Ron Artest stopped by Manny Pacquiao’s sparing session the other day and offered up his thoughts on the upcoming Pacquiao/Cotto fight to the LA Times.

Shocker that Artest is a fan of fighting huh? I never would’ve thought that. He’s even gonna try to fit the fight into his busy work schedule.

Artest said he’ll try to attend the fight between a road game Friday at Denver and a Sunday night home game, and elaborated on why pro athletes follow the fight game.

Man, its a good thing his day job doesnt require a lot of, i dunno, rest or practice or anything and he can fit the boxing match in. That Ron Artest, he’s always got his priorities right. I wonder what his UFC plans are?

Did you know that you’re having your next birthday at Cowboys Stadium? No? Well you know now. Surprise. Your nephew’s bar mitzvah? Cowboys Stadium. The Winter Olympics? You know where it’ll be. Me getting with your moms? Cowbo … I’m just playin’. I’m going to her place when she finishes cage dancing.

It’s hard to find an event that isn’t taking place at Cowboys Stadium these days. The 2010 NBA All-Star Game and the 2011 Super Bowl will be taking place there. Preliminary talks have started regarding a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight at Cowboys Stadium. The potential matchup would take place next March provided that Pacquiao beats Miguel Cotto this Saturday night and both camps can work out a deal.

Jerry Jones should consider a series called Gladiator Nights at Cowboys Stadium. There must be way to flood the field and have naval battles in addition to man vs. beast battles. Say you wouldn’t be interested in watching a recreation of the Battle of Antietam fought out by convicts and bears in military uniforms. What better way to make players play hard than tell them they can play well or fight in next week’s battle for their job? The possibilities are endless.

Noel Gallagher of Oasis has some interesting things to say about his favorite soccer team. Man City’s number one fan** sat down with Football365 and discussed the state of the team. Topics included their newly found riches and the prospects for the upcoming Premier League season. Here are some highlights:

On wishing for the “good old days”:

No. I’m absolutely loving it, and if you ask 99.9% of City fans they would say the same. I’m sick of supporting loveable, affable City – fuck that, we want the best players in the world, playing the best football in the world in the best stadium in the world, owned by the richest people in the world.

On being worried about high player wages:

If the club was a PLC and it was my money being spent on wages then yes, I’d be mighty pissed off. But it’s not my money, it’s not your money, and what right has anyone to tell anyone what to spend their money on? As City fans we’re absolutely fucking loving it.

On Citeh’s prospects for the upcoming season:

I think with no European commitments we can go all out in the Premier League. I don’t think we can challenge for the title but I expect us to finish between fourth and sixth. I think if Mark Hughes can’t pull this off, then he’s only got himself to blame.

Many of Gallagher’s views echo the sentiments of Chelsea supporters (myself included) when Roman Abramovich bought the club and saved it from likely bankruptcy. He makes a point that Chelsea fans have made when challenged on becoming a “big club”.

There’s a funny English attitude where almost overnight, attitudes change. I’ve lived in London for 15 years and every time I got in a black cab they’ve said, “Oh you’re a City fan, we love City,” and now they all think we’re arrogant with ideas above our station. It’s a funny English attitude towards success and money.

People hate it when anyone new comes in and threatens to upset the old order namely being Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. Man City are no different than Chelsea in that sense. Gallagher should also note the drawbacks to wealthy owners who often see their teams as fantasy teams and stop listening to sensible advice. Maybe he’ll come back to earth when he sees that money doesn’t solve everything in football. Money is to football as alcohol is to life. It’s the cause of and solution to all problems.

Gallagher didn’t manage to keep it together for the whole interview. He claims that no player will ever match Stephen “Fucking Brilliant” Ireland. Keep in mind this is the same Stephen Ireland who bailed on Ireland by falsely claiming that his grandmother died. Let’s not even talk about Man City and Real Madrid being the two most exciting teams in the world. The thought of putting Barry, Tevez, Adebayor and Santa Cruz up against Real’s new signings or Barcelona among others is absurd.

**We have to think Ricky Hatton’s been demoted behind Noel and Liam Gallagher after getting whupped by the Mexicutioner.

Ricky Hatton should consider himself lucky that Manny Pacquiao’s knockout punch didn’t kill him for more than two minutes. Unfortunately for three Filipinos, it killed them permanently. 

When it comes to boxing, there’s little question that HBO is at the top of their game. They’ve done it again with their documentary “Thrilla in Manila” which premieres Saturday night at 8 PM. It goes behind the scenes of the legendary final fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in the Philippines as well as the bitter rivalry between the two fighters.

Simply stated, this documentary makes for fascinating viewing. It delves into the broken relationship between Ali and Frazier – mostly from Frazier’s point of view. To call Frazier bitter would be an understatement however he isn’t unjustified. Viewers get a look at Ali that shows a side not often considered or known by those who fete him as a hero. He attacked his former friend using insults that were not just personally degrading but also racist and opened a rift that has yet to be closed. This was especially surprising considering how much Frazier supported him during his suspension by giving him money and fighting for his reinstatement.

Interviews with members of both camps as well as Imelda Marcos and Ali autobiographer Thomas Hauser give insight into the politics behind the fight, a relationship that went from brotherhood to contempt and the divergent paths taken by the two fighters after Manila. 

Thrilla in Manila
Uploaded by HBOclips

Thrilla in Manila premieres on HBO at 8:00 PM Saturday night.

Stick around afterwards for Pacquiao/Hatton 24/7 at 9:30 PM. It’ll be hard to match De La Hoya/Mayweather 24/7 due to the lack of crazy ass Mayweather but we have faith in Pacquiao. Let’s hope for some celebrity cameos from Hatton fans Wayne Rooney and Oasis.