The New Pac-Man

There are plenty of good nicknames in professional sports but since Dallas Cowboys CB Adam Jones decided to drop the "Pacman" there is no good reason NOT to anoint a new one.

Meet Manny Pacquiao. WBC Lightweight Champion, WBC Super Featherweight Champion, 47-3-2 with 35 KOs (75%) and perhaps the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world now that Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has retired.

He's lightning fast, can take a punch and, most importantly, is proven and tested. Pacquiao has fought against solid and strong competition for the last five years and most recently won the WBC Lightweight Championship from David Diaz (34-1-1, 17 KOs) on June 28.


He has fought as low as Light Flyweight (106 lbs.), and is considering moving up to 140 lbs. to fight Ricky Hatton (44-1-0, 31 KOs). Considering the popularity of both, fighting Hatton could be big money for Pacquiao. He has won four major titles in four weight classes and would have a legitimate shot of winning. He is also considering a fight with Nate Campbell (32-5-1, 25 KOs), the WBA, WBO and IBF Lightweight Champion as soon as November.

But, before any of that, Pacquiao will be representing the Phillipines at the 2008 Bejing Olympics and will even be the flag bearer for his country. It has gotten to the point that people are wondering who he will beat next and how bad it will be.

While MMA has grown in popularity recently, boxing has made strides of their own. Pac-Man, Kelly Pavlick, Ricky Hatton, a final match for Oscar De La Hoya and the possibility of a unified Heavyweight Champion in Wladamir Klitschko are all blright spots, and boxing could begin to make a comback if solid fights with good opponents and title defenses continue occuring.

Imus Opens Mouth, Inserts Foot...Again

Don Imus is a racist. Has been a racist. Will forever be a racist. He has been on the radio for decades and colleagues can point to dozens of occasions where he either uttered the defamatory N-word or made racially offensive statements both on AND off the air. And all of that was BEFORE 2007.

I am not going to revisit last year's controversy because, let's be honest, if you don't know about it then you were living under a rock. What I will do is show you his newest defamatory statement about new Dallas Cowboy Adam "Pacman" Jones.



Few things here. 1) It is racist to ask, "What color is he?" Implying that the man's skin color has an impact on or is a reason for his actions. 2) Responding, "Well, there you go, now we know" also directly implies that he expected the answer to said question to be "black" or "African-American" confirming his racist beliefs.

To say anything else is ludicrous and laughable.

"I meant that he was being picked on because he's black," Imus said. "What people should be outraged about is that they arrest blacks for no reason," Imus said Tuesday. "(I was trying to) make a sarcastic point."

I call bullshit.

When defending himself, Imus also reminds everyone that his show has a black producer and two black co-hosts. Like that makes a difference. It somehow makes what he said acceptable. Having black employees now gives you a shield to say whatever you want because you are "down." Even his black co-host (who happened to be reading the news story) was offended, hence his lack of response to not stir anything up on the air.

Not to mention, and this is the most important point, the three black staff members are brand new to his WABC show. He has never had a black co-host or producer prior to the Rutgers incident! It was almost a condition of his new hiring.

People are termed hypocrites, racists and a number of other terms without justification. Imus deserves both labels. He also deserves to be off the air and back at his ranch, where he can rant and rave and have the same number of listeners as he does now.

Pacman Jones: Just Call Me "Adam"

In his latest effort to improve his image now that he is a member of the Dallas Cowboys, Adam "Pacman" Jones is telling you, I and whoever else will listen what to call him these days. Like it makes a difference.

"There's really just a lot of negativity behind (the Pacman nickname)," Jones said. "It's just time for a change, man. I'm doing everything to make sure that I'm all right as a person, mentally and emotionally."

While that is all well and good for his brain, in reality what you call yourself couldn't matter any less. In fact, dropping a nickname after it is already established in the sports landscape is usually more of a negative change than a positive one...at least for Jones' portfolio.

Now I realize Jones worked in professional wrestling during last season but things don't work the same way in real life. You don't become a good guy just because you change your name from Rocky Maivia to The Rock or a bad guy because you go from Hulk Hogan to Hollywood Hogan.

You improve your image, career and legacy by BEING a good person. Making assurances that you are not around situations or people that could compromise your image, personality and actions. Making smart decisions starting with those that advise and surround you.

"Pacman" Jones was marketable. Adam Jones is nothing. Nobody even knows who he is because as far as the average fan is concerned, he's never exited. Jones may want to be like his new idol and mentor Deion Sanders (who coincidentally dropped the "Neon" after departing the NFL), but Adam is not as cool of a name as Deion is. Trust me, I know.

Stick with football, your coaches and teammates, your new mentor and improving your day-to-day life and associates. Stop worrying about trivial things like your name. Nobody else, including the media, your employer or your fans do. What they care about is you keeping your nose clean (literally and figureativley) and only "making it rain" on an American Indian reservation. And no, not a casino.