I’m sad today because of the passing of Joe Frazier. I liked Frazier a lot. I covered five of his fights — vs. Buster Mathis, Jimmy Ellis, Bob Foster and two of his three battles with Muhammad Ali.

Their first was one of the classic’s in boxing history. March 8, 1971, Madison Square Garden. This year was the fortieth anniversary. Joe Maxey, who’s now the boxing writer for The Plain Dealer, usually says “Happy Anniversary” when I run into him on that day. That’s how much that fight means to boxing writers who were there.

Frazier won a close but unanimous decision, clinching it with a 15th round knockdown. When Frazier caught Ali with a tremendous left, Ali hit the canvas for only the second time in his career. When he got up, both sides of his jaw were swollen, as though Ali had a golf ball in each cheek.

After the fight Ali was taken directly to the hospital. He didn’t even attend the post-fight interview session. Back in his hotel room the next day, he didn’t even get out of bed. We interviewed him while he was lying in bed.

Official debut of my new book, “Pass the Nuts,” will be Wednesday night, Nov. 9, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Herb’s Tavern in Rocky River. Everyone is welcome. Books are fifteen bucks, two for thirty.

Herb’s is a small, free-standing building at 19925 Detroit Road. It’s almost a mile into Rocky River from Lakewood. It’s on the south side of Detroit Rd. next to the bike shop, which is one block east of St. Christopher Church, to give you a landmark. Lots of parking around there, but not on the street.

Thanks to The Plain Dealer’s Mike McIntyre and Michael Heaton for generous plugs. No doubt I’ll buy them several beers. Hope that’s not a NCAA violation. I’d hate to see them banned from post-season play.

This is a busy week. Tuesday night I’ll be on the Les Levine TV Show and American Work Force Radio with Flash Ferenc. Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. I’ll be on the Rizz Show on WKNR (850 AM). Thursday night I’m speaking at the Stow Library. Friday morning I’ll be on the Lanigan & Malone Show WMJI (105.7) at 7:30 and Wills and Snyder (WTAM 1100) at 8:15.

I’ll sign books Friday from noon to 2 p.m. at the “Only Cleveland Store,” 230 West Huron Road downtown. Saturday’s book signing is 1 p.m. at Barnes and Noble, 28801 Chagrin Blvd., Woodmere.

My new book “Pass the Nuts: More Stories About the Most Unusual People and Remarkable Events from My Four Decades As a Sports Journalist
” is coming out this month. Here’s a preview of the book.

My new book “Pass the Nuts” is coming out in early November. Here’s a preview of the book– taken from Chapter 34.

The movie about Cleveland gangster Danny Greene, Kill the Irishman, featured several references to the Theatrical Restaurant on Short Vincent Street in downtown Cleveland. The restaurant closed in the early 1990s, but in its heyday it was the smartest joint in town.

My new book “Pass the Nuts: More Stories About the Most Unusual People and Remarkable Events from My Four Decades As a Sports Journalist
” is coming out in early November. Here’s a preview of the book– taken from Chapter 1.

As my brother-in-law Craig Andrews and I sailed his boat from Rocky River to Vermilion for its annual winter storage last Saturday, we witnessed up close and personal the algae that threaten Lake Erie.

Somewhere in the vicinity of Lorain I noticed the prop of a speedboat ahead of us kicking up a green spray. I’ve seen white spray, but never green spray. I glanced down at the water we were plowing through and was startled. I blinked. I shook my head. I looked away and looked back at the water. Was this a mirage or an optical illusion? We were sailing through kelly green water.

Wait a minute. I looked closer. We were immersed in algae. We were two miles from shore in water 35 feet deep and we were in solid algae. The long tentacles of the plants shimmered just below the surface. The visual effect was much like the aurora borealis.

I was concerned that the algae would clog our propeller. We were under both sail and engine making about six knots. But it was no problem for us. It is not good for the fish, however. The algae sucks the oxygen out of the water.

All I do is go to funerals anymore. A full house at St. Raphael’s Church in Bay Village said goodby to my old friend Mike Hayes, 72, one of the funniest guys we ever knew.

His older brother, Terry, did the lead eulogy. He recalled that on his deathbed, Mike complained that the room was too hot, that he was burning up. Terry said that he felt Mike and he seemed normal. Furthermore, the temperature in the room was very comfortable. Terry explained all that to his brother.

“Thank you, doctor,” said Mike.

George Condon, the old Plain Dealer columnist, passed away recently at age 94. Congressman Dennis Kucinich delivered the lead euology at St. Angela’s Church in Fairview Park. It was beautiful. Dennis has a gift. He is quotable. But he was so good, every line was loaded with emotion, that I don’t remember them. I should have written them down but I was unprepared. I had no notebook.

On the other hand, I’ll never forget John Betchkal’s eulogy at the funeral of Bob August, the old Cleveland Press sports columnist. Bob passed away a month ago at 89. His memorial service was at the Presbyterian Church in Wooster, Ohio.

Betchkal recalled going to the opera with Bob and Marilyn August in the 1960′s when they worked together at the Press.

With the start of the NBA season postponed, there is much handwringing in the media about the effect of a shutdown on the ordinary workers who earn a living off the NBA, such as the ushers and vendors inside the building. Then there are the ancillary businesses located in the vicinity of Quicken Loans Arena, especially the bars and restaurants that will furlough cooks, bartenders and servers, parking lot attendants, cops working overtime.

Let me paint a very real picture of one man’s tragedy because of a strike. This is the story of Mel Rose.

When the Richfield Coliseum opened in 1974, the place to be seen before and after games was Mel Rose’s restaurant, The Tavern of Richfield. The old Coliseum was a hopping place, with the Cavs basketball, Crusaders hockey and the Force indoor soccer. Besides that, there were concerts, ice shows, tractor pulls, the circus and even a couple of major heavyweight fights. All these events generated a lot of business for Mel Rose. He even opened up a second restaurant inside the Coliseum.

Very few NFL owners were represented at Pat Modell’s funeral service in Baltimore Monday. In fact, I didn’t see anybody except Steve Bisciotti, the owner of the Ravens, and virtually his entire front office, which was understandable. The former commissioner Paul Tagliabue was there. The league PR man was there. But I thought that out of respect for Art Modell, every other owner should have been there.

Maybe they were tired after the death of Raiders’ owner Al Davis a few days earlier. Coming on a Monday, traveling was a hardship after playing games the day before. I throw out these excuses even though I don’t believe for a second that they are valid.

When Art vacated Cleveland, he made 30 other owners wealthier by $18 million each. He turned over the Cleveland market to the league, which auctioned it off to Al Lerner for $535 million, pure profit, divided up equally among the other owners. Additionally, the league charged Art an exit fee and a relocation fee. The millions just kept pouring into the league coffers, to be doled out in equal shares to the other owners. This was cash which was not shared with the players.

The other owners should venerate his footsteps. Maybe they sent flowers or mass cards.

That’s all for now.

My new book “Pass the Nuts: More Stories About the Most Unusual People and Remarkable Events from My Four Decades As a Sports Journalist
” is coming out in early November. Here’s a preview of the book– taken from Chapter 1.

Mike Cleary was the first person ever fired by George Steinbrenner and it was the best thing that ever happened to him. It was good for two reasons. First, he never had to work for Steinbrenner again. Second, everything else that ever happened to him was an upgrade.

Cleary was the general manager of the Cleveland Pipers, Steinbrenner’s pro basketball team in the American Basketball League, a short-lived renegade league a notch below the NBA.

Burt Tardy, who runs the computer repair shop known as DCParts.Com at 16500 Detroit Ave. in Lakewood, sets a pretty good example for all us oldtimers.

“I was 58 years old when I got my first computer. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t even know how to turn it on,” he said when I was in his shop on Wednesday, June 15.

Through sheer determination and patience, he taught himself to do more than turn it on. He turned 64 last Saturday and he is an acclaimed expert. He even mentors young whiz kids.

You probably have guessed why I was in Tardy’s shop. My computer died. Deader than bin Laden. It took with it the first 25 chapters of my next book. Naturally, I backed up my files with Rob Lucas at Gray & Co., Publishers, but I still need access to them for polishing, tinkering and proof reading.

Burt Tardy made that possible with his computer wizardry and various gadgets.

Not bad for an old Hollywood movie actor.

“That’s what I wanted to be and I was actually in a couple old movies, but the timing wasn’t right,” said Tardy, who grew up in Los Angeles. “It was the era of the Black exploitation films and I didn’t look black enough. I looked more Hispanic, more like a Puerto Rican, but they weren’t making Puerto Rican exploitation films. So I wound up working behind the camera.”