[shane6969]

Originally Posted by mikehoudini

BINK GAZETTE May 21, 2008

The Baltimore Binks are preparing for their inaugural season in the prestigious UTBA II league. The bouts will be held in the newly-renovated Baltimore Civic Center, located in the heart of this quaint city. There are plenty of amenities for fight fans. A stroll of but a few minutes south takes the fan to the Inner Harbor, where restaurants and shopping abound. A few blocks further south is Federal Hill, known for its many bars. Less than a mile from the Civic Center, to the east, is Little Italy with its culinary masterpieces. The fight fan that is looking for a bit of entertainment could seek out Baltimore’s famous Block either before or after the fights, located just a few blocks away, and enjoy a cool beverage among many other delights!

Team owner Mikehoudini leased a warehouse in lovely Pigtown, a mile southwest of the Civic Center, and converted it into a gym and training facility. Mack Lewis, an institution in Baltimore boxing circles, provided his wisdom and will be associated with the team, ensuring that his stable of fighters are available if needed to fight or serve as sparring partners. The Bink roster is as follows, with records from another universe:

HW (7)Hasim Rahman 45(36)-6(4)-2, (3)Keith McKnight 43(30)-4(4)
LHW (8)Melio Bettina 82(36)-13(3)-3, (7) Oakland Billy Smith 57(33)-24(9)-4
MW (9)Henry Hank 62(40)-31(1)-4, (4)Max Resch 50(37)-9(8)-2
WW (10)Cocoa Kid 177(47)-56(7)-11, (5)Tommy West 28(22)-12(6)-9
LW (5)Al “Bummy” Davis 65(46)-10(3)-4, (6)Buzzsaw Yamabe 26(18)-8(3)-2
FW (4)Jose Badillo 23(15)-7(3), (8)Young Corbett II 68(47)-23(12)-16
BW (7)Boots Monroe 32(23)-7(3)-1, (5)Danny O'Sullivan 33(17)-9(5)-1
Fly (6)Jackie Brown 108(40)-24(5)-9, (6)Chokchai Chockvivat (39(19)-5(3)

Team captain Hasim “the Rock” Rahman, a Baltimore native, assisted Mike and Mack with the selections, and offered the following assessment of the team:

“The Binks have an international flair, as we recruited far and wide to achieve the desired makeup of this squad. We recruited in Wales, the United Kingdom, Germany, Puerto Rico and Thailand, and in the states from Connecticut to Hawaii. This team is comprised of scrappers and just might surprise a few of the more established teams in this league.

“Starting with the heavyweights, Keith McKnight could be a sleeper! He has great power and just needs some more meat on his bones, and I’ll be working on that! A lot of folks think his record is padded, but he holds two wins over Dangerous Danny Wofford, who recently fared well in the Terrible Twos and Thundering Threes tourneys. With my thunder and Keith’s lightning, we might surprise a few fighters this season, yessiree!

“Then we have some solid light heavies! Melio Bettina hails from Bridgeport, CT, and the southpaw is durable and should give his opponents fits. Sure, he was KOd in 59 seconds by Gus Lesnevich in Madison Square Garden in some make-believe universe, but that was just a lucky punch! Lennox knows about those! Oakland Billy Smith is known as “Boardwalk” because he lives in Atlantic City, NJ. He’s another scrapper, known for taking on tough guys like Archie Moore (4 times). These guys are rock-solid!

“Henry Hank, one of our gems, anchors the middleweights. The Detroit slugger has a solid chin and is almost indestructible! They won’t be putting him down! And Max Resch, a southpaw slugger from Berlin, might be another one of our sleepers!

“Cocoa Kid is our welterweight ace, a man who’ll take on all comers! This Puerto Rican native now resides in New Haven, CT, a hotbed of boxing, and we expect great things from him! Our young Welshman, Tommy West, may well surprise some guys that’ll think he’s easy meat. He’s got game, and we’re glad we lured him to Baltimore!

“Bummy Davis was born in Brooklyn, almost another country in its own right, and lives in Brownsville. His booming left hook may well flatten a few guys that underestimate him! He put away Bob Montgomery in 63 seconds at the Garden, a record at that time for that fake uni! His best defense is a good offense, and he’ll be exciting! Buzzsaw Yamabe is no wannabe! Born in Japan but living in Honolulu, we convinced him that the wonderful Baltimore weather would far outshine his home state, and we’ll be feeding him sushi to keep him at razor-peak efficiency!

“Young Corbett II demolished another kid, Terry McGovern, twice in that fake uni, and the Denver native should anchor the featherweight class. Jose Badillo, a southpaw from Puerto Rico, loves the balmy Baltimore weather, and has a lot of heart!

“Boots Monroe’s real name is Horace, so you know he learned how to fight at an early age! What were his parents thinking? Horace? He’ll do just fine as a bantamweight, and will mentor young Danny O’Sullivan from the United Kingdom. Danny will pack the house on Saint Paddy’s Day, and should bring a lot of the Baltimore Irish out for his fights. So what if he was born in London?

“Jackie Brown is a classy flyweight from Manchester, who’ll be cheering on our championship indoor soccer team, the Blast, when he’s not putting on a show in the ring. Chokchai Chockvivat is a name that’ll drive folks crazy. We just call this Siamese slugger Chocky or CC. He’ll play havoc with the sportswriters!

“So there you have it! We got a couple young ‘uns from Mister Mack’s old gym that will be sparring and hoping for a shot. George Chaplin will be a sparring partner, when he’s not working at Lutheran Hospital. We almost selected him, and he just needs a bit more seasoning. Larry Middleton is a stylish youngster that may make a name for himself, and there’s this spitfire of a welter, Vince Pettway, who would like to get in on the action!

“I hope folks will come out and see us. We’ll be scrappy and competitive, I guarantee it!”

The Rock may have been a bit optimistic in his enthusiastic assessment. How will the Binks fare, with a neophyte owner and a diverse team makeup? Time will tell! The record for most consecutive losses is somewhere greater than 1 but less than 148, and the holder of this dubious honor is salivating at the prospect of some day taking on the Binks. There’s only a one letter difference between scrappy and crappy! We do know that Amina Sade will wow the fans between rounds and fights.

Bink fever, catch it! You’ll only wish you died!

Nice Work............