EL SEGUNDO HERALD July 20, 2017 Page 5 SBA loans. Business credit lines. Cash management services. Commercial RE, construction and equipment loans. Tiffany Clyne Senior Vice President 310.321.3282 tclyne@grandpointbank.com 1960 E. Grand Avenue, Suite 1200 El Segundo, CA 90245 grandpointbank.com Five-Star Superior Rating by BauerFinancial The Mayweather/McGregor Circus is Already in Town By Adam Serrao If you’ve ever been to the circus, then you know how that sort of thing goes. Clowns and animals parade around in a circle, doing tricks and stunts, all for your entertainment and enjoyment. There’s a different kind of circus in town, but instead of the $15 entrance fee and cotton candy, this one will charge you nearly $100 to watch from home. A price that steep certainly does its part to lift an eyebrow or two, but when Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Connor McGregor take the ring on August 26 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, there will be little need to lift an eyebrow, a wallet, or a remote. The publicity stunt that is for some reason taking the nation by storm is now in full effect and the two fighters at the center of the stage are proving just how ridiculous their charade actually is. Conor McGregor isn’t even the best fighter in his sport. Sure he has beaten Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez--and in doing so, supposedly took the UFC by storm. It’s not McGregor’s fighting skills that allow him to be so popular, though. It’s his loud, outrageous behavior that gains the mixed martial artist popularity. Let’s say that McGregor is the best UFC fighter to ever live. He has lost three times in his career, so he obviously isn’t…but for the sake of discussion, let’s assume he’s unbeatable in the sport of UFC. Even still, getting in a ring with Floyd Mayweather to box would be like asking someone from your local YMCA basketball court to play against LeBron James and beat him. There’s simply no chance, unless LeBron lets you win. Even though McGregor isn’t the best UFC fighter ever, he’s the biggest draw in the sport right now because of his antics and ability to throw water bottles at his competitors all while getting them fired up. Likewise, he gets his fans fired up too. To expect him to have any chance at all against Mayweather, though, when even the likes of the all-time great Oscar De La Hoya (and plenty of other all-time fighters) stood no chance, is like asking a first-time snowboarder to attack a double black diamond without falling down once. “You’re going to ask McGregor to go inside a boxing ring, where he has no experience whatsoever?” De La Hoya said of the fight that even he calls a joke. “He’s never laced up a glove. I call it a circus. I don’t think it’s fair for the sport of boxing.” De La Hoya is obviously concerned that the hype surrounding the fight will damage the sport of boxing that he loves so dearly. Even though the event that will take place will supposedly be a boxing match, neither McGregor nor Mayweather are concerned with the sport itself. The only thing that would get Mayweather out of retirement--as well as the only thing that Floyd Mayweather cares about in this world--is money. Not only has it become apparent that Mayweather is in trouble with the IRS lately and owes upwards of $22 million in back taxes, but he’s the same guy whose nickname is “Money” and likes to buy Lamborghinis that he’ll never drive just so he can look cool. The more than $300 million that he’ll get from this fight will do well to not only pay back the IRS, but also buy him a few more Lamborghinis to keep on his front lawn. McGregor, on the other hand, just had his first child in May. Knowing how much a child can change a person’s perspective on life, the more than $100 million that he will make from the publicity stunt that will be called a “fight” will do well to send him into retirement and set up his family nicely for the rest of their collective lives. Neither fighter is interested in actually fighting on August 26. McGregor even told an entire auditorium in London during the fighters’ last press conference the real reason why he signed up to dance with Mayweather. “Half a fight, let’s get that right. I get to quadruple my net worth for a half a [expletive] fight. Sign me up. You mean no one’s gonna kick, no one’s gonna knee, no one’s gonna elbow, and it’s against [more expletives Mayweather].” Despite the charade that some people are actually falling for, neither fighter is interested in actually throwing punches. They’re both only interested in the future and stuffing their pockets with tons of money that a fan base who thinks that it will see an actual fight will inevitably give to them. Don’t forget the fight that Mayweather signed up for against Manny Pacquiao that was also ultimately a letdown. This event will be more of the same. One click of the button to buy the pay-per-view fight will lead to an inevitably let-down fan base, walking away empty-danded from an affair that will only serve to make Mayweather and McGregor richer than they already are. The more Mayweather and McGregor appear on national television yelling at each other as if they hate one another, the more it becomes apparent that the two met in a back room, shook hands and decided that they would barrage each other with insults in order to drum up enough interest for their salsa dance at the end of August. There is no hate shared by the two fighters. There are even reports that they shared the same private jet on the way over to London. They can be seen smiling at one another--almost laughing at one another’s fabricated insults directed at each other as they sit perched on stage. There is no will to absolutely defeat one another within the boundaries that the sport provides. There is simply yelling and fake shaming on a level that more resembles the WWE than anything else--especially an actual sport. And it’s all done with the intent of getting us to believe that the two will actually work for their money when the time presents itself to do so. The fight between Mayweather and Mc- Gregor will be the highest-grossing match in the history of professional fighting. No matter how fake and artificial the pre-fight press conferences tend to be, people will still tune in and click “purchase” simply to see what will happen. It’s like the unfortunate car crash on the highway that most people simply can’t look away from as they drive by. So for now, let the two con artists barrage you with slanders and harsh words toward one another that will seem stronger than any other punch thrown on fight night will be. Once the fight does happen, though, and everyone walks away unsatisfied after the quick and manufactured dance around the ring, don’t say that you didn’t see it coming. – Asixlion@earthlink.net • El Segundo Eagles Teams Made a Run During Winter Sports By Gregg McMullin As the El Segundo High School fall teams finished up, it marked the beginning of the winter sports. With a record rainfall during these months, it was a welcome relief from the drought and it didn’t dampen the spirits of the athletes. The soccer teams were challenged at times with the weather, but they adjusted. A year ago, we were talking about how successful the teams were as they each reached the CIF playoffs. This past winter schedule proved to be a challenge, as only the girls water polo team advanced to the postseason. Boys Basketball A new era started for the Eagles program. Jason Ito stepped down after three years of leading the team to the playoffs. David March was hired to succeed Ito and did a wonderful job with a lineup with just one player over 6-3 and little starting experience. March, who played for legendary Eagle coach Rick Sabosky, has plenty of coaching experience and had his team playing competitively against ranked teams. This team was loaded with underclassmen talent that included sophomores Miles Jones, Mike Lynch and Ben Peterson as well as juniors Wil Lubs and Jacob Franco. Coach March knew this past season would be a challenge, but he turned some heads with his upbeat style and stifling defense. The Eagles faced 14 different teams that reached the CIF playoffs. Perhaps the most exciting game in years took place in a contest against Mary Star that went to four overtimes. Each player on the roster got significant playing time. The Eagles rallied to force a first overtime, the Stars forced a second overtime, and then the Eagles made a buzzer-beater to force one more overtime period. They pulled away and hung on for a 91-87 victory to make it officially the longest basketball game in the school’s history. The Eagles finished up their non-league schedule and went into the rugged Ocean League that featured some of the top teams around. They were defeated by Culver City 63-49 in a game that was much closer than the final score indicated. The loss to a much bigger Beverly Hills team gave March a measure of confidence that this team could compete. In the game against the Normans, the Eagles sank 80 percent of their free throws (22-28)--a marked improvement over the past few seasons. The Eagles wound up 7-17 overall and 2-8 in Ocean League play. Some might say the season wasn’t very good, but March thought the season was highly successful. “Maybe in terms of losses it didn’t look so good, but looking at the big picture it was a successful season,” he said. “Watch out for us next season.” Girls Basketball The Lady Eagles lost nearly all of their starting lineup to graduation. The loss included Paige Endo, who scored over 1,500 points in her high school career. The Eagles were coming off a season in which they won 17 games and reached the CIF-Southern Section quarterfinals. So how would head coach Randy Kiehm get his team game-ready? He leaned on three-year starter Makaela Bordieri, the lone returnee, as well as sophomore Malia Hue who would go on to lead the team in scoring. Tatiana Taylor-Willis would start at center and the 6-1 senior was a force inside, Senior center Justin Ostler was a three-year starter for the Eagles. See Eagles, page 7
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