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It appeared that Pittsburgh Penguin Evengi Malkin had really turned a corner with his playoff performance against the Philadelphia Flyers. Malkin was sublime, generating scoring opportunities seemingly every time he was on the ice. After being roundly criticized for his playoff fade last year, it appeared Malkin was ready to assume a leadership role. Well, what a difference a series makes. Malkin has disappeared against the Washington Capitals, playing without fire or passion. With the Penguins trailing 2-0 Malkin needs to step forward immediately…Pittsburgh is a -170 favourite tonight, Boston a lukewarm -120…Brett Favre had two touchdown completions and eight interceptions in the New York Jets final four games. In three of the past fours seasons, columnist Clifton Brown points out, Favre has as many interceptions as touchdown passes. The Minnesota Vikings must be very careful with Favre. To top it all off, the ex Packer became very unpopular with teammates in New York as their season fell apart. According to S I’s Don Banks Favre had a private dressing room while a Jet! That’s leadership, kids…yesterday’s performance by Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo should end any debate over who is the world’s best footballer. Ronaldo played with incredible drive and determination, scoring two goals and setting up another as Man U waltzed into the May 27^th Champions League final. Their opponent, either Chelsea or Barcelona, will be decided today. It’s not going to matter, this a Red Devils squad that will not be denied…in the Daily Racing Form Mike Watchmaker alludes to the “elephant in the room” writers are doing contortions to avoid mentioning. Bluntly, was the Derby winner clean?…Canonero II entered the 1971 Kentucky Derby off a third place finish in a minor allowance in Venezuela. At that time pari-mutuel machines could only handle twelve numbers per race. The top eleven horses were assigned a number while the remaining runners were collected in the “field”. This explains why the colt paid only $19 to win. Had he been on his own historians speculate he would easily have been over 100-1…the new HBO documentary on the Muhammad Ali - Joe Frazier rivalry revives the myth that Ali was set to quit before the fifteenth round in Manila. If Eddie Futch, Frazier’s trainer, had allowed his fighter to continue, the story goes, Ali would have stayed on his stool. Anyone familiar with Ali should be able to laugh off this tripe. Ali quit and hand the belt he had reclaimed in Zaire to his rival? The same Ali who had climbed off the canvas on March 8^th, 1971, in the last round to continue valiantly against Frazier while his body throbbed under the cataclysmic onslaught of blows? Throughout his career, Ali endured the punches of some of the greatest fighters to ever roam the heavyweight landscape; Liston, Frazier, Foreman, Lyle, Norton, Shavers, Dunn (okay the last name was just to see if you’re paying attention). We can put Ali’s character and courage in context by examining his performance against that array of talent. Ali, as a young man, was blinded by a substance Liston’s corner smeared on their aging fighter’s gloves. At that critical moment Ali screamed at Angelo Dundee to take off his gloves. Ali was pushed back into the ring and continued to fight. That is the only instance when Ali, as a young and immature man, showed a hesitation to fight. For the rest of his career he set the standard for bravery and audacity. Only an historical illiterate could conjure up an Ali relinquishing his title while on his stool. And this after having a tremendous fourteenth round! Yes, Ali said the fight was “close to death”. Yes, it is the most gruelling and fascinating fight in the history of the sport. But it is simply incorrect to envision anything but an Ali victory regardless of whether the bell had, in fact, sounded for the final round…that tall tale is indicative of a kind of backlash against The Greatest. It is puerile and affected, like the assertion that Ali’s funny little nicknames actually ruined lives and brimmed with racist invective. Shavers was the Acorn, Foreman the Mummy, Chuvalo the Washerwoman, and Smokin’ Joe the Gorilla. These nicknames attracted attention, stoked ticket and closed circuit sales and made all parties involved a ton of money. Watch the Ali press conferences and you can see they were highly entertaining diversions, high spirited and without malice. Ali was, and is, a lovely man, but one given to relentless promotion. Our sensitive, politically correct times have invested the silly hype with the power to create an all encompassing emotional devastation. Give me a break. Joe Frazier should man up and move on. Frazier’s petulant whining is really a reflection on his inability to live the life he feels he deserves. He squandered his money and currently lives in a room in a gym. He cut off a toe in a bizarre gardening accident and has balance issues. But the biggest problem remains the dark shadow on his heart…