Q: Are you going to wager on the Pats since they are only favored by 2.5? I’m just wondering how your heart will be smashed into pieces this time. I’m envisioning the Pats being up 5 or 6 late in the game. 4th and 8 with no timeouts left. Eli under pressure let’s one fly down the seam. Travis Beckum doesn’t even get his head turned around but the ball gets wedged between the seat of his pants as he crosses the goal line. The Asscheek Catch would have to be somewhere between 5 to 312 times more painful than the Helmet Catch. God Bless You.
— Domenic, Somerdale, N.J.

SG: The Asscheek Catch sounds just realistic enough that I just raided my minibar for more of those tiny bottles.

GRID IRON…without question, the soundest football decision Peyton Manning could make would be to end up with the 49ers. Their defense is poised to become the best in the NFL and, on top of that, they’re perennially blessed with a schedule that features infants and the demented…having said that, the sports story of the decade would be written if Peyton puts aside personal integrity and saddles up with Rex Ryan and the New York Jets…

…S I’s Peter King has picked the New York Giants to defeat the Pats. He also likes the UNDER…

…didn’t care at all for the “Ferris Bueller” Superbowl ad, but the Jerry Seinfeld spot is a classic…

ICE…Edmonton’s Sam Gagner, still basking in the glow of his eight point game against Chicago, is the son of ex Toronto Maple Leaf Dave Gagner…

PUG LIFE…Julio Caesar Chavez Jr fights Marco Antonio Rubio Saturday night in Mexico. It’s a high profile HBO affair with Rubio a live dog…

…Lamont Peterson does not seem inclined to give an immediate rematch to Amir Khan. The current IBF/WBA junior welterweight was given an absolute gift when he was awarded a decision over Khan in their recent meeting. The proper thing to do would be to give the Englishman a rematch, particularly considering Khan agreed to stage the first fight in Peterson’s hometown. For his generosity, Khan got jobbed…

PONIES…local trainer Mark Casse received a lot of publicity concerning the start of his Kentucky Derby candidate Prospective in today’s Sam F Davis Stakes in Tampa. The colt ran well, finishing second, but enthusiasm must be tempered by the fact the winner was a maiden…

What a punk ass way to slither away.

If there isn’t evidence against Lance, and you need to withdraw your case, fine, but do it publicly with all the fanfare you used repeatedly to slam the man’s reputation.

The U S Attorney’s Office, a power apparatus with enormous leverage, has released their findings in a manner guaranteed to provide minimum publicity. Most sports fans will miss the news altogether as they gear up for what should be a brilliant Superbowl.

I’m not an apologist for Lance.

But fair is fair. The seven time winner of the Tour De France has been pilloried by the government through a series of carefully calculated leaks and allegations.

At the end of two years, they produce zero, nada. He deserves a high profile press conference and an unreserved apology from the power merchants who recklessly attacked his reputation.

And, you know, it’d be nice of the Government to also furnish a nice, neat folder outlining the millions they have frittered away trying to nail the Texas cyclist…

GRID IRON…here’s the gnawing question; can Bill Belichick and Tom Brady be stymied twice, in the games biggest contest, by the team of Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning? Doesn’t that sound improbable, to put it mildly? Will the history books record a double failure of the dynamic New England duo against the relatively pedestrian pair of New Yorkers?

I’m still mulling over my pick but the issue seems to be how far one is willing to follow the cult of personality. New York had the tougher schedule, is currently in better form, possess a pass rush certain to torment Brady but…but…a scenario where Belichick and Brady don’t come up with a plan to overcome their nemesis? Yep, I need more time to sort through my thoughts and emotions concerning this game. But, flat out, I envision another classic, hotly contested and replete with other worldly performances…

…have to love Madonna; she advised Patriot tight end Rob Gronkowski to tape up his leg and play…

…the best quarterback I’ve ever seen; Troy Aikman

…the best running back; Earl Campbell…

…the best receiver; Jerry Rice…

…the best pass rusher; Bruce Smith…

…the best linebacker; Ray Lewis…

…best in defensive coverage; Deon Sanders…

…no need to argue, right?…

PUG LIFE…Miguel Cotto was in negotiations with both the Floyd Mayweather camp and the Manny Pacquiao camp. Both sides wanted the credibility that would come from taking on the tough junior middleweight. The Pac Man, however, insisted that Cotto come in at below 149 lbs (five pounds below the junior middle limit) while Mayweather agreed to come in at the divisions proper weight. Simple as that, Cotto elected to fight Floyd…

…Cotto has been quoted claiming he expects to gross over 35 million dollars from the Mayweather fight…

…a report from the Philippines claims Manny Pacquiao has divested himself of hundreds of fighting cocks. Would have been very interesting, post Michael Vick, if it had become widely known stateside that the fighter had financial interests in fighting birds…

PONIES…real treat for race fans arrived with the news that multiple Grade 1 winner Game on Dude will race Sunday at Santa Anita in the San Antonio Stakes. Bodacious Chantal Sutherland will be the pilot as the colt kicks off what should be a memorable campaign…

I wasn’t entirely happy with the media coverage of Dundee’s death. The man was responsible, on five occasions, for reshaping the history of the sport;

1) June 18^th, 1963, Muhammad Ali, then Cassius Clay, travels to London, England to fight veteran Henry Cooper. The precocious young Olympic Gold Medalist is winning decisively when, in the fourth round, he is suddenly, and violently, knocked down by a ferocious left hook. Ali beats the count but staggers back to his corner, disorientated and semi-conscious. Angelo Dundee changes the sport forever when, inserting his finger in the seams of Ali’s glove, he rips open a hole. We can’t continue, Dundee screams, until we get new gloves! Ali is given time to recover while a back-up pair of gloves are located. He knocks Cooper out in the next round. Dundee magic.

2) Feb 25^th 1964, Muhammad Ali challenges the imposing Sonny Liston for the Heavyweight Championship of the World. Ali is magnificent but, after the fourth round, he begs Dundee to cut off his gloves. His eyes were burning after picking up a foreign substance from the gloves of Liston, a desperate, dirty ruse on the part of the Champion to win the fight. Dundee sponges out Ali’s eyes and then pushes his reluctant, and blind, fighter back into the battle. Ali runs like a bastard for three minutes and is declared Champion shortly thereafter when a thoroughly frustrated Liston does not answer the bell for the seventh.

3) Oct 30^th, 1974. Dundee guides a veteran Ali against perhaps his most formidable opponent, a young, unbeaten George Foreman. In a move of sheer genius, Dundee travels to the ring before the fight and loosens the ropes. Knowing his veteran warrior is no longer capable of dancing for fifteen rounds, Dundee creates a scenario where Muhammad can lean far back, half of his body literally out of the ring, to avoid the lunges of Foreman. The Rope a Dope is born and Ali stuns the world with an explosive eighth round knockout of the Champ.

4) Date circa 1978, manager Mike Trainer brings Angelo Dundee, then training the remarkable young prodigy Sugar Ray Leonard, a prospective opponent, a Detroit fighter named Thomas Hearns. Dundee nixes the fight, at considerable cost to his relationship with the Leonard team, insisting the two young prospects will eventually meet for a title. Dundee is prophetic. On Sept 16^th 1981 Leonard and Hearns meet in perhaps the greatest welterweight fight of all time, with Leonard stopping The Hitman in the 14^th.

5) My favourite moment. Maybe one of my top two or three favourite moments in boxing history. In the aforementioned Leonard – Hearns battle, the young Sugar Ray, nursing an eye injured during training, is inexplicably letting the fight get away from him. Hearns is boxing magnificently, and dominating scorecards. Dundee knows exactly what to say to the eminently proud Sugar Ray after the twelfth round. “You’re blowing it, son, you’re blowing it!”, Dundee hollers at Ray. Leonard comes to life and stuns Hearn’s with the 14^th round stoppage.

R I P Angelo.

GRID IRON…by all accounts Stanford’s Andrew Luck is ready to play in the NFL immediately. The future Indianapolis Colt hardly needs a multi-millionaire mentor, and that’s why Peyton Manning has a much better chance of being a Dolphin or a Cardinal than a Colt in 2012…

…the Superbowl has never gone into overtime…

…the 55 point over/under for Sunday’s game is the second highest total in the games history. The highest was the 56.5 total for the Indianapolis Colt – New Orleans Saints slugfest of 2010. For the record, that game was an UNDER, with the Saints prevailing 31-17…

THE ICE…I can’t see the Anaheim Ducks moving their star center Ryan Getzlaf to the Leafs for a package headed by Luke Schenn and Nazem Kadri. Getzlaf has had a shaky start to the season but, with Sidney Crosby in purgatory, is still arguably Canada’s top pivot. Kadri and Schenn appear to be overrated commodities and it would be stunning to see them as elemental in a Toronto fleecing of the Ducks…

…James Reimer gets the start in goal for the Leafs tonight as they attempt to put last night’s debacle behind them. Reimer plays so far back in the next these days he may end up on the goal judge’s lap…

PUG LIFE…Floyd “Money” Mayweather has really stolen Manny Pacquiao’s thunder by agreeing to go up in weight and fight for the 154 lb belt against the ultra tough Miguel Cotto. The move is manna from heaven for hard core fans, a compelling fight that puts Money in genuine peril.

Cotto fought Pacquiao in November of 2009 and, despite being contractually forced to come in below the welterweight limit, put on a very good show, only succumbing to Pac Man’s abundant speed in the final stanza.

Cotto then moved up to junior middleweight, won the WBA belt from Yuri Foreman and has notched two impressive defenses against Ricardo Mayorga and Antonio Margarito.

The Puerto Rican star will be immensely challenged by Mayweather’s speed. But he is the bigger man, and one capable of spreading his energies throughout a twelve round fight. A win would put Cotto on top of the fight world, a place he seemed destined to seize until Margarito’s plaster covered hands nearly destroyed him in July of 2008. Cotto’s only loses are that travesty and the aforementioned loss to Pacquiao. He has fought an inordinately high level of competition and has excelled against the very best.

Yes, it’s scary to praise Money Mayweather, but he has really pulled a coup by agreeing to wage war with Cotto. The May 5^th fight should garner massive attention and, to top it all off, should provide a very entertaining night of boxing…

…there is the real possibility that Cotto is the best fighter Mayweather has ever faced. Scanning his record (thanks Box Rec) it would appear Cotto’s credentials outweigh all of Money’s foes, given that Oscar De La Hoya was shopworn by the time he faced Floyd in May of 2007, and Shane Mosley a shell of his former glory when the pair met in 2010…

PONIES…2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, MIA since last year’s Belmont Stakes, returns to the track at Tampa on Feb 25^th to contest a minor Stakes. From there the highly touted colt will make his way to Dubai for the six million dollar Dubai World Cup.

That’s an awful lot to ask from an animal still convalescing from an injury. His connections, including highly regarded trainer Graham Motion, will rue the day they placed him in such difficult circumstances; he’ll be lucky to even hit the board in that big feature…

THE ICE…if you want to know who jinxed the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, uh, that’d be me…with a few minutes to go, and the Buds coasting on a two goal lead, I responded to a friend who is vacationing in the Dominican who asked how the game went tonight. Leafs won, I replied…d’oh! (Pittsburgh won 5-4 in a shootout)…

THE COURT…SI has a riveting piece on Allen Iverson up on their website. Iverson has squandered the 150 million dollars he made during the past decade and recently had his bank accounted garnished. The piece mentions the time Iverson was caught while buying drugs for his mother…what a sweetheart! If you can’t score some horse for your mom, what kind of son are you?…

PUG LIFE…You Tube has a recording of the 1976 Muhammad Ali – Jimmy Young title fight that is fascinating. Howard Cosell is ringside and between rounds, as TV viewers are treated to commercials, his mike is left “live” and we are able to hear his comments.

The fight was, surprisingly, very close with Ali looking in terrible form. Between rounds Cosell actually engages Ali in conversation and exhorts him to do more! When Ken Norton stops by, we are treated to the two yelling at Ali as the pair see the lucrative prospect of a third Ali-Norton fight disappearing. Ali does rally late and wins a narrow, controversial decision. I had Ali gutting it out by one point, but the real thrill of the fight is the opportunity to gain access to the mad thoughts of Cosell. There has never been another announcer who was as opinionated, controversial and entertaining as “The Mouth That Roared”…

GRID IRON…as we approach the Superbowl I am flummoxed by one dilemma; can a defense as porous as New England’s win a Superbowl? Tom Brady, in search of his fourth ring, can be expected to play a superb game, but can he keep up with the New York offense with a defense certain to be carved up by Eli Manning and company…

LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN…I just finished Colum McCann’s latest work, the award winning “Let the Great World Spin”. The book is a bit of a miracle, a vivid portrayal of New York in the 1970’s as told through the use of eleven different protagonists. The book is wrapped around a real event; Phillipe Petit’s crossing, on a high wire, between the Twin Towers in 1974. The event brings the city to a stop and provides the narrative spine of the story.

The book creates the most complex and insightful portrayals of its characters. The tone is never judgmental, even if the actions of the cast sometimes leave us baffled. The young Corrigan, a bright man who lives in abject poverty in order to tend to the poor, is rendered with extraordinary depth.

I tread the book at pretty much one sitting. The book skips right into the heads of various players and is moving in its ability to demonstrate the complexity of human motivations. The passion a used up prostitute, for instance, has for her grandchildren is overwhelming.

It’s the best book I’ve read in a good while and endlessly rewarding.

BOWIE…the current Rolling Stone magazine features a long, luxurious piece on the pop god. I noticed a couple of intriguing points, namely 1) the 2004 incident is no longer referred to as a minor heart attack, it is now correctly identified as a massive heart attack and 2) the 2007 cancellation of his world tour flows directly from said event.

Reading between the lines, it is apparent that a lifetime of smoking has ruined Bowie, and there should be no further hope for public performances. The connected are drawing lines; the next time Bowie bursts into prominence, likely this year, will be due to his departure from this mortal coil…

When I went to see Bowie on the Serious Moonlight tour, Frankenstein in tow, I had a glimpse of what I thought would be my Penthouse Letters Moment of a Lifetime; a young Asian girl with whom I’d been chatting suddenly, inexplicably, began to clutch and descend down the front of my trousers. Thank you Jesus, I thought…until the young lady discarded 10 lbs of vomit on my legs and shoes…no, it never occurred to me to leave the show…it was David Fucking Bowie!…

MADONNA…it’s a huge year for the icon; a new album, the Superbowl halftime show, a 2012 world tour…and all anyone talks about is those creepy arms…

VAN HALEN…the band has survived the hideous “Van Hagar” stage and resumes touring this month with David Lee Roth as the lead singer, thank fuck.

Their current video, “Tattoo”, is a gorgeous recreation of their glory days. Roth sings of “Cherry Red” and “Purple Mountain Majesty” before slamming into a chorus replete with “Swap Meet Sally” and “Tramp Stamp Tats”. It’s just glorious to have Van Halen properly constructed and, yo, missing their St Patrick’s Day show in the Big Smoke must be construed as a sin…Ginner, you ready to rumble???

SCOUSERS…any human being with a soul was delighted at the prospect of Liverpool being obliterated last week, as they prepared for crucial matches against Manchester City (Carling Cup) and Man U (FA Cup).

Like redoubtable zombies, that bloody team completed an improbable double and bested both Manchester teams…

Feb 11^th features a key Premiership match between Manchester United and Liverpool. Wayne Rooney will return for the Red Devils and the game takes on interest of massive proportions as the forces of good gather to stop this ridiculous Liverpool onslaught…Scallywags, anyone?…

PONIES…while you kick the tires, and wait for the arrival of the 2012 season at Woodbine, I can offer the prospect of some wonderful relief.

The Racing Meridian will be featuring the photography of Dave Landry this season.

A coup?

Yep, it is.

We’re going to go all in this year and the unbelievable dynamics of Canada’s top equine photographer will accompany every difficult twist and turn.

Can we not all forget the shiteous year that was 2011? Havre De Grace, Horse of the Year? C’mon, my left testicle was more deserving than that menopausal old fleabag. But 2012 is shaping up as raw dynamite, a year of intensity, drama and, of course, wild Racing Meridian exploits…

I put my hand on Ginner’s shoulder, in a firm, manly fashion and said, to a rising wave of music, Son, Let’s Go Crazy…

Two hours into the Prince concert and Ginner was proving the proverbial fish out of water.

***

I’ve always loved concerts. Some of the best nights of my life have been spent sitting at the feet of Madonna, gazing up at Bono, slapping hands with David Lee Roth or quietly worshipping Stevie Nicks. I presumed everyone else felt the same way.

Ginner offered, in a gentleman’s fashion, to accompany me to Prince. He showed up at the Rail and said, look, I insist on paying my own way, no problem. He pushed two clammy twenties into my hand, and winked. Put any change toward a pint, he said.

The tickets were 270 dollars each and by the time that night had finished I’d slammed the full account on the gullible Englishman’s credit card. He was frantic next time I saw him; it’s like I was raped and robbed! 600 dollars for a concert…

It’s going to be an awesome night, I promised. You won’t regret it.

***

Our seats were twelve rows back, on the floor. We were at the end of a row and had an enormous empty space immediately adjacent to us. Yeah, a private dance floor. All around us middle aged woman were gazing emphatically at the stage, waiting for the appearance of the tiny purple god. I had forgotten his power over womenfolk, and this seemed almost Stepford Wife creepy. At 8.20pm, there he was.

Oh, so tiny.

A blasted Ginner made wretching noises and then clutched at the front of his seat. His package, he barked, you can see his tiny little package. Ginner was shielding his eyes like a man preparing for a nuclear explosion.

Oh, god, it was true.

Prince was in tight clingy clothing and, gulp, his manhood bounced and shimmied across his delicate groin. Only…it was tiny…like a ten year olds…damn, even a heterosexual man couldn’t help being awkwardly fascinated by the eensy little appendage.

I thought he’d be huge, I yelled at Ginner.

You’re making me sick, he wailed.

***

Prince played a bizarre set, half of it constituted of other peoples material. The highlights were Purple Rain (though monstrously showcased as the second song of the night), Little Red Corvette, Cream and, of course, the essential Raspberry Beret.

But, even though the stage was situated halfway in the arena, he inexplicably decided one section was the front, and one section the back. We were in “the back” and, accordingly, spent the night looking at his back. It was poor and tiresome showmanship, and I occasionally heard Ginner ringing MasterCard and asking if he could cancel his most recent, outrageous purchase.

***

His band was made up of gorgeous women and he would trod over to each and share the mike. Everytime he did Ginner would yelp in an accusatory fashion, “He’s having it off with her!”

Ginners complexion was pasty and his eyes had begun rolling back in his head. “I took a couple of your aspirins”, he drawled, “and I can’t feel my legs”.

Aspirin? What?

Oh shit…those weren’t aspirins I screamed at Ginner, and how many did you take. He giggled and, falling face first into the aisle, laughed, “this is what it feels like When Doves Cry”…

***

We arrived back at The Rail covered in purple and gold confetti, obliterated and hammered, talking loudly of tiny little penises.

It was the first time the Mysterious Captain Lenny G didn’t greet us amicably.

Boys, he said, your night is over.

]]> http://racingmeridian.com/2012/01/29/i-went-to-see-prince-with-ginner/feed/ http://racingmeridian.com/2012/01/29/the-biggest-kick-i-ever-gotwas-doing-a-thing-called-the-crocodile-rock/ http://racingmeridian.com/2012/01/29/the-biggest-kick-i-ever-gotwas-doing-a-thing-called-the-crocodile-rock/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 01:05:02 +0000 kpk http://racingmeridian.com/?p=2993 This may be peevish, or churlish (no, I don’t know what churlish means, but Bono always uses it to shut people up) but I was a tad pissed at Lance Armstrong last week. The seven time winner of the Tour de France, and cancer survivor, was in Toronto to promote a new line of Livestrong gym equipment. Lance confined his activities to a local Canadian Tire and was then whisked out of town.

Really, Lance?

As head of the Livestrong Foundation, a cancer support network, you couldn’t have made your way, if even for an hour or so, to Princess Margaret or Sunnybrook to “meet and greet” a few people who were undergoing chemo or radiation? I know one particular soul who was curled up in a ball at Sunnybrook in that very time frame, cute little Livestrong bands ensconced on his wrist.

Armstrong later eluded to the fact his struggle with cancer is fifteen years in the past and he has, in a sense, moved on.

Fine.

But as head of a cancer support network, and an organization which lends Lance a halo in the face of a storm of doping accusations, he has responsibilities and expectations. The organization shouldn’t be a weapon cleverly deployed to eviscerate those who challenge his cycling accomplishments.

If Lance was still sincere about Livestrong, would he not have made an effort to comfort and inspire current victims of the modern scourge? Just asking…

GRID IRON…last time I watched the Pro Bowl, Fran Tarkenton was quarterbacking the NFC…

THE ICE…I won’t be a hypocrite. If you find the modern athlete a bland gutless specimen, then don’t bust on Boston goalie Tim Thomas for boycotting the Bruins White House visit. You can disagree, you can argue, but don’t be the soft sports observer who becomes apopleptic at an athlete expressing an opinion…and, wow, was it ever the wrong opinion but, hey, Go Timmy…

PUG LIFE…so Manny Pacquiao suddenly can’t fit Floyd Mayweather into his schedule. The May 5^th date is, apparently, not agreeable to the welterweight dynamo.

Manny, explain.

If you want the fight, it is right there. You don’t think Muhammad Ali was instrumental in creating multi-fight series with Joe Frazier and Ken Norton, or that he would have considered it agreeable to pass on an opportunity to rumble with George Foreman? Pac Man cannot hide behind the feeble evil that is Bob Arum. He had a chance to make the fight and he passed. What could he possibly be afraid of?…

PONIES…Kentucky Derby season kicked off with a bang a Gulfstream today. Two year old champ Hansen looked like a dumb, unrateable animal, indeed, as he was swallowed whole by a resolute Algorithms at the top of the lane…Hansen is not going to get a mile and a quarter in May, stop that nonsensical thinking right now…

…amazing performances by Awesome Feather and Mucho Macho Man highlighted Saturdays Sunshine Millions card from Gulfstream. Awesome Feather was plagued by injuries throughout 2011 but her current form is outstanding and she looks set to follow in the footsteps of top females like Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra and Havre de Grace. Mucho Macho Man is a tall, rangy type and it appears he will benefit from a more forward approach in races. He has excellent cruising speed and will relax comfortably off early leaders. The 2012 season seems to sparkle in comparison to the dullness of 2011, and Awesome Feather and Mucho Macho Man are two reasons to anticipate epic confrontations…

GRID IRON…the Baltimore Ravens backfield, now consisting of Ray Rice and recently signed Ricky Williams, has been given the brilliant nickname, “Speed and Weed”…the Detroit Lions were also in pursuit of one-time Toronto Argonaut Williams. Ricky apparently decided on Baltimore after watching random episodes of The Wire and concluding Baltimore offered him the best opportunity to score…

…the Indianapolis Colts are being secretive concerning the post-surgery condition of Peyton Manning. There might be reason for concern based on, firstly, Manning’s very fragile looking appearance and, secondly, on the plan to start a rookie at left tackle. The aging Colts are playing a dangerous game with a once in a lifetime quarterback…

…Albert Haynesworth has missed the last four New England practices. From the Pats, of course, no reasons for the absence will be forthcoming…

…the Minnesota Vikings are glossing over the very significant issues that emerged last year concerning Donovan McNabb’s work ethic. The older QB apparently refuses to practice at full speed and carries an enormous sense of entitlement. This signing has a big time possibility of backfiring…

PONIES…the 2011 Canadian Triple Crown was one for the ages. All three races, The Queen’s Plate, The Prince of Wales and The Breeders, were spectacular, with one jockey, Luis Contreras, and two horses, Inglorious and Pender Harbour, accounting for the top prizes…

PUG LIFE…how low can Kelly Pavlik go? After pulling out of a fight in Ohio last weekend the former star pugilist gave rambling statements where he referred to himself as a superstar and the man who brought the money to the table. Huh? Pavlik, twice a guest of Betty Ford’s, is becoming the classic drunk bore, a decrepit mess focused on the glory years of the past. Pavlik was due 50k Saturday night and he should have fought and earned that purse…

Montville is a talented writer and he’s clearly having the time of his life chronicling the adventures of the American daredevil. The ghost of Evel is toothless, and a good journalist can finally transcribe a full account of a man who may, truly, have been more evil than Evel.

Thief, wife beater, inveterate liar, hype merchant, alcoholic…not the image Ideal Toys had in mind when pushing their wildly successful toy line.

Knievel was a product of Butte, Montana, a mining town where the stench of death literally permuted the daily existence of the residents. Mining in the 40’s and 50’s did not have the Health and Safety strictures associated with the modern profession and it was common to have a male family member who had perished underground. The town was wild, a well paid collection of madmen who wanted to spend their cash while their feet were firmly above ground. Whorehouses and 24 hour saloons were common, mayhem saturated every corner.

Knievel was a hustler from the beginning, finding good success in the insurance business while never kicking his habit of robbery. He’d rob his local, the store where he had just done business or maybe just the business across the street. He stumbled into the carnival business and his first jump featured a hop over two sleeping mountain lions and a box full of rattlesnakes.

On the hustle, Evel had his first coup when Caesars Palace agreed to let him jump their famed fountains in 1967. The resulting crash was caught on film, by Linda Evans no less, and became a staple on ABC after the network purchased the footage. Knievel would jump on ABC’s Wide World of Sports seventeen times in the early seventies, including a jump at King’s Island that was watched by over 50 million Americans. The George Hamilton movie, the toys, the mass media coverage - in the early seventies Evel was a king, a contemporary of Elvis and Ali in the American celebrity firmament.

But Montville depicts the boorish, bullying behaviour that grew worse with the success. The closed circuit Snake River canyon farce of 1974, when no reasonable expectation of success was ever conceived by the Knievel team, suggested the possibility of a downward spiral. His proposed attempt to jump a canyon had been an inextricable part of his marketing for years, serving to separate him from the other daredevils. When Snake River was exposed as callous cash grab, the public began to snarl back.

A brutal beating of a former publicist in 1977 sealed the deal on Knievel. Sentenced to six months in jail, he lost his sponsorship deals with Ideal Toys and Harley Davison. He would end up declaring bankruptcy shortly thereafter.

The man’s fall must have been traumatic. He had been brutal to everyone on the way up, and when he proposed a sleazy jump over live sharks one columnist wrote, “I’ll be cheering for the sharks”. The ride back down must have been one nasty tumble.

This is definitely a pre-internet story, a recollection of an age where even a brute like Knievel could massage a genteel public image by instigating an anti-narcotics campaign (this while hammered almost all the time - including during a few jumps!) and decrying the influence of hippies. The excesses of his life, the battered body of his first wife, all would demand attention today.

The book is a fascinating reminder of just how times have changed, how invasive is the modern spectator. The purported hero of Montville’s work is distinctly unlikeable but the ride through the seventies is redolent with nostalgia and popular history. It’s hard to put the book down though one will surely mourn the loss of idealized visions of youth.

My brother once, famously at our house, fired my Evel Knievel cycle off of our roof. Maybe he knew something I didn’t…