TORRANCE TRIBUNE June 9, 2016 Page 5 Up and Adam Rumble, Young Man, Rumble By Adam Serrao Ali boma ye. A familiar slogan shouted by thousands of Congolese audience members as Muhammad Ali prepared to face George Foreman in 1974 at the Rumble in the Jungle in what was at the time, Kinshasa, Zaire. The pro-Ali crowd from back then has grown by millions in the years since. Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali, chiseled out a place in the hearts of every American on his way to becoming known as “The Greatest”. Ali entered the hospital last week in the Phoenix area due to “Muhammad Ali was bigger than boxing. He was one of the world’s most recognizable people, and not just because of what he did with his gloves inside of the ring.” what was initially thought to be non-threatening respiratory issues. It later became one fight that the champion would ultimately not survive. Muhammad Ali died last Friday night at the age of 74. Though his spirit may now be gone, his legend will truly live on forever. There have been books written, movies made, documentaries produced and articles constructed, all about the man whose name was Ali. The 860 words in this article will certainly neither do any of those, nor the man himself, justice. Perhaps the most important thing to remember about Ali, however, was that he was a man who made promises and truly lived up to them. He promised to be the greatest ever. He was. He promised to shock the world. He did. He floated like a butterfly, he stung like a bee, and even after a despicable disease rendered him much more useless than any other fighter ever could, Ali remained fearless. Though his voice was little more than simply a whisper, his spirit remained gigantic. An unshaken champion, Ali stood for freedom and love. Muhammad Ali was bigger than boxing. He was one of the world’s most recognizable people, and not just because of what he did with his gloves inside of the ring. Ali famously took a stance on the military draft and refused to go across seas to fight in the Vietnam war. “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong,” Ali explained. Likewise, Ali’s conversion to Islam even further polarized a nation that was already in awe of the man who stopped at nothing to stand up for what he believed in. “It’s a sad day for life, man,” promoter Don King said of Ali’s passing. “I loved Muhammad Ali. He was my friend. Ali will never die. Like Martin Luther King, his spirit will live on. He stood for the world.” Though he stood for the world outside of the ring, Ali certainly stood tall inside of the ring, as well. He took down Sonny Liston twice. He brought the enormous George Foreman to his knees by inventing the rope-a-dope. Perhaps most famously, Ali nearly fought until life left his body when he took on Joe Frazier in the Philippines. The names mentioned above speak volumes about who Ali was as a person and a boxer. He never shied away from a battle and was never scared to take on the best that there was. Boxers nowadays fight battles that they know they can win. Ali, on the other hand, was always out to prove a point. He took on the best, beat the best, and became the best that there ever was. “Muhammad Ali is a legend and one of the world’s most celebrated athletes, the fighter who ushered in the golden era of boxing and put the sport on the map,” Oscar De La Hoya explained. “He paved the way for professional fighters, including myself, elevating boxing to become a sport watched in millions of households around the world.” Muhammad Ali truly was a household name. Without him, the sport of boxing would be nothing. Ali had a career after boxing, as well. He later became an evangelist and a missionary for Islam, naturally stating, “I will be the greatest evangelist ever,” in a way that only Muhammad Ali could. Soon thereafter, Parkinson’s entered into Ali’s life. His loud voice turned to a whisper, his shuffle in the ring turned into a slow stagger, and his muscular visage quickly turned into a frail countenance. Through it all, however, Ali remained strong-willed and kept the heart of a lion in his chest. “What I suffered physically was worth what I’ve accomplished in life,” he related. “A man who is not courageous enough to take risks will never accomplish anything in life” Words that we all could truly live by. “I would like to be remembered as a man who won the heavyweight title three times, who was humorous, and who treated everyone right. As a man who never looked down on those who looked up to him, and who helped as many people as he could. As a man who stood up for his beliefs no matter what. As a man who tried to unite all humankind through faith and love. And if all that’s too much, then I guess I’d settle for being remembered only as a great boxer who became a leader and a champion of his people. And I wouldn’t even mind if folks forgot how pretty I was.” – Muhammad Ali January 17, 1942- June 03, 2016. Rest in Peace, Muhammad Ali. • Are You Still Paying Too Much For Your Medications? You can save up to 93% when you fi ll your prescriptions with our Canadian and International prescription service. Get An Extra $15 Off & Free Shipping On Your 1st Order! Call the number below and save an additional $15 plus get free shipping on your fi rst prescription order with Canada Drug Center. Expires June 30, 2016. Offer is valid for prescription orders only and can not be used in conjunction with any other offers. Valid for new customers only. One time use per household. Use code 15FREE to receive this special offer. Call Now! 800-409-2420 Their Price CelebrexTM $910.20 Typical US Brand Price for 200mg x 100 Our Price Celecoxib* $76.67 Generic equivalent of CelebrexTM Generic price for 200mg x 100 Please note that we do not carry controlled substances and a valid prescription is required for all prescription medication orders. Use of these services is subject to the Terms of Use and accompanying policies at www.canadadrugcenter.com. Rivalry Goes North By Adam Serrao The North High Saxons softball team received the opportunity that they had been waiting for all season long. After losing to a higher-seeded Torrance Tartars team in the first game of league play earlier in the season, the Saxons and head coach Howard Miller were out for revenge. The team thought that they were better than the Tartars, but Torrance was getting all of the love in the rankings. North and Torrance wound up tying for first place in the Pioneer League standings at season’s end, and once the playoffs started, both teams took off. Four straight wins later, they would meet in this year’s CIF Southern Section Division 4 softball final. A movie director could not have scripted it any better; two cross-town rival teams that hated each other playing in the championship game for all of the marbles with Alyssa Loza, a transfer from Torrance High, on the mound for North. Loza dazzled. A three-hit, complete game, shutout effort from Loza got her team a 5-0 win in the final to make the North High Saxons this year’s CIF softball champions. “I think there was definitely a little nerves going on early,” Loza said of her magnificent performance last Saturday morning. As good as Loza was, she did, in fact, start the game off slowly. Throughout the first two innings of play, Loza walked five batters, but managed to get out of both innings unscathed. “I just had to change my mentality,” she continued. “I hit my spots and knew my defense was going to back me up.” From there on out, Loza truly did hit her spots and her defense was there for support. After Loza loaded the bases in the first inning by walking batters, she was able to get out of the jam by striking out opposing pitcher, Marissa Moreno, to end the inning. Loza loaded the bases again in the second, as if preferring to work under pressure, and this time struck out Torrance’s CeCe Da Costa to keep the game scoreless for the time being. While Loza was working in and out of jams, Moreno was pitching a gem. Three hitless innings to begin the game on the Torrance side of the field kept the game scoreless through the third inning in what was turning out to be a pitcher’s duel. That’s when Shonnie Baker had enough. Baker led things off in the fourth inning with a single to get on base and start what became an eventual miniature rally. After Veronica Garcia got a base hit to move Baker over, a wild pitch eventually led to the first run of the game as Baker came across the plate. In her very next at-bat, Baker made her case for player of the game as she crushed a home run over the outfield fence, driving in two runs. The three-run shot not only invigorated an already motivated team, but also served to put the game out of reach by making it 5-0 with only two innings left to play. “I just felt it, saw the right pitch, and swung for it,” Baker explained of her home run. Five runs is all that the Saxons and Loza would need to close out the game with confidence. Six more outs came and went for the masterful pitcher, pitching against her former Torrance Tartars team. Loza, who decided to transfer to North High for a chance to be the team’s number one pitcher, certainly looked the part and made the right decision. Her five innings of shutout ball helped capture the Saxons first CIF crown since 2009. “This is a special team,” North coach Howard Miller said of his club. “The girls have been so focused all year and they’ve played their best softball in these big games.” Torrance (25-10, 9-1), on the other hand, see’s an extremely successful season fall just one win shy of what would have been the team’s second championship in as many years. The Lady Tartars beat Highland in an exciting 1-0, 13-inning game last season to take the title back home to Torrance. “I couldn’t be more proud of our girls,” Torrance head coach Don Glavich explained after the team’s loss. “We did it the right way.” Two championship games in two years is certainly nothing to scoff at. The way that things have gone recently for the Tartars, there is no reason to believe that they won’t be back next season, most likely favored to make another deep run in the playoffs. Moreno pitched a complete game, allowing five runs on eight hits while striking out six and walking two. For now, North High (29-6-1, 9-1) has captured the glory. A long and arduous 36 game season has come to an end with a “W” in the standings and a trophy attached to it. Coach Miller, Loza, Baker and the rest of the Lady Saxons can rest easy knowing that they accomplished what few predicted they would at the beginning of the season. The North High Lady Saxons are your 2016 CIF champions. • Traveling from page 3 “North Korea has detained those who traveled independently and those who were part of organized tours. Being a member of a group tour or using a tour guide will not prevent North Korean authorities from detaining or arresting you,” said a May 16 alert. “Possession of any media, either physical or electronic, criticizing the DPRK government or its leaders is considered a criminal act punishable by long-term detention in hard labor camps and heavy fines,” the alert explained. The United States has no diplomatic ties with North Korea, and cannot assist Americans who are detained by the authorities who’ve held at least 14 U.S. visitors over a 10-year period. Most of the countries and regions with high travel-risk levels are off the beaten track for most Americans, including Somalia, Pakistan, Central Africa, Columbia, Syria and Iran. Travel to Mexico merited this warning from the State Department, with a reminder that criminal gangs and drug wars make some states more dangerous than others to visit. The risks run from being caught in a street fight between rival gangs to abduction for ransom, it said. Carjacking and highway robbery is a serious problem in border towns. “U.S. citizens are encouraged to lower their personal profiles and to avoid displaying indicators of wealth such as expensive-looking jewelry, watches, or cameras,” the State Department says. Tourists should avoid isolated areas or situations where they appear easy targets for robbers or kidnappers who demand a ransom or force their victims to withdraw money from an ATM before being released. U.S. citizens traveling on Mexican roads and highways by car or bus may encounter government checkpoints, staffed by military or law enforcement personnel. American travelers are advised to cooperate with the federal police and military personnel, who’ve been deployed by the Mexican government to combat organized criminal groups. The current U.S. State Department travel advisories and warnings are listed at https:// travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/go.html, along with useful travel tips. •
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