A goodbye to a friend I never met, but really knew

A goodbye to a friend I never met, but really knew
August 18, 2014

This afternoon, while at work (a job which, among many other things, encompasses monitoring Twitter), I came across the heart-stopping news that Glyn Leach, the longtime editor of well-regarded print publication Boxing Monthly, passed away.

Photo courtesy of @ZombieSquasher.@ZombieSquasher

The loss was met by unrelenting sorrow by those in the boxing community. A vast majority of these people never were lucky enough to interact with Glyn but were still fortunate enough to enjoy his blood, sweat, and tears, as the magazine arrived in their hands a number of ways. For me, I lost someone who could only be referred to as a mentor of sorts.

It is unbelievably tough in the dog-eat-dog world of trying to make a living on the written word. While working full-time on the graveyard shift at a retail job, stocking shelves and trying not to fall asleep, Glyn Leach gave me my first opportunity to showcase my work someplace I considered well out of reach at the time. Boxing writing was something that was still far off from paying my bills, but Glyn got in touch with me about ideas for the magazine after coming across my work on Twitter. Despite being half the world away and having never met, Glyn saw something in my writing (which was extremely rough at the time) to give me a shout. This even though I was writing for a small, lightly regarded blog at the time.

April 18, 2014 - Day one of Coachella

Woke up around 6:30 AM in order to get a shower in without having to wait in a ridiculous line. I was expecting much worse than what the setup was. It wasn't prison style showers where you had to see a lot of naked dudes. You had your own little shower stall with a curtain--the only problem was you couldn't move the nozzle and aim it. This meant cupping your hands and throwing water at your legs.

One of our campmates, the one who was tripping balls on mushrooms the night before, didn't bring any soap or a towel, so Ash had to share with him. This would be a common theme with this guy for the whole weekend. He didn't bring a towel. Or shampoo. Or a pillow. Or a blanket. Or contribute anything really to the group. But he sure drank our beer. Lots of it.

Our camping group (and random Asian) before we'd
all look haggard as fuck a few days later.

April 17, 2014 - Coachella, we have ARRIVED

Despite being a big, big music guy, I've never attended Coachella. Just way too expensive.

This year, however, I had been writing about music for about six months when I got an e-mail from my editor Sandy at GrimyGoods.com asking if I would be interested in covering Coachella this year. UMMM YES PLEASE?! A dream was coming true.

Rockin' the Coachella wristbands - both GA and media.

For the weeks leading into Coachella, my friend Ash and I tried locking down a camping pass for the festival. With about a week to go, he told me his friends had figured one out and there would be seven of us sharing a site. Ash was the only person in the group that I knew, but that's what music festivals are all about, discovering new music and meeting new people.

April 10, 2014

Thursday, I met up with a friend who was relatively new to covering boxing but was coming from the background of the music industry where he was successful. Caught the HBO 24/7 on Pacquiao-Bradley and got a chance to interview Jim Lampley and Larry Merchant for a piece I'm working on for later in the year. Both were extremely helpful with their insights.

Later that night, I went to go see GROUPLOVE and Warpaint at the Cosmopolitan Boulevard Pool. I paid for this ticket! I can't actually remember the last concert I paid to see but for $36, I thought this was a solid deal.

Warpaint at Cosmopolitan Boulevard Pool. @MarkEOrtega

April 8, 2014

The original plan was to leave either late Monday night or early Tuesday for LA, then for Vegas from there to get into Vegas for Pacquiao-Bradley fight week.

Instead, I stuck around the Bay into Tuesday with the plan of leaving that night. My friend Andrew (who I'd been trying to grab a beer with while I was in town) hit me up and said he had a +1 to Dum Dum Girls later that night at The Independent. This was the scene of the ZZ Ward show I attended a few days before.

We stopped at this place called the Bean Bag Cafe across the street from the Indy. Holy shit, what a gem this place is. FREE donuts and their beers were like two or three bucks. It was a godsend.

We got to the show a bit before Dum Dum Girls went on. We hungout in the VIP section, which is at the back on the balcony.

Dum Dum Girls have a good sound but they didn't really have much of a stage presence. The lead singer said maybe two sentences the whole night. There were some definite standout songs, obviously their hit "Coming Down", which closed the show.

Unfortunately, my bad luck of being near an asshole who only cared about themselves continued. This one guy would seriously not shut the fuck up for most of their set. I cannot stand when people lack courtesy for others.

Anyways, the show was enjoyable but it was just good to see my friend Andrew and catch up a bit. He's a musician starting to make some things happen. Check out his band The Tet Holiday, they are excellent.

Got dropped off where the Megabus picked me up at 11:59 and took me away from the Bay Area. Though some things didn't work out (two A's games rained out), it was still a nice week back in the Bay. It'll be a few months until I make it back.

April 4-5, 2014

I was supposed to go see the Oakland A's play the Seattle Mariners on Friday, Apr. 4. I went so much as to show up, get to the press box, and wait until 30 minutes after the scheduled game time, only to hear that the game had been postponed. They hadn't covered the field with the tarp the night before and it poured. They couldn't get the field ready in time to play, so that was the story.

So that night I ended up doing nothing.

Apr. 5, I experienced a little more bad luck. The A's played a 1:05 game against the Mariners. I was at Walnut Creek BART with plenty of time to make it to the game on time. Except there was what amounted to a 45 minute delay that caused me to get there in the 2nd inning. Then, they didn't have a credential at the pickup window for me due to some mistake so I waited another two innings before getting inside. I got there just in time to see Dan Straily give up a two-run HR that put the A's behind. I missed his brilliance in the first four innings. My luck.

Still got my first deadline game report up within an hour of the game. The next day was going to be nuts with an A's day game and a concert later that night in SF. This is when shit is gonna get real.

April 3, 2014 - Fitz And The Tantrums welcome me to Oakland's Fox Theater

Thursday night, I had the opportunity to do a concert review of Los Angeles band Fitz And The Tantrums' show at the Fox Theater in Oakland. It was my first assignment (which was more of a request, really) for SF-based music blog Showbams.com. Now, between Showbams and Grimy Goods, I have concert coverage at my fingertips in SF, LA, and Vegas.

The marquee at the Fox Theater for the Fitz and The Tantrums gig. @MarkEOrtega

April 2, 2014 - Scott Kazmir throws a gem

The game that was rained out the day before was replayed at 12:35, with a night game to be played at 6 PM. I elected to cover just the day game a I had plans with a friend for later that evening already.

The game was the Oakland Athletics debut for newly-signed free agent pitcher Scott Kazmir, formerly of the Rays and Indians. Against his old team, Scotty went 7 1/3 of shutout ball, striking out five while throwing less than 100 pitches.

View from the A's press box, first day on the gig for the Martinez News-Gazette. @MarkEOrtega

April 1, 2014 - Perfect month begins with rainout

So April 2014 setup to be the craziest and most exciting month of my entire life until that point. I think there are four days I'm not scheduled to do something, whether it is cover a fight, concert, or Oakland A's game. I'm not one for keeping journals, but thought for a month I might be able to handle it. Plus I'll want to remember this month forever.

Quick thoughts on ESPN2 FNF season opener last night

Quick thoughts on ESPN2 FNF season opener last night
Mark E. Ortega
January 5, 2014

Fights like Ward-Sanchez prove you can't write a fighter off before a fight is over.

 Last night was the much anticipated 2014 season opener of ESPN2's Friday Night Fights. Just as there was controversy in the 2013 opening telecast, history repeated itself. Ironically, junior lightweight Rances Barthelemy was once again the beneficiary.

In the main event, Argenis Mendez (21-3-1, 11 knockouts) was defending his IBF 130-pound title against Barthelemy. Last year, Barthelemy won an unpopular decision over Arash Usmanee in ESPN2's opening broadcast (Usmanee fights in next week's main event against Juan Antonio Rodriguez).

Barthelemy got off to a great start as he fought from the proper range with Mendez unable to answer. In the second round, Mendez was floored in the final 30 seconds. Mendez was in big trouble but with very little time left, seemed a good bet to make it to his corner.

Ten Best Things in Boxing in 2013

Ten Best Things in Boxing in 2013
Mark E. Ortega
January 3, 2013

 At the end of last year, I pessimistically counted down the list of ten of the worst things that happened in boxing during the calendar year. Here I take a more positive look at the sport and examine things that really worked out greatly for the sweet science.

2013 Prospect of the Year: Billy Joe Saunders

2013 Prospect of the Year: Billy Joe Saunders
Mark E. Ortega
December 27, 2013

A number of young fighters saw their unbeaten records receive their first blemishes, while other young prospects established themselves as potential future stars of the sport. Last year, I anointed Javier Fortuna my Prospect of the Year based on his youth and impressive victories, as well as the fact he maintained an active schedule. Those are all important when it comes to deciding my Prospect of the Year. Here is my choice as well as a few others who were worthy of consideration.

2013 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year - Gennady Golovkin

Breakthrough Fighter of 2013: Gennady Golovkin

Mark E. Ortega
December 25, 2013

A number of fighters enjoyed years in 2013 that may later be traced back to the beginning of their legacies. Here's who I deemed the breakthrough fighters of the year.

2013 Comeback Fighter of the Year - Kiko Martinez

2013 Comeback of the Year: Kiko Martinez

Mark E. Ortega

December 23, 2013

2013 saw a number of fighters being their careers back from the brink of irrelevance, making it more difficult than in other years to determine who had the biggest comeback.

Ironically, my choice for 2013's Comeback Fighter of the Year is a man who began the year in the losing column, and by knockout no less. Where he ended the year made it an intriguing and improbable run worthy of recognition.

Ten Worst Boxing Moments of 2013

Ten Worst Boxing Moments of 2013
Mark E. Ortega
December 20, 2013

Although many consider 2013 to have been a banner year for boxing, it wasn't always smooth sailing. The sport suffered from its fair share of scandal and controversy, not to mention in a few cases just some poor judgment and bad taste. Here I count down the ten worst moments the sport dealt with in 2013.

Teddy Atlas on the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board

Teddy Atlas on the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board
Mark E. Ortega
April 5, 2013

Last Friday, ESPN2 Friday Night Fights commentator Teddy Atlas talked about the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board on the air. I talked to Atlas prior to them going on the air tonight and this is what he shared with me.

“Boxing needs help in those areas,” said Atlas, when I asked him why he got behind the TBRB. “They're legitimate guys, caring guys. Honest writers, pros, with a commitment to bettering boxing in those areas.”

HBO reboots popular Legendary Nights to chronicle Gatti-Ward

HBO reboots popular Legendary Nights to chronicle Gatti-Ward

Mark E. Ortega

Freelance

March 26, 2013

The much anticipated return of HBO Sports' brilliant Legendary Nights series was announced to heavy fanfare in a press release Tuesday afternoon.

The original series, which aired in 2003, chronicled a dozen different fights or series of fights that were aired on HBO and had a major impact on the sweet science. Now a decade later, HBO will bring back the highly lauded program to examine the trilogy of fights between Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward, which took place between May 2002 and June 2003 and earned two Fight of the Year honors in the process.

Five that will benefit most from HBO-Golden Boy split

Five that will benefit most from HBO-Golden Boy split

Mark E. Ortega

Freelance

March 20, 2013

News broke early Monday courtesy of Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole that HBO will no longer be working with top promoter Golden Boy Promotions for the immediate future. While that spells bad news for boxing fans around the world, it opens up opportunities for other people to come in and get those HBO dollars that previously were spent on Golden Boy fights. There are a number of different people or entities that could greatly benefit from this move, and below is a list of five that might see the biggest return.