Oh happy days! Emanuel Steward and Leland Stein at MGM in Las Vegas

– Photo Credit: Hassan Ali photo
 

Emanuel Steward died recently at the age of 68 after an undisclosed illness. It’s a stunning loss for Detroit and the world boxing community, and, a lost link to a great era when Marvin Hagler, Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, and Roberto Duran produced one of the greatest cuatro or quartets in fisticuffs long history.

"With the loss of Emanuel Steward, we have lost a true Detroit icon,” Mayor Dave Bing said. “Emanuel Steward embodied our city's toughness, our competitive spirit and our determination to always answer the bell.”

Sure Muhammad Ali laid claim to the “Greatest” boxer ever. Yes it was a self-proclaimed moniker. However, the “Greatest” boxing trainer ever may be Detroit’s own Emanuel Steward, and it is not self-proclaimed, it is just acknowledged by almost all of the sweet science’s aficionados.

I was living in Los Angeles and working for a paper there, so I was not in the city for the heyday of Kronk Boxing. But that mattered not because my Dad was a boxing historian and he made sure I was up on all Kronk’s exploits.

As a neophyte L.A. reporter I was tasked with the boxing beat and that started a lifelong friendship with Emanuel. We first met in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand over 20 years ago when I was covering a Mike Tyson championship fight.

Of course I knew who Emanuel was and I walked over to him and told him I was from Detroit; he lit up like a Christmas tree. He said he was going to get something to eat and asked if I could join him. We sat and talked about his high school days at Eastern High and Detroit in general.

It was as if we had known each other forever. That was the type of person Emanuel was - inviting, humble, talented, kind, compassionate, uncorrupted and reflective. Here he was a certified star and he took me in like a lost puppy. I told him about my Detroit roots and my just getting started in the boxing game. He gave me advice and introduced me to boxing royalty as they walked by.

Circumstances, time and family brought me back to the Motor City, and, wouldn’t you know it, my Rosedale Park neighbor just so happened to be Emanuel. On one of our meeting he invited me to his annual summer barbeque cookout at his home. I would go every year with one of my sons and it was evident Emanuel really enjoyed sharing his blessings.

The last time I saw Emanuel was just before he went to Chicago for treatment. We happened to meet in Rosedale’s park walking our dogs as we had done many times before. I always teased him about traveling with him one day to Europe and chronicling a week with Emanuel. He would always say honestly: “Leland, let me know and we will work something out.”

I did not act on his retort and it may be yet another unspoken lesson for me: “Do not wait until tomorrow what I can do today, because tomorrow my never come.”

There is no tomorrow for Emanuel, but there is a lasting history of kindness, excellence and commitment that will stand the test of time.

Sure Emanuel founded the famed Kronk Gym and out of it he became a HBO boxing analyst and Hall of Fame trainer of champions like Hilmer Kenty, Thomas Hearns, Steven and Milton McCory, Evander Holyfield, Oscar De La Hoya, Lennox Lewis, Johnathon Banks, Leon Spinks, Wladimir Klitschko and a host of others. In fact, 41 of the fighters he mentored/trained won world championships.

However, the real essence of Emanuel was his sincere desire to help others in the way he knew how.

"Manny’s energy, enthusiasm and bright smile were a constant presence,” said Ken Hershman, president of HBO Sports. “Ten bells do not seem enough to mourn his passing. His contributions to the sport and to HBO will never be forgotten."

Concurred Wladimir Klitschko, reigning heavyweight champion: "Vitali and I acknowledge that it is not often that a person in any line of work gets a chance to work with a legend, well I was privileged enough to work with one for almost a decade. I will miss our time together. The long talks about boxing, the world, and life itself.”

RIP Emanuel! I’ll forever miss our dog walks in the park and your barbeque.

Leland Stein can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Twitter @LelandSteinIII

DETROIT (WWJ) - On the night before Halloween, Detroit firefighters are concerned about wind gusts of 45 miles per hour sent in by Superstorm Sandy.

Detroit Firefighters Union President Dan McNamara said the wind is not only a problem for knocking down wires but also for spreading house fires.

“For example, in the 7 Mile and Gratiot area we had a major wind fire there, we lost 85 homes a few years ago. Wind gusts, we have an old joke that if it’s breezy in Chicago, then we’re going to be out forever,” McNamara said.

Weather effects from Sandy, which pummeled the eastern U.S. coast Monday night, are responsible for causing thousands of power outages in the metro Detroit area. A high wind advisory is in effect for the region until 1 p.m. Tuesday.

“When there’s a little bit of a breeze, because of the old condition of the wires in the city of Detroit, they drop down, they can energize metal fences or they can certainly drop and start fires on structures. So what we do is when there’s a call out, a fire department vehiclegoes out and sits on those wires until DTE comes and relieves us or de-energizes the wire,” McNamara said.

In 1984, more than 800 fires were started in Detroit during the Halloween period. In 1994, over 300 fires were started on “Devils’ Night,” the night before Halloween.

“We do the best we can, we try to control it. With 45 mile per hour winds, we can expect the whole fire department to be out on wires, what we call sitting on wires, which compromises out ability to get to other rescues,” McNamara said.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/30/detroit-firefighters-fear-sandys-wind-gusts-on-eve-of-halloween/

Hovering above Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Dallas, a provocative billboard makes a controversial claim in black and red block letters: “Martin Luther King Jr. was a Republican. VOTE REPUBLICAN!”

It's a claim, and a voter registration tactic, that has been used before, despite a decidedly mixed reactions from community members who see it.

The ads posted this year -- as well as similar billboards posted in Austin and in Houston back in 2009 -- are the brainchild of Claver Kamau-Imani, a Houston, Texas, church leader and the founder of RagingElephants.org, a conservative group that aims to recruit more African Americans for the Republican Party.

Kamau-Imani said the use of the American Civil Rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner is appropriate and accurate.

“The use of Dr. King, because of him being an icon in the community, we feel would be most effective," Kamau-Imani told CBS DFW. "That’s why we used it. We have the documentation to back the claims we’re making on the billboard.”

This documentation is hard to pin down, however. In 2009, Kamau-Imani told Fox News that King's niece, the Rev. Alveda King, said her uncle was indeed a Republican. But while video of Alveda King's claim is available on YouTube, Kamau-Imani acknowledged there's no documentation to back her up.

That 2009 billboard was taken down early, after the leader of the local New Black Panther Party chapter organized a press conference rallying support against the $3,000 sign.

"Martin Luther King may have very well believed in some of the Christian principles of the Republican Party, but Dr. Martin Luther King was not a Republican or a Democrat," Quanell X told Fox News at the time. "[He] would not be with the party of Newt Gingrich, he would not be with the party of Sarah Palin, he would not be with the party of Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage or Sean Hannity."

In 2011, Politifact investigated RagingElephant's claims, enlisting the help of several noted historians and King biographers.

Thomas Jackson, a history professor at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and author of "From Civil Rights to Human Rights: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Struggle for Economic Justice," told the fact-checking site that while the Republican party of Abraham Lincoln's era defended black rights, this attitude shifted after the 1870s. Jackson said he would call King a "'tax and spend' democratic socialist."

David Garrow, the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning, "Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference" said "It's simply incorrect to call Dr. King a Republican," adding that the activist did not ascribe to either party, but almost certainly voted for Democrats John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

Dr. King's son Martin Luther King III, as well as various other friends have all objected to this label. Ultimately, Politifact said the claim was false.

Back in Dallas, Peter Johnson, an activist who worked alongside King in the 1960s, told CBS that the billboards are simply offensive.

“Using his image is one thing, exploiting his legacy is another," Johnson said. "To distort his legacy, it’s sacred to some of us. We know the suffering and sacrifice that was made.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/29/martin-luther-king-jr-republican-billboard-texas_n_2039332.html?utm_hp_ref=black-voices

(CNN) -- In our increasingly digital world, a mobile phone or other portable device is often a one-stop communication device. Phone calls, text messages, social media and even radio and television can all come from the same gadget.

And when the power goes out, these gadgets can quickly become stylish but useless bricks.

As Hurricane Sandy pummels the East Coast, now is the time to be juicing up the mobile devices you use to stay connected. Also, don't forget about backup devices like that BlackBerry you got from work, tablets and even e-readers that have Web access.

But when the lights go out, you're on your own. Here are some tools and tips to try to keep you connected longer.

If you have time to grab some gear now:

Battery charger

A backup charger for your phone or tablet can can keep you linked in longer.
"Juice packs" can be bought for $100 or less (Mophie, for one, makes them for Apple and Android devices) and many of the chargers double as protective cases for your smartphone or tablet. Alternately, battery-powered backup chargers like the Zagg Sparq can provide several full charges for your mobile devices after the usual electrical options are gone.

You can even find chargers that use solar power. So as long as you've got a dry spot and at least a brief break from the rain, Mother Nature can help bail you out.

And don't forget about your car charger, assuming you have one. Your car's battery will be solid long after you're phone's isn't.

Power inverter

If you need to power up something a little bigger than a phone, a power inverter might be a useful tool. If you want to be able to use a laptop or desktop computer during an outage, this may be the way to go.

The inverter can be used to convert DC power from your car battery into AC juice for things usually plugged into a wall outlet.

Places like Batteries Plus, as well as most computer stores, usually have these around in a wide range of power. Ask an employee how much of a charge you need for what you want to do.

Here are some other tips if you don't have the option of buying new chargers:

Laptop as back-up generator

This one seems obvious ... once you've thought about it. But it's the sort of thing that can slip your mind when there's a lot of other preparation to be done.

While there's time, fully charge your laptop (or, best case, laptops).
Then don't use it. When other power sources go out, you can plug your phone or tablet into the laptop, via the USB port, for the extra juice.

Stop running apps

Check your phone's settings. Some apps quietly run in the background even when you're not using them, causing your battery to drain faster. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are two examples, but there are plenty of others. Here's a video for how to disable Wi-Fi on an iPhone and a walkthrough for how to control battery usage on Android devices. (Hat tip to Quartz.com).

Also, texting burns less power than a phone call, so go that route when you can. And turning down your screen's brightness will also help conserve juice.

Use a battery-life app

Several free apps for both iOS (Apple) and Android devices promise to help you extend your phone's battery life. One such app is Carat, which observes how you use your smartphone and makes personalized suggestions about which power-sucking apps you might delete.

(CNN) -- Beyond the driving rain, howling wind, closed schools and canceled flights, Hurricane Sandy evoked fear among East Coast residents battered by other storms in recent years.

People hunkered down in homes and shelters with emergency kits at the ready Monday, unsure of what will happen when the huge storm reaches shore from Maryland to Connecticut and collides with a cold front over New England.

Memories of last year's Hurricane Irene, with flooding and falling trees that killed unsuspecting victims, further unnerved longtime coastal residents who watched storm surges top sea walls and wipe out docks in the hours before the full brunt of Sandy was due to hit.

A shuddering house and snapping tree limbs told Joseph Braha all he needed to know about what was coming.

"It's a real extreme event that's going to take place," the 36-year-old Braha said by phone from Asbury Park, New Jersey, where he and his wife and three daughters sat in the living room, "hoping and praying for the best."

 Watch the evolution of the superstorm See damage inside cruise ship from Sandy Kite boarders take on Hurricane Sandy Raw video: Long Island flooding
The girls -- a 7-year-old and 3-year-old twins -- were "not too happy" but were handling it pretty well so far, he said, describing a scene right out of "Key Largo" and other films that depict waiting out a hurricane.

"There's a lot of wind that is shaking the house," Braha said. "I'm hearing some crackling in the trees as well. I've seen some branches falling down."
Supplies including flashlights and packed travel bags are ready, as are sandbags and life jackets in case the ocean two blocks away rises even further.

"The jetties are completely invisible," Braha said of the waterfront. "No one's even attempting to head down to the water. It's just too dangerous."

At Baltimore-Washington International airport, newlyweds Jessie and Nicholas Lasko of Mount Airy, Maryland, huddled in a corner of an eerily silent terminal, their flight to a Jamaican honeymoon canceled -- along with thousands of others due to Sandy.

They just didn't think the storm they heard about on the news would disrupt their plans -- a Sunday night wedding followed by an early drive to catch their plane, the couple said.

"We were supposed to be on a plane right now on our way to Jamaica," new Mrs. Lasko said. "We're sad. Guess we'll have to reschedule."
Amtrak canceled all train service on its busy Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston through Tuesday, and the city of Baltimore restricted driving to emergency vehicles and other authorized users on Monday night until at least 12 noon on Tuesday.

More than 3,200 people spent Sunday night in 112 American Red Cross shelters in nine states -- New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and Massachusetts. Officials said they expected that number to increase on Monday night.

In New York City, CNN iReporter Noah Garden watched rising water levels at his summer home in Ventnor, New Jersey, through a live video feed from his home security camera mounted on the backyard deck.

"My neighbor's deck is submerged under water," said Garden, 41, explaining what that means to the attached boat docks that rise with the water levels. "I am assuming tonight the docks are going to go."

Garden also knew that the storm could easily knock out power at his New York residence, which would end his long-distance viewing of the damage in Ventnor.
In Sea Bright, New Jersey, Yvette Cafaro scrawled a plea on the plywood that covered her burger restaurant: "Be kind to us Sandy."

The seaside area largely dodged Hurricane Irene, and Cafaro was hoping for another reprieve, but not optimistic.

"Everything that we've been watching on the news looks like this one will really get us," she said. "We're definitely worried about it."

Others were less concerned.

On Coney Island in the New York borough of Brooklyn, iReporter Kim Lofgren said she would wait out the storm, just like she did last year with Irene.

"It was exciting, but we didn't have any damage. I know this is going to be a lot worse," said the 30-year-old Lofgren, who acknowledged that others didn't share her sense of adventure.

"Around me, it's always a mix," Lofgren said. "There are people who panic and evacuate and there are people who have been by the ocean for a long time and they're unfazed by it."

DETROIT (WWJ) - New technology cost Ford dearly in the latest Consumer Reports reliability study.

“Ford really had a bad year this year,” said Jake Fisher, director of automotive testing for Consumer Reports.

Two years ago, Ford was in the top ten and rising. Now Ford is one rung from the bottom. Most of the complaints are with Ford’s “My Ford Touch” information system. Fisher says this comes despite a recent software fix.

“It was a step in the right direction, but there are certainly a lot of issues; they didn’t go far enough,” he said. “The vehicles — they have problems associated with them still. They system doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to work.”

Ford says it values customer feedback, and is working to improve its systems.

Toyota’s three brands: Scion, Toyota and Lexus finished in the top three spots.

Cadillac was the top ranked domestic brand. General Motors, for the most part, saw improvement. Chrysler, Fisher says, was hurt by several new product launches.

The vehicles received a number of complaints from Consumer Reports readers….even though they did well in the magazines testing.

“The Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Chrysler 300, the Dodge Charger — these are excellent models,” Fisher told WWJ Newsradio 950. “They redesigned these vehicles and they are so nice; they drive nicely, they are quiet, they’re comfortable. Unfortunately, when you go and you change so many things as a manufacturer, you’re bound to put in some problem.”

Consumer Reports reliability study is based on a survey of the magazines readers. Since they average results over three years, brand new products are not studied. That also hurt Ford, because some of its most important products were recently re-designed.

Japanese brands scored very well in the Consumer Reports study. European brands also did better, particularly Audi, which was the most improved brand.

Consumer Reports reliability study is very important because many car buyers look at the magazine before they start deciding which vehicles to consider.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/29/gm-climbs-ford-and-chrysler-slip-in-reliability-study/

* Consumer spending rises 0.8 pct in September

* Inflation-adjusted spending up 0.4 percent

* Income gains 0.4 percent, real disposable income flat

WASHINGTON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending rose solidly in September as households stepped up purchases on automobiles and a range of other goods, but the increase came at the expense of savings.

The Commerce Department said on Monday consumer spending rose 0.8 percent, the largest increase since February, after an unrevised 0.5 percent gain in August.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity to increase 0.6 percent in September.

When adjusted for inflation, consumer spending increased 0.4 percent after edging up 0.1 percent the prior month.

Financial markets showed little reaction to the data. U.S. stock markets will be closed on Monday, and possibly on Tuesday, as a mammoth storm threatens the U.S. East Coast.

The figures were incorporated in last Friday's third-quarter gross domestic product report. Consumer spending increased at a 2 percent annual pace in the third quarter after rising at a 1.5 percent pace the prior period.

That helped to lift economic growth at a 2 percent rate during the quarter, an acceleration from the April-June period's 1.3 percent pace.

The spurt in spending as the quarter ended, which was concentrated in long-lasting goods such as autos and Apple Inc's iPhone 5, suggests some of the momentum could carry through the remainder of the year. However, challenges remain.

While overall income last month grew 0.4 percent, the most since March and a step-up from August's 0.1 percent, the amount of money at the disposal of households after accounting for inflation and taxes was flat.

That meant households cut back on saving to fund purchases. This and sluggish job growth could hamper spending over the long-term. The saving rate slipped to 3.3 percent last month, the lowest since November 2011, from 3.7 percent the prior month.

"Households were only able to boost consumption in the third quarter by dipping into their savings," said Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics. "Faced with the prospect of major tax hikes in the New Year, however, they will soon become more cautious."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/29/consumer-spending-rises_n_2038346.html?utm_hp_ref=savings

Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Colin Powell’s former chief of staff and a registered Republican, told MSNBC’s The Ed Show in an interview “My party is full of racists.”

After Republican former Secretary of State Colin Powell announced that he was once again endorsing President Barack Obama for president, John Sununu, co-Chairman of Republican Mitt Romney’s campaign, told CNN that Powell only made that decision because Obama was black:

“… frankly, when you take a look at Colin Powell, you have to wonder whether that’s an endorsement based on issues, or whether he’s got a slightly different reason for endorsing president Obama … I think when you have somebody of your own race that you’re proud of being President of the United States, I applaud Colin for standing with him.”

Sununu has since retracted his comment, issuing the statement, “Colin Powell is a friend and I respect the endorsement decision he made and I do not doubt that it was based on anything but his support of the president’s policies. Piers Morgan’s question was whether Colin Powell should leave the party, and I don’t think he should.”

Col. Wilkerson called the initial comment an “unfortunate slip of tongue,” but he is not surprised. He told Schultz he had respect for Sununu but he doesn’t “have any respect for the integrity of the position that he seemed to codify. Look at me, Ed, I’m white. I’m not black. Colin Powell picked me because of the content of my character and my competence.”

“My party, unfortunately, is the bastion of those people — not all of them, but most of them — who are still basing their positions on race,” Wilkerson said. “Let me just be candid: My party is full of racists.”

Wilkerson went further to explain that he thought members of his party were pushing so hard to remove President Obama from office, not because of what they considered to be failures on the part of his administration, but because they did not want a black person in the White House.

“The real reason a considerable portion of my party wants President Obama out of the White House has nothing to do with the content of his character, nothing to do with his competence as commander-in-chief and president, and everything to do with the color of his skin. And that’s despicable,” said Wilkerson.

“To say that Colin Powell would endorsed President Obama because of his skin color would be to say that Mother Theresa worked for profit.”

http://thegrio.com/2012/10/29/colin-powells-former-chief-of-staff-gop-is-full-of-racists/

DETROIT (WWJ) – The Southeastern Michigan Red Cross has sent help to the East coast and more could be on the way as downgraded Sandy makes its way inland.

Spokesman Allison Koenigbauer spoke to WWJ Newsradio about the initial efforts of the Red Cross in Michigan.

“We can not send any more volunteers until the storm hits … makes landfall and then … once they open transportation a little bit more we’ll be able to send more volunteers. So right now we are on standby,” said Koenigbauer.

Koenigbauer said that the Red Cross has sent volunteers to the New Jersey - New York area to aid with sheltering and delivering supplies, in addition to one of their Red Cross vehicles.

There are several ways you can donate or find more information.
Call (800) RED CROSS, Text ‘RedCross’ to 90999, or click on for the Red Cross website click on here.
 

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/30/red-cross-sends-aid-to-new-jersey-area-sandy-downgraded-to-tropical-storm/

DETROIT (WWJ) – With Hurricane Sandy headed for the East Coast, there are a number of uncertainties in regards to the storm’s impact at the pump … both out east and here at home.

Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan with GasBuddy.com said Michigan is sourced from a number of different areas like Detroit, Toledo, and Chicago, so Michigan may not feel the pinch at the pump like other areas in the county.

“The biggest story is how long these refineries remain off-line,” DeHaan said. “That could have a longer term impact on prices in the Northeast. But here in the Great Lakes, if gas prices go up it’s not really going to have much to do with Hurricane Sandy at all.”

“The Northeast isn’t really a significant refining hub … a few of them are closing but by no means are all of them closing,” said DeHaan. “The other news, to mitigate the drop in supply from those refineries shutting down, it’s going to be a massive drop in demand, what we call demand destruction.”

As for gas prices here in the Metro Detroit area, DeHaan says there should be no impact from the hurricane conditions out east given the state is supplied by refinery operations well out of the reach of “Sandy”.

DeHaan says if all goes relatively well over the next 24-to-48 hours, any disruptions in gasoline supply along the Atlantic seaboard may actually be offset by the area-wide shutdowns of business leading up to the storm curtailing demand for fuel.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/29/hurricane-sandy-may-not-have-a-big-impact-at-michigan-pumps/