Mike and Mike

This weekend has been all about Mike Tyson and Michael Jackson, and the end to their incredible fall from the pinnacle of their professions. While Jackson was acquitted of all charges today, the revelations that came out about his bizarre lifestyle effectively were the death knell of a career that literally had the potential to change the world. If one looks at the stuff that Michael did right after his split from his brothers, that era where he did "The Wiz", Don't Stop til You Get Enough, and up to Thriller, which remains one of the great albums ever recorded. Its almost as if, when his hair caught fire, something just seemed to change. He recorded Bad, which is okay, but not great. Then, as the skin disease set in, as he got whiter and whiter, and retreated further and further from reality, the world just became too much. Here's someone who never had a childhood, who's emotional development is stunted to the point where he seems like some pre-adolescent. He's not a sociopath, his conscience, his own sense of reality is just so warped that he can't see how his actions might affect people's perceptions. I'm not happy, and I'm not displeased that he was found not guilty, I simply do not care. When you think of the lives his work changed (and given those people standing outside the courthouse, you know it effected some), its sad to see the potential and the last twenty years, totally wasted.

The legend of Iron Mike died Saturday night on a stool at the MCI Center. I firmly believe that the late 80's, and the early 90's were the golden age of bad boy's in sports. When the Miami Hurricanes stepped off a plane into the Arizona night in Camo to take on Penn State, it signaled a start of an era. The Hurricanes, The Bad Boy Pistons, The Bash Brother A's and the Doc and Strawberry Mets, and ending with the Running' Rebels of Jerry Tarkanian. But the leader of this, the baddest mother on the planet, was Tyson. With the ferocity he showed, whether the destruction of Larry Holmes, his annihilation of Michael Spinks in 93 seconds, coming out in the black boots, black trunks to "Welcome to the Terrordome", Tyson truly was a frightening human being. You knew, when you saw him move, when you saw him throw a punch, that here was this awesome presence, this man who would rip your heart out if he needed to. But then he went with Don King. Then came the marriage to Robin Givens, then came the image of him groping for his mouthpiece as Buster Douglas pulled of the most shocking upset of my lifetime. Then came Desiree Washington and prison. Every fight after he got out, from the two fights with Evander, including biting the ear, was about trying to get that presence back, and it never returned. Now, since Lennox Lewis (the best fighter of his generation, including Tyson, Holyfield, Bowe and Moorer) totally destroyed him in Memphis, its obvious that Mike's heart is not in it. He said as much after the fight this week. That's not what you want when you participate in a sport which is the most violent on earth. He can no longer summon that rage, that intimidation factor. He needs money, but its time to stop. Tyson has been incredibly introspective lately, perhaps the rest of his life can be a testament to a true second chance. Maybe he can be a true role model away from the ring, and achieve the peace he's been searching for his whole life.