Tomorrow night (April 11 at 8 pm ET/10pm PT), HBO will premiere the Thrilla in Manilla, a documentary covering the third and final fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. The documentary “tells the story of two great fighters forever linked by three epic bouts, and looks at their final fight, considered the most brutal, from Frazier’s perspective for the first time.” Check out the trailer:

Martin Johnson reviews the film.

Thrilla in Manila tells the story with alarming detail and hilarious commentary. The film is much less observational than Leon Gast’s superb When We Were Kings which captured the scene in Kinshasa for the Ali-Foreman fight in 1974. Instead, Dower arrays a cast of talking heads between them so that a dialogue emerges from the commentary. Ali’s cornerman, Ferdie Pacheco, is almost as brash and outspoken as his fighter was. Imelda Marcos, former first lady of the Philippines, is a charming curiosity. Frazier’s son, Marvis, is calm and insightful. “I like to have a Robert Altmanesque ensemble,” said Dower of his motley crew of commentators.

The film will rub hard-core fans of Ali the wrong way, but Dower says it wasn’t his intent to tear down the great heavyweight. “I came to this with no agenda about Muhammad Ali at all,” he said at a post-screening press conference in New York this week. “It’s just that in telling this story you keep butting into the myth of Ali.”

Ali takes a few on the chin, but he has only himself to blame for some of it. Dower and his crew unearthed footage of Ali boasting about his agreements with the Ku Klux Klan on camera from the early ‘70s. And during his stay in Manila, he is caught womanizing.

However, Thrilla in Manila is far more effective as a portrait than a rebuttal or a diatribe. Frazier is the quiet focus of the film. He is shown in his gym, and he’s coaxed into watching the third fight for the first time. “I lost the fight. What would I have learned from watching it again?” he asked without the slightest hint of wistfulness.

Frazier, both in the movie and in person, seems like a man stuck in the wrong era. His humility and background were easily confused in the ‘70s for subservience, a time when outspokenness was the norm. He wasn’t media savvy in a moment when his opponent was charismatic and savagely sarcastic.

T.O. has signed with the Buffalo Bills.

A source told Buffalo News NFL columnist Mark Gaughan that the deal is for one year and is worth $6.5 million guaranteed.

“I’m leaving America’s team (for) North America’s team,” Owens said at a hastily-called press conference Saturday night.

“I must move on, and it’s another beginning for me,” Owens said. “If I can be that extra added piece to get them to the playoffs, then that’s what I’m here for. I looked at the defensive side of ball and offensive side of the ball, and these guys have all the pieces.”

Owens, who was released earlier this week by the Dallas Cowboys, has 951 career receptions for 14,122 yards and 139 touchdowns. He has had nine 1,000-yard receiving seasons during his 13-year NFL career.

The 35-year-old, who is 6-foot-3, 218 pounds, provides the Bills with a pair of dynamic receivers, also including Lee Evans.

With a one-year deal, the Bills aren’t taking on much of a risk, but this seems like a desperate move by a muddling franchise. Why add all the drama here? Sure, they have a talented pair of wide receivers, and T.O. usually waits a year before destroying team chemistry, but does is a one-year circus worth it to a team that still needs to retool?

ESPN is reporting that Ravens linebacker Bart Scott signed a six-year deal worth $48 million with the New York Jets.

Curt Schilling has been an outspoken critic of players who used steroids and HGH, and he doesn’t hold back on the revelation that A-Rod tested positive for steroids, which contradicts A-Rod’s past statements on the matter.

Schilling wants Major Leaugue Baseball to release all information on all the positive tests.

I’d be all for the 104 positives being named, and the game moving on if that is at all possible. In my opinion, if you don’t do that, then the other 600-700 players are going to be guilty by association, forever.

It’s not about good and bad people, because Mark McGwire and Jason Giambi are two of the kindest human beings ever. Andy Pettite is a fantastic person. That’s seemingly got nothing to do with anything. One hundred and four players made the wrong decision, and it appears that not only was it 104, but three of the greatest of our, or any, generation appear to be on top of this list.

And before anyone asks, I’ll make it clear: My name will not appear on any lists of positive tests. I’ve never tested positive for steroids or HGH, and I’ve never taken steroids or HGH in my life, ever. You don’t need to call the union, or an agent to verify that.

Baseball needs to address this. The story will never end, and we’re seeing more and more players whose Hall-of-Fame careers are tainted by the use of these drugs.

It’s stunning to see practically all of Jose Canseco’s allegtions turn out to be true. I heard him recently on Howard Stern, and he regrets exposing other players. He’s been reduced to boxing Danny Bonaduce, and he realizes that his vendetta against Major League Baseball has not made his life any better, despite being vindicated as the facts about steroid and HGH usage by the game’s stars have been exposed. Regardless of his motivations, Canseco has been much more honest than those he accused. Some of the most respected players in the game have been exposed as liars and cheaters, proving once again that this is a business, and money and fame can distort the ethics of many players, even those blessed with the most talent.

This is a surprise.

Former Atlanta Falcons running back Jamal Anderson was arrested and booked into an Atlanta-area jail late Saturday night on a felony possession-of-cocaine charge and possession-of-marijuana charge, a misdemeanor.

Anderson, an NFL analyst for ESPN’s First Take this past season, was booked into the Fulton County jail in Georgia and denied bond.

His first hearing was set for Monday morning, the Fulton County sheriff’s office said Sunday.

Anderson, 36, was arrested at the Peachtree Tavern in the community of Buckhead after an off-duty officer working security at the club alerted police, according to The Associated Press, citing a police spokesman.

Police found a suspected marijuana cigarette in Anderson’s pocket, local reports said. Another man with Anderson was also arrested. Police said both men were in possession of cocaine, according to the reports.

Anderson never struck me as someone who would get into this kind of trouble, but who knows these days. The marijuana is not the big deal here. The hysteria surrounding the Michael Phelps story is absurd, but cocaine is another matter.

This story is very disheartening.

Ghanaian soccer player Solomon Opoku heard the Serbian fans screaming racist insults and turned around as they set upon him, hurling punches and abuse.

The attackers were supporters of Opoku’s team, determined that a black player shouldn’t take the field for their club.

Two days later, Olympique Marseille President Pape Diouf got a firsthand look at what his black players endure when he traveled to the team’s UEFA Cup match at Zenit St. Petersburg in northern Russia.

“What we went through was hideous,” Diouf, who is black, said in an interview with the Associated Press. “It was the classic stuff, the bananas thrown at black players warming up, the monkey chants, obscene gestures. Not only does Zenit not hide the fact that no black player could play for this club, the fans say so themselves.”

Racism has become the scourge of European soccer stadiums. Whether the supporters are watching a minor league in Serbia or a major European competition such as the Champions League, matches are stubbornly plagued by prejudice from the Mediterranean Sea to the Ural Mountains.

Anti-racism campaigns aimed at fans have met with limited success at best, leaving the problem to FIFA, the sport’s governing body, and the Union of European Football Associations to clean up.

Soccer officials have condemned fan racism and issued fines. But penalizing clubs or nations in ways that would hurt both them and their fans — such as disqualification from tournaments, forfeiting points or stopping a match — is something they have been reluctant to do.

“You have countries, [like] Russia today, where racism is a quasi-official doctrine,” said Pascal Mignon, a French sociology researcher at the INSEP sporting institute. “In Russia, xenophobia is quite strong. So you will see it in a more powerful way, like you will in southern European countries like Spain or Italy.”

FIFA needs to take tougher action.

At least according to San Diego’s Matt Wilhelm he’s a punk.

During my turn guest-hosting yesterday on XX 1090, Matt Wilhelm came on the show, and I suggested at the start of the interview, “Jay Cutler is a punk, isn’t he?”

I was joking. I mean, I think Jay Cutler is arrogant and off-putting, but I was totally joking and never expected a response. I was saying it for a laugh. I had suggested the same thing in an earlier interview with Clinton Hart.

But Wilhelm, who is a great interview, took my suggestion and ran.

“He is a punk,” Wilhelm said. “I’m just not a huge fan of his.”

Wilhelm compared Philip Rivers and Jay Cutler, saying both were leaders and wanted to win badly.

“But Jay Cutler,” Wilhelm said, “he and Tony Gonzalez are the biggest crybabies in the league.”

Does anyone want to disgree with Wilhelm? Cutler is the humble genius who claimed that his arm was stronger than John Elway’s arm.

Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Beall via Flickr.

Bill Simmons on Ladainian Tomlinson:

There are five open secrets in the NFL right now. The first is that LaDainian Tomlinson, for whatever reason, is washed up. (Running backs are like NBA big men, porn stars, singers, wrestlers and female sideline reporters in HD: When it goes, it goes. You can’t stop it.)

Some athletes just make you want to puke. They sign for the most money, then they say it’s all about winning.

Here’s the latest from C.C. Sabathia.

Ten minutes after New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman left the home of CC Sabathia last week, Sabathia phoned Cashman.

“I’m all-in,” he said.

With those words, Sabathia committed to a seven-year, $161 million deal with the Yankees, a record amount for a pitcher.

“I think this is the best place for me to try to win a championship,” Sabathia said Thursday, on his way to the news conference where he was formally introduced, along with right-hander A.J. Burnett. “Everybody had speculated about me staying in California. I had always talked about winning a championship, and you look at the Yankees, it’s something they contend for just about every year.”

Hey hot shot - your quote would make sense ONLY if you took less money to play for a contender. Every team that was bidding for your services was a big market team that should compete every year. You went to the highest bidder, but you’re not man enough to come out and admit it. Instead, you tell Cleveland fans how much you love the team and the city, and then you pull the same act in Milwaukee. At least the Indians were smart enough to dump your huge ass and pick up some prospects - they didn’t buy your BS.

You had some big chances to win a championship, but you wilted in the playoffs in 2007. If you had done your job, the Indians would have pulled it out against the Red Sox for the opportunity to roll he Rockies in the World Series.

Now we’ll see how you handle the pressure of playing in New York. Maybe A-Rod can give you some advice.

Top ten lists are fun, but many of them can be dumb as hell.

ESPN is getting into the act as well, which shouldn’t be a surprise given their groundbreaking debates such as which athletes were the most “Now” - quite possibly the dumbest feature ever produced on cable television.

With the bar set so low, ESPN’s DJ Gallo tries to live down to that standard with his latest column about the Steelers’ defense. The Steelers have been having a great season, but apparantly Gallo couldn’t write a column that just discussed their accomplishments. No, he had to proclaim that this Steelers defense is one of the greatest in NFL history. And, they’re not just one of the greatest, but they’re the 3rd best in NFL history, ranked ahead of even the 2000 Ravens, who managed to set records for fewest points and rushing yards in NFL history and managed to give Trent Dilfer a Super Bowl ring.

Is it asking too much to wait until this team wins a friggin’ playoff game before annointing them as one of the best defenses ever?

This makes me sick on so many levels. I have no alliegence to Texas, but they got completely screwed by this retarded system. Texas beat Oklahoma. Enough said.

Even worse, Bob Stoops is being rewarded for being a complete ass. I understand that style points matter, but do we really need coaches who run a no-huddle offense in the fourth quarter with a 50-point lead? Every year we watch Bob Stoops run up the score during the regular season, only to have his team choke in bowl games.

Of course, we need a playoff system, but even BCS critics like Ivan Maisel seem unable to get past the arguments advanced by BCS apologists.

A playoff is not the panacea to cure college football’s ills. A playoff would present as many problems as it does solutions. A playoff is politically unfeasible unless the regular season is shortened, which is financially unfeasible. A playoff could suck the life out of the regular season, much as it has done to college basketball.

A playoff wouldn’t ratchet up the tension throughout November — National College Football Arguing Month — the way the BCS does.

His first sentence makes no sense. If you assume an eight-team playoff, only five games need to be added - four playoff games one week following the regular season, and then one championship game following the bowl games that would cover the semi-finals.

His second sentence is even worse. Is he really comparing an eight-team playoff to the 64-team tournament used in March Madness? This year there would have been a mad scramble for the last several seeds, as teams like Utah, Boise State, Ohio State and Georgia would be playing for a spot in the playoffs. Also, we’d have a huge fight for the first four seeds, who would be hosting first-round playoff games in their home stadiums under this proposed system (wouldn’t it be great to see a Big-Ten team hosting Florida in a playoff game up north in November?). This would create plenty of tension in November.

Remember when baseball purists argued that expanded playoffs would ruin pennant races? They were wrong.

This Ping-Pong video is amazing! You’ll want to grab a paddle and start playing as soon as you watch this. Enjoy the whole thing and make sure to watch the top two.

The New York Times says that table tennis is becoming popular again, as many bars and clubs in New York are adding tables to handle the new players. Time to break out your old paddle!

Table Tennis Top 10 Shots - The best video clips are here

Facing the prospect of losing nine games, including a possible fifth-straight loss to arch-rival Ohio State, Michigan fans are in a sour mood. Naturally, some of them having been taking out their frustrations on their new coach. Rich Rodriguez is feeling the heat.

Heading into his first Michigan-Ohio State game — where the Wolverines are expected to extend their dubious record with a ninth loss — he tried to deliver a message to fans who have lost touch.

“It’s amazing some of the things that people would say (on a message board) or yell at you of a personal nature,” Rodriguez said Monday. “You almost want to tell them, `Get a life.’

“There’s a whole lot bigger problems. Look at the economy.”

College football’s winningest team has tumbled like the stock market, losing a school-record eight games and getting beat a Michigan Stadium-record five times at home.

For the first time since 1974, the Wolverines will be relegated to watching bowl games.

The 10th-ranked Buckeyes are favored to beat their rivals on Saturday at home by 19 points, matching the largest spread in series history, and win at least a share of the Big Ten title for the fourth year in a row.

Hey Rich - welcome to big-time college football. What did you expect when you abandoned West Virginia and signed your huge contact?

So far, my preseason optimism for the Cleveland Cavaliers seems justified. Mo Williams has given the team a legitimate compliment to LeBron James on the offensive end, LeBron has responded by taking his game to the next level, and the other players on the roster are contributing as well. Terry Pluto breaks it down.

After their first nine games heading into Saturday night, the Cavs are a much better offensive team than at any time in the Mike Brown Era. They are averaging 100.7 points, sixth-best in the league and well above the 96.4 (ranked 24th) last season. The reason is the addition of Mo Williams, the decision to sometimes play a small lineup with LeBron James at power forward and the revival of Delonte West (10.0 points, 54 percent shooting). James has said he’s faced the fewest double teams at any point in his six-year career, and that’s because opponents have to defend Williams, West and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. The Cavs are shooting 48 percent, third best in the NBA.
It’s only been three weeks and all of this can break down, but the fact is Daniel Gibson, Wally Szczerbiak and Williams do have a history of making outside shots. West is gaining confidence. James is averaging 7.3 assists, passing to open teammates all over the floor as the team has improved its spacing. The Cavs are shooting 77 percent at the foul line, well above their 72 percent last season. It certainly helped that Williams (96 percent) made his first 23 foul shots.

One area suffering a bit is rebounding, as James leads the team with 8.3. Ilgauskas (6.7) is playing farther from the basket than in the past, because he is more comfortable shooting medium-range jumpers. They still rank seventh in rebounding, but usually are in the top three. They had a recent stretch of being outrebounded in four of five games, which bothered Brown. He is pleased with the defense holding opponents to 42.5 percent shooting.

OK, it is exciting to see the Cavs develop on offense, especially how West and Williams are molding together. When James goes to the bench, Williams helps the substitutes keep scoring because the guard can create his own shot. Anderson Varejao is playing with tremendous energy, and even shooting a shocking (for him) 70 percent at the foul line. Ben Wallace has had some strong games on defense. They look like a team that can win 55 games.

Maybe we’ll get that playoff system after all!

Barack Obama said in an interview that he favors a playoff system in college football over the BCS system.

Democrat Barack Obama tells ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” it’s time for college football to pick a champion with a playoff system while Republican John McCain wants to put an end to performance-enhancing substances.

On the eve of the election, the two presidential candidates were interviewed via satellite by ESPN’s Chris Berman. The taped interviews were to air during halftime of game between the Washington Redskins and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Both candidates were asked to name one thing they would change in sports.

“I think it is about time that we had playoffs in college football. I’m fed up with these computer rankings and this and that and the other. Get eight teams — the top eight teams right at the end. You got a playoff. Decide on a National Champion,” Obama said.

I’d love to see him pull this off.

If Alabama, Penn State and Texas Tech win out, we’ll be hearing plenty of arguments over who should be facing Alabama in the National Championship game. Call it this year’s BCS mess.

In today’s BCS standings, Texas Tech has jumped Penn State to take the #2 spot, mostly due to better computer rankings even though Penn State is #2 in the polls. That’s not too surprising given Texas Tech’s win over Texas, tough that’s little consolation to Penn State fans.

It’s hard to have much sympathy for Penn State, however, given their embarrassing non-conference schedule - Coastal Carolina, Oregon State, Syracuse and Temple. Would it kill Joe Paterno to schedule some national powers?

But, Texas Tech’s non-conference schedule is even worse - Eastern Washington, Nevada, SMU and Massachusetts. Pathetic. Of course, Texas Tech is playing in the Big-12, which has some very good teams this year, even if the entire conference seems to have forgotten how to play defense. In the end, playing in this conference will save Texas Tech.

Or will it? They still have to face #9 Oklahoma State and #6 Oklahoma on the schedule, not to mention the Big-12 championship game. If they win out, they deserve to play for the BCS championship. It will be a tough road.

Which brings us back to Penn State. If Joe Paterno and an undefeated Nittany Lions team get left out of the title game, it might be enough of an outrage to finally force a playoff format.

C.C. Sabathia came up big for the Brewers.

CC Sabathia and Ryan Braun put the Milwaukee Brewers in the playoffs for the first time since 1982 — with big help from the New York Mets.

Making his third consecutive start on three days’ rest, Sabathia pitched a four-hitter and Braun hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning to lead the Brewers over the Chicago Cubs 3-1 Sunday.

The Brewers, who fired manager Ned Yost with only two weeks left to go, won the NL wild card less than a half-hour later when the Mets lost to Florida 4-2. Milwaukee (90-72) and New York (89-73) went into the final day of the regular season tied.

Meanwhile, the New York Mets choked again.

As for Sabathia, he’s been incredible for the Brewers. After numerous sub-par performances for the Cleveland Indians last year in the playoffs, some of us have questioned whether Sabathia would become a big game pitcher. He has all the tools, but he often seemed to fold under the pressure. In this penant race he’s been able to answer all his critics. Now, let’s see how he does this year in the playoffs.

After last week’s embarassing loss at USC, Jim Tressel made the correct call and started Terrelle Pryor today against Troy. Pryor played most of the game and turned in an excellent performance with four touchdown passes as Ohio State defeated Troy 28-10. Pryor showed off his athletic ability with some nice runs, but he was even more impressive with his arm.

Look for Pryor to be the starting QB for the rest of the season and for the rest of his career at Ohio State. Ohio State fans will wonder all year whether the USC game would have been more competitive with Terrelle Pryor playing the whole game. Given the sluggish play of the Buckeyes so far, that’s the last thing Buckeye fans need to think about. Pryor gave them a nice spark, but the rest of the team needs to step it up, particularly the defense. They’ll need to play much better against Penn State and Wisconsin in order to win the Big Ten.

If Pryor continues to develop and Chris Wells gets healthy, the Buckeyes have an opportunity to salvage their season with a run at the Big Ten title. Who knows - if USC stumbles, we might see a rematch this season in the Rose Bowl. If not, Pryor and Ohio State will get another crack at USC next season in Columbus.

Georgia played well this week, but not well enough to overtake USC at the #1 team in the country in the latest AP poll. Meanwhile, Ohio State’s sluggish performance vs. Ohio dropped them two spots to #5, setting up a #1 vs. #5 matchup at USC next Saturday.

Also, East Carolina cracked the top 25:

East Carolina’s latest big win was its third straight against a ranked opponent, dating to last season’s Hawaii Bowl victory against Boise State, and probably the Pirates’ most impressive.

East Carolina manhandled previously No. 8 West Virginia 24-3, shutting down Pat White and the Mountaineers’ speedy spread offense. That came a week after the Pirates took out Virginia Tech.

West Virginia dropped all the way to No. 25.

The last time East Carolina was on a roll like this was 1999, when the Pirates were ranked most of the season before falling out on the final poll of the season. East Carolina hasn’t been ranked this highly since 1991, when the Pirates finished the season at No. 9.

The Pirates now shift to being the favorite instead of the underdog. They open Conference USA play at Tulane this week, then travel to rebuilding North Carolina State. Their next home game is against Houston before they have a week off.

It’s nice to see new particpants in the national polls. We’ll see if East Carolina can keep this up.

Tom Brady got hit on his left knee and had to leave the game against the Chiefs.

New England quarterback Tom Brady left Sunday’s game against Kansas City after being hit on the left leg, depriving the Patriots of the reigning NFL MVP.

Tom Brady is hit Sunday by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard, bottom, in Foxborough, Mass. Brady left and was taken to the locker room. The two-time Super Bowl MVP, who has started 128 consecutive games, limped off the field midway through the first quarter when he was hit in the pocket by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard. The team announced Brady had a knee injury and his return was questionable.

No word yet on the seriousness of Brady’s injury.