Page 6 April 30, 2015 TORRANCE TRIBUNE Greatest Sports Day of the Year By Adam Serrao This May 2nd of 2015 may be the biggest day in sports history that you’ve ever seen. Forget the World Series, forget the Super Bowl; even O.J. Simpson getting chased down the freeway in his white Ford Bronco may pale in comparison to this coming Saturday’s sporting day. With three major marquee events, two playoffs, and one historical rivalry all taking place on the same day, May 2nd might, indeed, go down in history as one of the greatest days ever for sports freaks around the world. If that is what you consider yourself to be, get happy, mark the calendar, and grab a bag of chips and some appetizers. All you’ll have to do next is sit back and relax as the day unfurls with a variety of different invents that will tickle even the most blasé onlookers’ fancy. There is no way to start to explain the day of May 2nd without stating the obvious. This Saturday, in what will be the most anticipated boxing match since Mike Tyson bit off Evander Holyfield’s ear in 1997, we will finally find out who the best pound-for-pound fighter of this generation will be. Only this fight - now five years in the making - may be even more anticipated. The biggest money fight in the history of boxing, Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao is said to cost approximately $100.00 to buy on pay-per-view and will have a $400 million impact on the city of Las Vegas, all things included. Let alone what the fighters will make. “On Monday morning,” Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum started, “I will hand Manny a check for $50 million as a down payment, guaranteed.” That’s just a down payment! And if you think that’s a lot, listen to what Mayweather’s promoter says: “I will tell you this,” said chief executive of Mayweather Promotions, “Floyd Mayweather’s check will be a lot more than $50 million. And then it goes from there.” When all is said and done, Mayweather (47-0) will take the majority of a 60-40 split of a purse that will receive most of its income through pay-per-view revenue. To put it in perspective, when Mayweather defeated Oscar De La Hoya in 2007, 2.5 million households bought the fight at approximately half the price of what this epic battle will cost. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is expected to be purchased by as many as four million homes at an approximate $380 million. Mayweather’s personal takeaway will amount to almost $200 million dollars. $200 million dollars to step into the ring for 12 rounds of three minutes each. Pacquiao’s (57-5-2) carry off won’t be much less. And if the two decide to go half-strength and battle to a draw, the rematch (which is inevitable either way) will bring in even more money. There are many reasons to watch this Saturday’s bout between two of this generations greatest fighters, but the sheer amount of dollars involved is enough to make any person’s jaw drop. On a much lighter, less aggravating note, you can get your day started this Saturday wearing a big “poofy” hat and sipping a mint julep as you watch the Kentucky Derby. What makes this year’s Kentucky Derby even more interesting is that, unlike last year with California Chrome, there is no clear-cut favorite to win it all. As usual, however, trainer Bob Baffert will take over Churchill Downs with two horses that are at the top of this year’s power rankings. Not that you should be betting on sports - of course not, right? - but if you wanted to throw a quarter into the pot, I would put it on either Dortmund or American Pharoah. My personal choice would be American Pharoah because there’s nothing more American than the Kentucky Derby. That and the fact that Pharoah is spelt incorrectly just adds intrigue. If you’re of German descent, however, go for Dortmund. It’s a city in northwestern Germany. There, I did all of the research for you. Either way, with these two aforementioned events alone, this Saturday will be one of the biggest gambling days in the history of the U.S., not that I condone it. Rapper “50 Cent” already bet much more than his namesake, putting $1.6 million on a Mayweather victory. Diddy, formerly known as Puff Daddy, bet Mark Wahlberg $250,000 that Mayweather takes home the title. Sporting events that maybe aren’t worth betting on will be taking place, too. For instance, the New York Yankees will meet the Boston Red Sox in what will be a baseball battle of the game’s oldest rivals. This time, A-Rod will be involved, too. It will also be the third day of this year’s NFL draft. While the big names like Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota will already be off the board, there may still be magic to be had. Don’t forget, last year Michael Sam came off the board in the last round and Tom Brady - now the face of the league - was drafted in the sixth round of the 2000 draft. The NBA playoffs will still be in full effect where you can watch stars such as the likely MVP Stephen Curry, or even LeBron James battle it out. Depending on how the series goes, there may even be a Game 7 showdown between the Los Angeles Clippers and the San Antonio Spurs. What would be better than that? Speaking of Game 7’s, the NHL playoffs will also be in effect and there is sure to be a Game 7 or two going on, full of hard hitting and all the trash-talking that you could ask for. No matter what sport you are in to or what game excites you the most, this Saturday, May 2nd, is sure to have you covered. The day is certain to be a win-win for all those involved, including the fans, the participants, and the major networks carrying the events taking place. If we all can’t be like Floyd Mayweather and collect almost $200 million for what will be at most 36 minutes of work, then we can at least pretend for one day, sit back, relax and enjoy it all. This Saturday is the perfect day to appreciate the game’s that we love and the sports that bring us all to life. Just remember that you, the fan, are worth every single penny. • Warriors Win Battle of Rivals By Adam Serrao Right now is the time of the boys’ high school baseball season where teams begin to separate themselves in the standings. This year, that will be a seemingly tough task. The top teams in the Pioneer League are all bunched together relatively tightly. Last week, however, the West High Warriors took a major step forward while simultaneously sending their rivals from North High down in the standings. With a two-game sweep over the Saxons in back-to-back games last Wednesday and Friday, respectively, the Warriors not only kept their league-play record unblemished, but also held on tightly to the top spot in this year’s standings. The rivalry kicked into gear last Wednesday afternoon when West took to the road and traveled to North High for the first of backto back matchups. It was discovered that the Warriors had no problems being away from home. They quickly made themselves nice and comfortable on North High’s home diamond. With one out in the first inning, Nathan Santiago began what Daniel Enos would eventually finish. An RBI double for Enos capped a three run inning that saw West take a 3-1 lead after the first. Jonathan Narimatsu is becoming a familiar name for those who follow the Saxons. It was his line drive single that led to what would turn out to be North’s only run of the game. While the Saxons were finished scoring runs for the day, the Warriors were just getting started. Three more in the top of the third inning followed by four in the seventh saw West High eventually run away with this one. The game ended with an 11-1 advantage for the Warriors. The Saxons were able to keep things a little bit closer in the second of two games between the rivals, this time on West High’s home turf. It looked as if the Saxons had the game firmly in hand behind an excellent start from sophomore Taishi Nakawake on the mound. Nakawake pitched six innings, allowing just three hits and one earned run. The Saxons led 3-0 midway through the sixth inning, but it took all the way until the end of the game for West High’s bats to wake up. A bunt single from Mark Guerreva scored Daniel Enos from third base for the Warriors. Enos’s run marked the fourth of the inning as well as the go-ahead and winning run of the game. North bats were silenced in the top of the seventh and West’s four runs, all in one inning, proved to be the difference maker. The Warriors won the game 4-3 and the rivalry 2-0. The West High Warriors (16-6, 4-0) remain on top of the Pioneer League standings with the South High Spartans close behind. The Warriors are ranked as the number one team in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 this year. An offense that just doesn’t quit may be the reason why. In four league games so far this season, the Warriors have scored 53 runs while allowing their opponents only five. With the two losses, North High (8-9, 2-2) runs their league-play record even as they fall to third place in the standings in a virtual tie with the Torrance Tartars. The Tartars are next up on the schedule for the Saxons. The two rivals meet in back-to-back games this week. West will put their flawless league record on the line against second-tolast place Centennial. Torrance High After an extremely rough start to their season, the Torrance Tartars and head coach Ollie Turner are attempting to make a turnaround for the record books. Before this week’s slate of games, Torrance’s last win was against Brea Olinda back on April 4th in the Ryan Lemmon Tournament. Fortunately for Turner and company, something clicked and his team has found a way to get back on track. While Leuzinger is the last place team in the Pioneer League, if you ask coach Turner, a win is a win. The Tartars received two of those last week as they took on the Olympians, first at home in Torrance, then at Leuzinger. Game one was all Torrance. Five runs in the first followed by six in the sixth led to a 13-0 route in favor of the Tartars. JD Kruger went 3 for 3 with an RBI and Ryan Siebert went 3 for 4 with four RBI’s and one run scored. The second game was a bit closer, but carried on with a similar theme. While Leuzinger scored first, the Tartars picked up one run in the second to tie the game and two in the sixth to win it by a score of 3-1. Now with two wins on their plate, the Tartars (5-17, 2-2) find themselves in a practical tie for third place with the North High Saxons. This week’s matchup will be the Torrance Tartars against the North High Saxons, with many implications on the line. South High The South High Spartans are quite possibly the best team in the Pioneer League not named the West High Warriors. The Spartans have been winning games by large margins all season long. With their two victories over Centennial last week, the team remains undefeated in league play and tied for the top spot in the standings with West. South made quick work of Centennial with a 4-1 win last Wednesday and an 11-0 route last Friday behind pitcher Nick Beardsley’s onehit, 11 strikeout effort. Taylor Carmona led the way on offense for South, going 5 for 5 with two doubles. The Spartans (13-6, 4-0) are out to prove that they are a better team than the Warriors this year, but will have to wait a week or two to do it. Before South takes on West (16-6, 4-0) in what will be an epic battle, most likely for first place, they must get past last place Leuzinger first. • Douglass M O R T U A R Y “Our Family Serving Yours Since 1954” B U R I A L - C R E M A T I O N - W O R L D W I D E T R A N S F E R P E T M E M O R I A L P R O D U C T S 500 EAST IMPERIAL AVENUE EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA 90245 Telephone (310) 640-9325 • Fax (310) 640-0778 • FD658 PROFESSIONAL HEAD LICE HOUSE CALLS Local, Mobile and Discreet All-natural, non-toxic ingredients SAFE for Skin & Hair LETHAL for Lice 323.325.8317 Serving the Beach Cities of the South Bay www.HairForceONE.us Your ALLIES in the Battle Against Head Lice “There are many reasons to watch this Saturday’s bout between two of this generations greatest fighters, but the sheer amount of dollars involved is enough to make any person’s jaw drop.” “The rivalry kicked into gear last Wednesday afternoon when West took to the road and traveled to North High for the first of back-to-back matchups.”
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