externer Bereich der Breath of the Dragon » hardly ideal. Bettman declined

Mike Tyson, the former undisputed heavyweight world champion, became a legend because of his awesome punching power. He even had a video game named for him -- the iconic Mike Tysons Punch-Out!!That fierce power was often on display, as Tyson -- the onetime Baddest Man on the Planet, who retired in 2005 with a record of 50-6 and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011 -- knocked out 44 of his opponents.Although I covered several fights at the end of Tysons career, I was a teenager in the mid-1980s when he was coming up, and because I grew up in upstate New York, where Tyson was based and fought regularly in his early pro career, he was already a celebrity to me long before he became an international figure. At school, my friends and I often talked about his fights and knockouts and looked forward to his next bout.In honor of Tysons 50th birthday on Thursday, here are my 10 favorite Tyson KOs.10. KO1 Michael Johnson (Sept. 5, 1985, Atlantic City, New Jersey)Tyson scored so many quick and exciting knockouts early in his career that I really could have picked any number of them, but this one is perfectly representative of the young Tyson, who was lightning-fast with his hands and head as he crushed opponents. Tyson came out looking for an early KO and dropped Johnson with a left hook. Johnson survived, and then Tyson ran to him, cocked back with a right hand that landed clean on Johnsons face, and down he went. Over and out.9. TKO1 Carl Williams (July 21, 1989, Atlantic City, New Jersey)In his ninth and final title defense before being upset by Buster Douglas, Tyson needed only 93 seconds to blow away Williams and move to 37-0. With Donald Trump, the owner of the host casino, in the ring before the bout, Tyson and Williams came out blazing. But the fight was over quickly, as the first time Tyson landed a solid left hook, he sent Williams staggering into the ropes and to the canvas on his rear end. Although he beat the count -- barely -- Williams was badly dazed, and Tyson had yet another exciting early knockout.8. TKO2 Tony Tubbs (March 21, 1988, Tokyo)Before he ventured to Tokyo for the Douglas fight, Tyson first fought there in the prime of his career, and he looked like Godzilla as he chewed up former world titleholder Tubbs. Tubbs made it through the opening round and landed a couple of solid shots in the second, but then Tyson landed a tremendous left hook to the head that took Tubbs legs away. He staggered cartoonishly and grabbed the top rope to try to keep his balance, but then fell flat on his back.7. KO1 Clifford Etienne (Feb. 22, 2003, Memphis, Tennessee)This makes my list because -- in addition to it featuring the pleasing aesthetics of Tyson absolutely drilling The Black Rhino with a massive right hand to the chin, sending Etienne to the canvas with his right leg folding beneath him as he went down -- it was the final win and knockout of Tysons career. Tyson needed just 49 seconds (his sixth-fastest KO) to get rid of Etienne and end what had been a wild buildup, which included the fight nearly being canceled after Tyson unveiled his facial tattoo to the world a few days before the bout.6. KO5 Francois Botha (Jan. 16, 1999, Las Vegas)Out of the ring for 19 months following his suspension for biting Evander Holyfields ears in a disqualification loss, Tyson returned against Botha and showed nothing in the first four rounds. He was down 40-36, 40-36 and 39-36, when suddenly the old Tyson showed up as he hammered Botha with a clean right hand to the chin. Botha went down hard, then struggled to back his knees but could not beat the count, after which he stumbled into the ropes and fell down.5. KO4 Larry Holmes (Jan. 22, 1988, Atlantic City, New Jersey)Holmes, the Hall of Fame former world champion, was past his prime and coming off a nearly two-year layoff when he was matched with a prime Tyson in a historic meeting of great heavyweights from different generations. As expected, Tyson destroyed Holmes, finally putting him away with a memorable onslaught leading up to a nasty right hand to the face that dropped Holmes flat on his back.4. KO1 Henry Tillman (June 16, 1990, Las Vegas)Four months after Douglas stripped Tyson of his unbeatable aura, Tyson returned with a vicious knockout of Tillman, who had twice defeated Tyson in the amateur ranks and had cost him a spot on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team. But their pro fight was a blowout that ended with a classic Tyson overhand right to the head that sent Tillman careening off the ropes and down in a heap. A classic one-punch Tyson KO.3. KO1 Marvis Frazier (July 26, 1986, Glens Falls, New York)Four fights before Tyson won the world title, he turned in an electrifying and wickedly violent knockout, needing only 30 seconds -- the fastest knockout of his career -- to destroy Frazier, the son of former heavyweight world champion Joe Frazier. Before the fans had even gotten comfortable in their seats, Tyson hurt Frazier with a right uppercut, a left to the head, another right uppercut and a right-left-right combination that dropped Frazier to his knees. This was the early, pre-prime Tyson at his ferocious finest.2. TKO2 Trevor Berbick (Nov. 22, 1986, Las Vegas)At 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old, Tyson fulfilled the prediction of father figure and late trainer Cus DAmato when he became the youngest heavyweight world champion. As historic as this knockout was, it was equally explosive. Who could forget the image of Berbick flopping around the ring when he tried to get up from a devastating left hook to the jaw? After Berbick survived a knockdown in the first few seconds of the second round, Tyson landed the title-winning left hook, essentially scoring three knockdowns with the single punch: First, Berbick fell from the hook. Then he tried to get up, but he was disoriented and fell down again. Finally, he attempted to get up again, but his legs again betrayed him, and he fell across the ring, crashing into the ropes, at which point the fight was stopped.1. KO1 Michael Spinks (June 27, 1988, Atlantic City, New Jersey)This was the apex of Tysons career, as he retained the undisputed title by blowing away the then-undefeated (and seemingly petrified) Spinks in just 91 seconds in what was, at the time, the richest fight in history. Tyson came to the ring with the hardware (three title belts), but Spinks was lineal champion, even though he had been stripped of his belt. Three days shy of his 22nd birthday, Tyson put aside his mounting personal problems and pulverized Spinks, dropping him twice -- first with a right hand to the body, and then moments later, for good, with a monstrous left-right combination to the jaw. Besides the violence of the KO, I loved Tysons reaction. He simply spread his arms to receive applause from the crowd, as if he knew the knockout had been preordained. He was never better than on this night.Discount Shoes Ireland . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Buy Shoes Ireland . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. https://www.shoesirelandsale.com/ . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Cheap Shoes Ireland Online . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. Wholesale Shoes Ireland . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators.NEW YORK -- NHL players are just a slap shot away from returning to the Olympics next year. While a deal hasnt been reached yet between the NHL, the union and the International Ice Hockey Federation, to send the leagues players to Sochi, a long meeting Monday pushed the sides much closer to an agreement. "Things are moving along," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. Bettman, union leader Donald Fehr and IIHF President Rene Fasel met for more than five hours Monday at league headquarters to work on a deal that would allow NHL players to compete at the 2014 games in Russia. This would be the fifth Olympics for the NHL. Not everything has been agreed to and the various sides need to meet internally to sign off on any pact. Still, Bettman called Mondays session a "constructive meeting," adding there are still "some Is to dot and Ts to cross." "I think its fair to say that were not quite ready to announce its done," Bettman said. Fasel headed to the airport following the meeting and planned to get together with various international groups beginning on Tuesday. Fehr will brief the players during multiday union executive board meetings next week. "We had a very constructive meeting," Fasel said. "I am very happy and pleased. I have to go back also to my federation and to other national federations, especially back to the IOC, to make a report. I am confident that we will have a solution at the end." When pressed for a timeline to get a deal done, Bettman responded with an emphatic, "Soon. Very soon." "Were on a compact schhedule," Bettman added.dddddddddddd "Everybody is working very hard and we seem to be pulling the oars in the same direction." The biggest challenge the NHL faces every time the Olympics come is the need to stop the hockey season for several weeks in order for its players to go. That is even more of a factor this time because the Olympics are taking place one year after a lengthy lockout wiped out nearly half of the hockey regular season. While the Olympic exposure is good for the NHL, breaking up another season in February is hardly ideal. Bettman declined to get into specifics of what still needs to be worked out. But it was certainly a positive to see all three men standing side by side outside the NHL offices -- a far cry from last year during the lockout when Bettman and Fehr were on opposite sides and held separate news conferences on the street. Fehr agreed with Bettman this time that only smaller details have to be ironed out before a final deal can be reached. "From my end, while weve made a lot of progress on a lot of issues, there are a few I dots and T crosses to do yet," Fehr said. "We have to turn it into final written documents, and I do have to go back to my executive board. Things are moving along." Fasel, from Switzerland, joked that an agreement could already have been in place if the talks werent held in English. "There are still some language problems to understand. Its not so easy for me," he said. "I would prefer to speak French with my two colleagues. It would be much easier to negotiate with them." ' ' '