ones that come in don't want to spar," I said. Linda, the administrative assistant who works downstairs at my job, had asked me the same thing earlier on Friday. It's been months. I think the last person I sparred with was Erin, right before she had her fight out at the Sabre Room. I miss that type of practice. But then, on the other hand, with my sprained shoulder, I need to cool out on that for a minute.

Switzerland Guest

Steve said that a boxer from Switzerland, who wanted to learn "technical boxing", had planned to show up at the gym Friday night. According to Steve, the guy would be a good match for JJ, but the guy never showed up. The boxer is associated with the World Boxing Championships, so it is expected he'll visit the gym at some point. However, no word on if any other international boxers will come.

Mort showed up with his girlfriend, whose name I can't remember. He was happy to see all the new equipment, especially the speed bag, which is his favorite. Of the newcomers, there were Andy, Aren and Nina; their numbers seem to be dwindling, as what usually happens as the session goes on.

I had a good workout, despite the fact that my shoulder still hurts. My left leg is now hurting, too. That happened yesterday while I was dancing to a music video -- "New Jack Swing" by Wrecks N' Effects -- I was converting from VHS to DVD. Seems I forgot that I am no longer in my 20s (when the song was released), and that I've gained some pounds since that time. I foolishly thought I could still do the moves displayed in that video.

Four For Class

Steve called me before I went to work yesterday morning, explaining that he had to prepare a talk he's going to give to some professors. I agreed to open the gym that evening.

Only five of the new people showed up, and one did his own workout (can't think of his name, but he was wearing a paramedic's association T-shirt). The other four -- Aren, Nina, and an engaged couple -- and I got into the ring to go over what Steve had taught them. We reviewed the left jab and right cross. I added the left hook, side-to-side footwork and pivoting. It was a pleasant, but quiet evening. Of the guys who come in often, only Ben and Bony came in.

Mary pointed out some of the work that had been done in the gym. The ring ropes had been tightened, an Everlast heavy bag had been put up, and a couple of Everlast banners had been hung. Today, the body snatcher bag and new speed bag platform will be installed. The double end bag may be moved over to provide more room on the floor. Things are looking good; it's just of matter of finding out when and if any of the boxers participating in the World Boxing Championships will come to Loyola Park to work out. I understand that arrangements have already been made for the international boxers to work out at some of the other Park District gyms. Gary told me that when I saw him last Saturday morning, on my way to take care of some business at the credit union.

Where Are The Regulars?

All of the newcomers except for Amy showed up Friday, but of the people who've been there awhile, only JJ, Bony and G came in. This is the about the third time in a row that the regulars have been missing, and now I'm wondering: what's up? That's the type of behavior I've come to expect out of the newcomers, but not the guys who are usually always around.

G said that the Loyola Park boxing show got high marks from many. It appears that people were impressed with the fighters. I gave Steve my DVD copy of the boxing show so he could burn copies for himself, Mort and Larry.

Steve told me to keep doing the exercises that James gave me for my sore left shoulder. "I liked James. He seems to know his stuff," he said. I did the exercises when I came home from the gym, and I plan to continue them over the weekend. My shoulder doesn't feel as bad as it used to, but it still needs improvement.

I opted not to go to Hamlin Park today, due to my shoulder. I had to buy some more pain killers, and I can never remember what I can take. Since I have hypertension and diabetes, I have to be careful what over-the-counter meds I take.

Another Sprain?

I went to see the physical therapist, James, whom Steve recommended last night after work. James thought I had a sprain. "Did you lift anything heavy? Fall recently?" he asked. I searched my brain, and couldn't come up with anything. The last time I knew I sprained my shoulder was the summer of 2005 when I was in an accident that totaled the car my father left me when he passed away.

James was very helpful. "How did you know to come here?" he asked. I told him Steve's name, and he chuckled. "Yeah, I remember Steve," he said. He gave me some exercises to do, and told me to call him on Monday if I didn't notice any improvements.

Now I'm debating if I should go to Hamlin Park tomorrow. Yale was going to introduce me to some female boxers, and perhaps set up some sparring. I received an email from Margaret, the choir director at my church, questioning if I should do that in light of my shoulder. She has a point. There's no sense in me continually re-injuring my shoulder. For all I know, this could be a flare-up from when I hurt it two years ago. James did say it was kind of unusual that it would hurt now from boxing, considering that I have been involved in the sport for about seven years.

Quiet and Full

There were about seven new people in the gym last night, but yet, the gym was quiet. Most of the regulars did not appear. The radio was tuned to a sports channel and the Cubs game was on. I don't like baseball, so I wasn't paying attention to the scores. They lost anyway, I learned later, which was not surprising.

Candace came in later, and asked, "What's going on?" when she saw all the people in the ring with Steve. I forgot that Candace started three weeks late into the summer session, so she missed the group lessons that Steve always gives in the beginning. Her and I did some pad work. She wanted to work on blocking hooks.

Aren -- that is the correct spelling of the woman whom I was referring to as Erin, not to be confused with the actual Erin who hasn't been in the gym in awhile. I heard her giving big-time encouragement to an African-American woman who was another newcomer during a pad work exercise. I like Aren; I hope her enthusiasm for learning the sport keeps her coming to the gym.

Later in the evening, Steve asked me if he should continue to have the newcomers do pad work or do floor exercises. I suggested the floor exercises, and went into the ring to do them with the others. I was happy that the second time we had to do 20 leg lifts, I did them all without stopping between lifts. We also had to toss medicine balls to each other, which my sore left arm didn't like, but I got through it. Steve emailed me the name of the guy he saw when he was having trouble with his arm. I'm going in to see that person about my arm this evening.

Yale emailed me today about coming up to Hamlin on Saturday, so I'll call him later to confirm. He's going to introduce me to the female boxers up there, but if they are who I think they are, I have met them several times. It'll be nice to get a workout in, however.

Fight Night 2007

I went to the gym right after work, and Barry put me to work giving out the T-shirts made up for Loyola Park's Boxing Explosion show. There were red and blue shirts of different sizes. The owner of the Heartland Cafe had donated food for the officials and coaches, and I also helped carry that in. Very tasty spread. Barry also ordered pizzas from Alberto's.

Mort had been tracked down, and he was there for his match. J.J. did not have a match, although Alan, one of the officials, thought he should have. Larry, Lorell, Alex, and Luke, had fights, and so did Mike.

I sang the National Anthem. You know that middle part in the song that goes very high? I hit the wrong note coming in, but managed to recover. It's a good thing I started that song on a very low note, or else that would have really sounded horrible.

Once the matches began, I positioned myself at ringside with the camcorder that Les allowed me to borrow from the office. Mike gave me his digital camera to catch his match. Unfortunately, the batteries ran out on his camera, and I couldn't get a fresh set in quick enough to catch the rest of the bout, which he won. I was lucky that I had enough time to record the other matches, considering I forgot to set the tape from SP to LP. Just in case, I didn't tape most of the second round of Larry's fight, so I could get all of the third round in. Larry also won his match. All of the guys were victorious that evening, except for little Luke. The awards for best boxers were given out near the end, and Diego won one of them.

After the fights were over, a dark-haired woman came up to me and introduced herself. She was J, who has her own blog, and often puts entries on The Broken Heart of Rogers Park blog. It was nice to meet her and her fiance. Neither one of them had ever seen a live boxing match before, and they enjoyed it.

New Folks, Fall 2007

There were five newcomers to the gym last night, and I met all of them except for one guy who came in later. He talked with Steve, then left about 15 minutes later. The other four -- Andy, Mary, Amy, and Erin -- didn't all stay for the full time, either. After giving them a brief introduction to the program, Steve explained that he had to work with the guys who have matches coming up Friday at the boxing show. I told the four that I would start them off with learning how to stand, how to hold their hands, and how to throw the left jab. Andy and Amy decided they would come in next Wednesday, while Mary and Erin warmed up for the lesson.

Erin seemed very interested in learning. She kept expressing how "cool" everything was. Mary admitted that she had been in fights as a kid. Mary's husband hovered outside of the door of the gym, holding their very cute four-month-old daughter. Interpersed between the lessons, was me talking at length about amateur boxing licenses, equipment, sparring and competing.

The main bad thing about the fall session is that is always starts right before the field house's boxing show, or "Boxing Explosion", as it is called. The new people get only one day that week, and then the gym is closed for business due to the show. It always serves as a test, however, of who will stick with it. Some are thrown off by the boxing show, and then they don't return again.