BOXING: Ali-Frazier IV won't be like the first three fights

Some random thoughts while wondering whatever happened to Eric Solderheim, Joe Crowley and Greg Charbonneau…

• Ali-Frazier IV is coming, the female version. Laila Ali and Jacqui Frazier-Lyde. Having seen both fighters work out, there is no debate: Ali is the more polished, technicall sound boxer. Frazier-Lyde looks like going in there for a street fight. Ali goes in there for a boxing match. Ali wins this one and because Frazier-Lyde runs her mouth so much, Ali will make this one drag on as to inflict more punishment.

Ironic, isn’t it — this time around, it’s Frazier doing all the talking while Ali sits, smoldering her intensity until it comes time to fight. Used to be the other way around.

• At the start of the year, most knew that Pete Sampras was on the downside of his career. Heck, everyone knew it. His performances were spotty and there were losses to players that normally wouldn’t have given him trouble.

But this year, his record is .500. There are losses to Chris Woodruff and Andrew Ilie and who outside of real tennis fans knows who those players are? Sampras is in a major slump and it could be a career-ending one. It is cruel that in a sport like tennis, having outside interests in many ways is a deterrent to your career.

Sampras and Agassi have always been linked in tennis lore. But while Sampras was the one who achieved his greatness first, Agassi is the better player right now. And until Sampras starts winning matches regularly, the aura of unbeatability that he has had for the past few years will quickly go away.

• Pardon the skeptic, but does it seem like the XFL’s sudden plan to start recruiting college ineligible high schoolers to play for them seem more like a publicity stunt to keep the league’s name in the paper rather than a surefire idea? There is very little chance it would work, but for once the league was not used in the same story as TV ratings, or lack of it.

• Albert Belle retiring. Good riddance. It seems like until fate intervenes, Belle is one of the athletes that doesn’t get it, until they can’t do it anymore. We can only wait and see what TV network snaps him up as an analyst, so that everyone can hear what he has to say.

• For all the furor over the new strike zone, one question: why call it a new strike zone if, at the heart of it, it means that umpires will have to call it by the rule book? Shouldn’t it be called more of a return to what the strike zone should be?

• One last baseball note: I never saw Bill Mazerowski play, neither did I see Hilton Smith play. But, in the case of Mazerowski, I wonder why 14 people in the veterans committee can induct him when a much larger voting group, the Baseball Writers, did not vote him in during any of his 15 years of eligibility.

And in the case of Smith, how many people, even on the veterans committee, knew of him before they voted? In no other Hall of Fame in sports does there exist a veterans committee to select people that didn't make it the first time around.

• I guess the New York Rangers are finding out that money does not buy championships. Guess they would have figured that out the past few years. Guess they just want to keep the New York Islanders company in the postseason.

• The Teemu Selanne trade is unusual in that, still, I can't seem to get it in my mind: San Jose Sharks, NHL superpower? There's talent, but there has been in the past, and they haven't ever gotten past the second round before. And I know they have a rookie goalie, in which case the Philadelphia Flyers can forward their thoughts on having a rookie goalie in a key playoff series — remember last year's 3-1 advantage over New Jersey in the Eastern Conference finals?

• A number of times I have heard about how the Los Angeles Clippers are on the right track. Then, today, I scanned over to its record - 22-41. Which is actually better than six other teams in the NBA. Which is a sad thought.

• Before everyone rejoices over Michael Jordan's latest personnel moves with the Washington Wizards, just remember that last year Chicago had loads of cap space and no free agents, other than Ron Mercer, would go because they felt the Jordan shadow was too big. So what will happen when Jordan is part of the organization? Just because he's in Washington does not mean players will go flocking there.

• For some reason, I just seem to like the move the Atlanta Falcons made, picking up Eric Zeier. I can't put my finger on it, but I like the move. At the same time, I can't help but wonder what Matt Hasselback will be like with the Seattle Seahawks against first-teamers, after starring with the Green Bay Packers in exhibition games against second-teamers.

• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are stockpiling quarterbacks like crazy. They've picked up Brad Johnson and Ryan Leaf in addition to Shawn King and Joe Hamilton, both already there. Question: how many playoff games have these quarterbacks won? The answer is one - King, against Johnson.