Oh that left.

Oh, he left. :(

A 60's racists, segregationist, draft dodging, black power, malcolm x protege. Let's keep it real.

Geo

Somebody met Jesus today. I hope it went well.

Never understood how an athlete who demeaned his opponents, bragged incessantly, embraced a radical black movement and refused to serve his country got put on a pedestal...

Oh yeah, he was a negro, and was an effective cog in the wheel the statists are using to run over the FUSA

Never liked him or his loud mouth, his draft dodging, his choice of religions or any other thing this ass clown said or did. Haven't thought about him in years and he won't be missed.

All of the negative comments here are irrelevant. At a time when boxing was a sport that mattered, he was the greatest boxer we had ever seen. He was brash, annoying, and immensely entertaining, which is what we want out of sport. Those of us who came of age in the 70s got to see one of the greatest athletes of all time in his prime. Most of us don't give a shit about his politics because we knew how to separate them.

No, most of us *don't* want to see brash and annoying out of sports. Entertaining, yes, but nobody likes a jerk, and Clay was a major league jerk. And he was waay overrated by spors writers who couldn't tell the difference between flash and substance. He was a very good boxer but was sadly lacking in power. I would rank him pretty high but I don't think he would have done well against the likes of Joe Louis and I would really love to have seen him against Jersy Joe Wolcott since Walcott had one of the best left hooks in the business and Clay was a sucker for a good left hook. Henry Cooper could tell you all about that. As far as the draft issue is concerned, I don't blame him for not wanting to become cannon fodder in a useless war. I didn't want to, either, and didn't. I slowly grew to admire Clay for his boxing skills but certainly never revered him as being *the greatest* as so many clowns seem to want to do. He was just another boxer.

It's okay to let a man be a legend in the lowest and saddest of sport exploitation. Sheesh.

He was poetry in motion. You could almost hear the music in his head as you watched his feet. You could see him glory in his youth and skill and I don't see a thing wrong with that. Boxing is life writ large, glorious, and painful and sad, at the last.

So close to Memorial Day, my thoughts are with those whose names are inscribed on that black wall. Those that had to go, those that chose to go. The detractors who spit on veterans, those that worked for the enemy, here and abroad, those that joined up with racist, anti-semitic cults, the same rabble that's still burning and rioting, they can all go to hell. The sooner the better.

Give him credit for chutzpah: a Muslim man paid to beat people up refusing to serve on the grounds war is contrary to the teachings of the Koran.

By far the greatest sportsman of my lifetime.

One of the few athletes about whom it can be said 'he was a hero'.

Adios amigo.

D S Craft-

His name was Muhammad Ali.

Drag a loud mouthed, over rated negro across the screen and watch the cucksuckers rise up on their hind legs and start cucking.

It'll be nice to have some elbow room again.

Now I remember why I seldom comment here anymore. Ghostsniper, I'm sorry your mother never loved you, but you are the most thoroughly and unnecessarily disagreeable ogre ever to befoul the pages of our gracious host.

It would be difficult if not impossible to name anyone who was a worse influence on black men and black culture in America than their "hero", - Ali. Jackson and Sharpton would only rank as amateurs in comparison.

Don't hold back, Joan....

{Let's not get carried away... GV}

I prefer to remember Muhammad Ali as one of the greatest boxers who ever lived. RIP.

I tend to agree with the opinion of Malcolm X, Ali was not a deep thinker, a simple soul easily seduced by a cause and a con man, but a great athlete.

We loved him to bits. What ever happened to having fun?

Come back Joan. I would trade the Gospel according to Ghost for an Argghh any time.

Amen, Denny.

You're not allowed to have fun anymore. As usual, the pricks and assholes who bellow the loudest get the last word.

Arthurstone, he was born Cassius Clay and came to prominance as a loudmouth jerk named Cassius Clay. He's still Cassius Clay.

Although I can't abide a person like Jane Fonda (you readers all know why), I for some reason feel grace towards Ali. I remember well the excitement of the Ali-Frazer fight when I was in Middle School. Everyone picked their favorite.

Here is why I think we love MA. He did everything I wouldn't do. I don't need to catalog the things - the list is long and well known. Black Muslim - get real. That's not a religion. It's the ultimate barrack's lawyer creed. But, he won in the ring. He won so well and with so much physical grace, that it makes you stand up and take notice.

Much of what he said was street talk. Don't listen to what he says; watch what he does. I respect genius, and love this man. He was a bridge of grace, and BTW I love some Germans, Italians and Japanese people, too. It's called grace. Look that one up.

King David did some crappy stuff, too. I love Ali maybe more because I disagreed with 99.99999% of his mouth, and loved what he did in the ring.

Oh, make no mistake about it, Casey, I was a big fan of his growing up once I got past the disappointment of the two Liston fights. He was a great athlete and a very good boxer, but as I said above I think there were better fighters. I've come to realize lately though that the whole trash talking athlete bullshit that has been so prevelant for the past 30 or 40 years can be traced back to one Cassius Clay. Up until he came along athletes approached their work with a greater sense of humility and respect for their opponents. The Louisville Lip put an end to that and idiot sportswriters slobbered along after him. He ushered in a new era in sports and our culture has been the worse for it ever since.

Ali presaged the bullshit culture, but if he didn't start it, someone else would have. He actually did do essentially what he said he would.

idk who the best fighters are. I know there are really ignorant and full-of-it ones, whom I've met myself. I put one in his place one time - that was rich. But, I think Ali has the gift of cultural knowledge and celebrity that few men have ever had. Like I said, he said and did everything we would not, but rose up in the ring to a magnificent status. Best? Well, he did wear the belt.