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The Front Row: Big letdown

By Nick Prevenas

Published: Tuesday, September 18, 2007 9:08 PM MST

Way to go, Chargers: Sunday night’s game between the New England Patriots and the San Diego Chargers turned out to be a whole lot of build-up with very little payoff.

In Sunday’s Green Valley News, I wrote a column that went into painstaking detail as to why I felt this could be an epic regular-season showdown.

Just like any other over-hyped TV event, I was let down.

After New England’s 38-14 domination of San Diego, I was blown away by how uninspired and mediocre the Chargers looked.

However, it made total sense every time the NBC cameras cut to a disheveled, nervous Norv Turner.

Two other major developments from that game:

I’m not saying it’ll happen, but I wouldn’t be surprised if New England ran the table this season.

I’m officially tired of “Camera-gate.”

Yes, the New England versus San Diego game fizzled out. Yes, I went overboard with my excitement on Sunday.

Yes, I’ll probably do the exact same thing before the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts face off in Week 9.

Oscar’s new magazine: Imagine if Tiger Woods decided to buy Golf Digest magazine.

Wouldn’t it seem strange that the sport’s most high-profile athlete also owned and operated the sport’s top publication?

Well, that’s the situation we have in boxing now, with Oscar De La Hoya and his Golden Boy Enterprises purchasing The Ring magazine.

The Ring, also known as the “Bible of Boxing,” has been in business for 85 years. Making the cover of The Ring still ranks among the most impressive accomplishments a boxer can achieve.

Now, the magazine is owned and operated by the sport’s most popular boxer and one of its most successful promoters.

Obviously, many people expect there to be conflicts of interest. Will De La Hoya’s fights receive extra attention? Will the fighters represented by Golden Boy Promotions receive preferential treatment?

De La Hoya said he recognizes the perception, but will work hard to maintain The Ring’s reputation and increase its visibility.

De La Hoya hopes to revamp The Ring’s website, and add legitimacy to their titles, which aren’t run by any sanctioning body and do not require sanctioning fees.

The worst-case scenario is that The Ring devolves from the “Bible of Boxing” into a collection of Golden Boy press releases.

The best-case scenario is that De La Hoya wipes out the sanctioning bodies and The Ring gives one title to the best fighter in each weight class, instead of the dozens of worthless titles floating around these days.

Stay tuned.


		Wildcats search for consistency

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