Pop Culture and Sports News Flashback
January 2011
Iron Mike Tyson's Pigeon Passion
G'day punters, animal and bird lovers! Bird lovers? We've reported on many a bird and animal gambling story over the years, but together we've got something quite different for your culinary delights. Remember the killing machine, boxer 'Iron' Mike Tyson. Well, these days Tyson is more a lover, not a hater, and certainly not an ear biter. Tyson has fallen in love again with pigeons, and more specifically, pigeon racing. Will Tyson ever been allowed to come down under to Australia to introduce himself and his prized pigeon's to the Betfair Pink Pigeons. Media Man and Gambling911 will this take flight with this special report...
Mike Tyson, once the "baddest man on the planet", will appear in a TV show as a former boxer with startling similarities to the one played by Marlon Brando in 1954. Tyson's affection with pigeons, to be featured in a 6-part series on the Animal Planet channel, will call to mind Terry Malloy, the character that earned Brando an Oscar in On The Waterfront. Both found solace in the raising of birds on the rooftops of New Jersey. Like Brando's character, Tyson has long raised pigeons, starting when he grew up in a tough part of Brooklyn, New York. He now keeps his birds at another rooftop coop in New Jersey, next to the gym where he trained for fights. The heavyweight who infamously bit off part of Evander Holyfield's ear in a 1997 fight still spends hours at a time watching his birds, and says they have given him comfort during his turbulent life. He has owned up to 350 of them at a time. In the show, to be broadcast from March 6, Tyson will describe how he was bullied as a child and would miss school to be with his pigeons. He threw his first punch at the age of 10 when a bully killed one of his birds. "The reason for the fight was because the guy ripped the head off my pigeon," he said. "This was the first thing I ever loved in my life, the pigeon. "I don't know why, I feel ridiculous just trying to explain it. They're so much like people. "This ain't no hobby. I've been dedicated to pigeons, even when I have been fighting or getting locked up. What I love about the pigeon is their loyalty." Such is Tyson's interest that, during promotion for the program, he expounded to journalists about the role of pigeons in delivering news from the Battle of Waterloo onwards. His series, Taking on Tyson, will follow the former boxer as he fulfils a dream to race his pigeons competitively for the first time. Tyson, the former undisputed world champion, got rather further in his fight career than Malloy, a boxer who famously "coulda been a contender" but who was forced under pressure to take a dive. The television program has already been criticised by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the animal rights group. It claims that racing can be "dangerous and traumatic" for pigeons. Tyson, 44, was convicted of rape in 1992 and served three years in prison. He declared bankruptcy in 2003 and retired from professional boxing in 2006. His new show follows a highly successful cameo role in the 2009 comedy movie The Hangover.
Australian Boxing Legend And Poker Celeb Jeff Fenech Keen To See Tyson Down Under For Pigeon Race...
Fenech's been running an off and on campaign to see Tyson come down under, but they are yet to get a green light. The new version of Mike Tyson is a humble one who has clearly found god, and is more interested in love and pigeons than throwing punches.
We think The Great Betfair Pink Pigeon Race might do well to secure Mike Tyson, and maybe the likes of a James Packer and / or Network Ten / Network Nine push might help make it happen. Insiders tip that Tyson is very keen to attend the Pink Pigeon race in Australia next year, which would be its 4th showing to date.
Will all the craziness in the media, entertainment, sports and gaming world this January the Betfair pink pigeons almost got away on us for good, as actually occurred on the 5th of the month. We are now having to claw back!
Great Betfair Pink Pigeon Race Overview...
The Great Betfair Pink Pigeon Race in support of the McGrath Foundation is back!
Forget about the Sydney to Hobart, Melbourne Cup, Stawell Gift and Bathurst. This is Australia's new race that stops a nation. Held on Jane McGrath Day, (Wednesday 5 January 2011), coinciding with Day 3 of the iconic Sydney Test, twelve of Australia's top racing pigeons will take to the skies above Glenn McGrath Oval in Narromine and race across the NSW outback to the tiny wheat town of Trangie (The Trangie Pub!).
And you guessed it Betfair punters worldwide will be able to bet on the great race, with all the proceeds going to Cricket Australia's Cricket Cares partner, the McGrath Foundation.
About The Race
Why a pigeon race? Well pigeons, Betfair and cricket go hand in hand, that's why! And Chappelli (aka former Australian captain Ian Chappell), an ungainly 3-year-old Blue Bar is back to defend the Great Betfair Pink Pigeon Race title he won in 2010.
Australian media and gambling tycoon, is a 50% owner in Betfair.
About The Charity Events
Day 3 of the 5th Vodafone Ashes Test between Australia and England in Sydney has been renamed Jane McGrath Day, in memory of Jane McGrath (wife of Australian cricket legend Glenn McGrath), who passed away in 2008 from breast cancer. Betfair will make a sizeable donation to the McGrath Foundation with additional proceeds raised from revenue generated from The Great Betfair Pink Pigeon Race.
About The Foundation
The Jane McGrath Foundation was established in 2005 to raise awareness of breast cancer, with the main purpose of making sure every person diagnosed with breast cancer can have access to a McGrath Breast Care Nurse.
Media Man and Gambling911 wish Tyson and Betfair well in their pigeon endeavors, are are hopefully that one day... perhaps next year, these different birds of a feather may one day flock together!
Golden egg or Golden Goose? Chirp and peck at us in the nest... er, forum.
At the late, great, Graham Kennedy would say, FAAAAARK. Woops, different kind of bird. That's a crow.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company
*No birds or animals were hurt in the compiling of this report!
Mike Tyson, once the "baddest man on the planet", will appear in a TV show as a former boxer with startling similarities to the one played by Marlon Brando in 1954. Tyson's affection with pigeons, to be featured in a 6-part series on the Animal Planet channel, will call to mind Terry Malloy, the character that earned Brando an Oscar in On The Waterfront. Both found solace in the raising of birds on the rooftops of New Jersey. Like Brando's character, Tyson has long raised pigeons, starting when he grew up in a tough part of Brooklyn, New York. He now keeps his birds at another rooftop coop in New Jersey, next to the gym where he trained for fights. The heavyweight who infamously bit off part of Evander Holyfield's ear in a 1997 fight still spends hours at a time watching his birds, and says they have given him comfort during his turbulent life. He has owned up to 350 of them at a time. In the show, to be broadcast from March 6, Tyson will describe how he was bullied as a child and would miss school to be with his pigeons. He threw his first punch at the age of 10 when a bully killed one of his birds. "The reason for the fight was because the guy ripped the head off my pigeon," he said. "This was the first thing I ever loved in my life, the pigeon. "I don't know why, I feel ridiculous just trying to explain it. They're so much like people. "This ain't no hobby. I've been dedicated to pigeons, even when I have been fighting or getting locked up. What I love about the pigeon is their loyalty." Such is Tyson's interest that, during promotion for the program, he expounded to journalists about the role of pigeons in delivering news from the Battle of Waterloo onwards. His series, Taking on Tyson, will follow the former boxer as he fulfils a dream to race his pigeons competitively for the first time. Tyson, the former undisputed world champion, got rather further in his fight career than Malloy, a boxer who famously "coulda been a contender" but who was forced under pressure to take a dive. The television program has already been criticised by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the animal rights group. It claims that racing can be "dangerous and traumatic" for pigeons. Tyson, 44, was convicted of rape in 1992 and served three years in prison. He declared bankruptcy in 2003 and retired from professional boxing in 2006. His new show follows a highly successful cameo role in the 2009 comedy movie The Hangover.
Australian Boxing Legend And Poker Celeb Jeff Fenech Keen To See Tyson Down Under For Pigeon Race...
Fenech's been running an off and on campaign to see Tyson come down under, but they are yet to get a green light. The new version of Mike Tyson is a humble one who has clearly found god, and is more interested in love and pigeons than throwing punches.
We think The Great Betfair Pink Pigeon Race might do well to secure Mike Tyson, and maybe the likes of a James Packer and / or Network Ten / Network Nine push might help make it happen. Insiders tip that Tyson is very keen to attend the Pink Pigeon race in Australia next year, which would be its 4th showing to date.
Will all the craziness in the media, entertainment, sports and gaming world this January the Betfair pink pigeons almost got away on us for good, as actually occurred on the 5th of the month. We are now having to claw back!
Great Betfair Pink Pigeon Race Overview...
The Great Betfair Pink Pigeon Race in support of the McGrath Foundation is back!
Forget about the Sydney to Hobart, Melbourne Cup, Stawell Gift and Bathurst. This is Australia's new race that stops a nation. Held on Jane McGrath Day, (Wednesday 5 January 2011), coinciding with Day 3 of the iconic Sydney Test, twelve of Australia's top racing pigeons will take to the skies above Glenn McGrath Oval in Narromine and race across the NSW outback to the tiny wheat town of Trangie (The Trangie Pub!).
And you guessed it Betfair punters worldwide will be able to bet on the great race, with all the proceeds going to Cricket Australia's Cricket Cares partner, the McGrath Foundation.
About The Race
Why a pigeon race? Well pigeons, Betfair and cricket go hand in hand, that's why! And Chappelli (aka former Australian captain Ian Chappell), an ungainly 3-year-old Blue Bar is back to defend the Great Betfair Pink Pigeon Race title he won in 2010.
Australian media and gambling tycoon, is a 50% owner in Betfair.
About The Charity Events
Day 3 of the 5th Vodafone Ashes Test between Australia and England in Sydney has been renamed Jane McGrath Day, in memory of Jane McGrath (wife of Australian cricket legend Glenn McGrath), who passed away in 2008 from breast cancer. Betfair will make a sizeable donation to the McGrath Foundation with additional proceeds raised from revenue generated from The Great Betfair Pink Pigeon Race.
About The Foundation
The Jane McGrath Foundation was established in 2005 to raise awareness of breast cancer, with the main purpose of making sure every person diagnosed with breast cancer can have access to a McGrath Breast Care Nurse.
Media Man and Gambling911 wish Tyson and Betfair well in their pigeon endeavors, are are hopefully that one day... perhaps next year, these different birds of a feather may one day flock together!
Golden egg or Golden Goose? Chirp and peck at us in the nest... er, forum.
At the late, great, Graham Kennedy would say, FAAAAARK. Woops, different kind of bird. That's a crow.
*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media Man is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company
*No birds or animals were hurt in the compiling of this report!
