The first time I met and interviewed Mike Tyson, well, lets just say things did not go well. At all. How bad was it? The headline stretched across the front page of the USA Today sports section on my story said it all: Full-force Tyson: I hate everybody.I had wound up basically nose-to-nose with Tyson, who was yelling and cursing at me, his finger poking me in the chest, as our interview -- in the dark, dingy basement of a Detroit gym -- went south in a hurry.I wound up being physically escorted up the stairs and out of the gym by his security detail, who then shoved me into a limousine that drove me back to my hotel. It wasnt supposed to be like that.As bad as that day went, it was the only time I ever had a bad experience with Tyson. In the 16 years since, I have interviewed Tyson dozens of times and never had any issues whatsoever. In fact, most of the time Tyson has never been anything but great with me, either in person or on the telephone. Supposedly you never have a second chance to make a first impression, but in this case, that wasnt exactly true.So today, on the occasion of Tysons 50th birthday, I want to share what went down the first time I ever met Iron Mike.I began covering boxing for USA Today in March of 2000, so the first Tyson fight I wrote about took place in June against Lou Savarese. But I wasnt sent to Scotland to cover it in person, so I had not yet met Tyson when he signed to face Andrew Golota at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan, in October 2000.Weeks before that fight, I began laying the groundwork for an interview. The volatile Tyson didnt do many one-on-one interviews in those days, but I had developed a good relationship with Shelly Finkel, Tysons manager, and he promised he would get Tyson to sit down with me. They were, after all, trying to sell a Showtime PPV event with Golota, and the interview would serve as the basis for a sports cover story scheduled to run two days before the fight, which would give it much-needed publicity.I flew to Detroit on Monday of fight week -- the bout was scheduled for Friday night, which was unusual. I was supposed to interview Tyson at his hotel on Monday evening. I had no history with him, so I was a fresh face without the history of conflicts he had with so many other writers. In fact, I was informed that Tyson would not be doing any other print interviews before the fight. The idea was to conduct the interview in the peaceful setting of his hotel suite so that the nicer, calmer side of Tyson might come out.It was supposed to be me, Tyson, Finkel, trainer Tommy Brooks and Tysons publicist in the room. It turned out to be anything but what I had bargained for.I got a call from Finkel not long after arriving in Detroit and was told Tyson wasnt in the mood to do the interview that night, but he assured me we would do it over breakfast at his hotel Tuesday morning before the final news conference. That seemed reasonable and left me ample time to talk to Tyson and still make my late-afternoon deadline on Tuesday.But Tyson wasnt in the mood to do the interview Tuesday morning either. Finkel said Tyson would instead do it after the news conference. I was getting a little worried, but when Finkel introduced me to Tyson before the conference, the boxer was in a good mood and confirmed he would talk to me after the presser. But by the time the event ended, plans had changed. Again.Tyson decided he wanted to spar, which seemed odd given that this was only a few days before the fight. But Finkel said I could accompany them to the gym and interview Tyson there. I didnt ride with them, but a caravan of several cars took us from the presser to the Brewster Wheeler Center, a famed gym that opened in 1929 just north of downtown Detroit. Its where the great Joe Louis used to train.I was the only media member allowed in, and I was told the interview would take place after the sparring session; so much for that tranquil atmosphere.I sat at the ring apron and watched Tyson deliver a hellacious beating to sparring partner Jeff Pegues for four rounds. It was absolutely brutal. Tyson stormed out of the ring when they were done and headed for the basement to cool off and change -- and to, at last, do the interview with me.I followed Tyson and his crew to the basement, where Tyson and I sat knee-to-knee on metal folding chairs. Finkel, Brooks and the publicist all joined us, as did about 10 other guys from Tysons crew, including Zab Judah, who was defending his junior welterweight title on the undercard. They all sat behind me, creating an intimidating atmosphere reminiscent of a police interrogation scene in the movies -- there was even a naked light bulb hanging from the ceiling. The atmosphere could not have been worse, and I knew Tyson was in no mood to be questioned.But at least he was there for the interview, so I turned on the tape recorder. I still have the tape of that interview somewhere.I wanted to make Tyson feel comfortable, so I told him that I grew up near Albany, New York, not far from Catskill, where he spent his amateur and early pro days, and that I had followed his early career. That went over nicely and I thought, great, this just might go well.Not quite.The interview was a disaster. It wound up lasting maybe 15 minutes, and by the end, Tyson, still sweating from the sparring, was irate, spewing profanity and making threats.He promised to kill anyone who disrespected his family, spoke of his desire to crush Golotas skull and professed hatred for white people and the media, including going off on my ESPN colleague Wallace Matthews, who covered boxing for the New York Post at the time and had a long history with Tyson. The next day I played the tape for Matthews, who Tyson called a reptilian piece of s---.I hate everybody, Tyson said at one point.Later in the interview, Tyson said, You guys [in the media] dont got no love for me. You guys looked at my every mistake with a magnifying glass and then broadcast it to the world and then you made me a laughingstock in front of people I love, in front of my children. ... You think its a joke that Im angry at you guys? Its not going to be a joke when Im really angry and I confront one of yall. Hopefully youre not that person, brother. I thought to myself: Did Tyson just threaten me?He continued his diatribe, moving on to former promoter Don King, whom he had accused of stealing millions from him.Im an angry guy, Im bitter, Im mean because people I trusted all my life, they f----- me, Tyson said, wagging his finger. It wasnt the fact that they stole some money. I would have given it to them. But I saw what the money did to people, how it changed them. I lost everybody I ever cared and loved over money, my money. Everybody.Tyson paused to control his anger and then immediately changed course.Im sorry, he said. Im happy, Im just happy. The world is good, God is good.That attitude lasted about 10 seconds. Apparently I touched a nerve when I asked him about his infamous remarks after the Savarese fight, when he said he wanted to tear Lennox Lewis heart out and eat his children.His response: If anyone disrespects me or my family or my kids, I blow their f------ brains out. So thats the difference between me and them. You dont believe me? You do it.Another threat!Tyson was in such a lather at this point that he had leaned in close to me, almost nose-to-nose, and was pressing his finger into my chest. I was calm, but I knew we might be moments away from a really bad situation. Finkel and Brooks sensed that too, and they called off the interview. Tyson stood up and shoved the chair behind him. I got up, and before I could say anything, his security detail escorted me upstairs and into a limo outside the gym. A few minutes later, Finkel, Brooks and longtime Tyson cornerman and confidant Jay Bright got into the car. Finkel instructed the driver to take them to their hotel and then to drop me off at the one I was staying at with the other media.We didnt talk much about the interview on the ride. We all knew it had gone badly. After dropping the others off at their hotel, the limo driver got lost taking me to mine. I called my buddy Doug and said, Youll never guess where I am -- riding around Detroit in Mike Tysons limo after the worst interview of my life.I finally got back to my hotel, called the office to offer an update and then wrote as quickly as I could. The story was published the next day and two days later Tyson was credited with a third-round knockout when Golota quit in a fight later changed to a no decision because Tyson tested positive for marijuana.Five months later, I flew to Las Vegas to cover the heavyweight title rematch between John Ruiz and Evander Holyfield. A day or two before the fight, Showtime arranged to bring a handful of writers to Tysons Las Vegas mansion to sit down with him and discuss the possibility of him challenging the winner for the title. This would be the first time Tyson and I had seen each other since the gym basement in Detroit.While we waited for Tyson to come out of his room, we reporters mingled and had brunch. When Tyson finally appeared, he walked right over to me, gave me the once-over, tapped me lightly in the chest with the back of his hand and shrugged. The message came through loud and clear: He remembered me from the awful interview months earlier, there were no hard feelings, and everything was fine between us. We had a second chance to make a first impression on each other.Happy birthday, Mike. Vans Clearance Outlet Uk Vans Old Skool Shoes Sale Uk . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. http://www.cheapoldskooluk.com/ . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. Cheap Old Skool Uk . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Vans Old Skool For Sale Uk . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. MIAMI -- Barry Bonds missed the final three innings of Wednesdays game thanks to his first ejection as a hitting coach.He didnt miss any runs, though. Bonds Miami Marlins mustered only five hits and lost to the San Francisco Giants 1-0.Frustration by Miami peaked in the sixth inning, when Bonds was ejected for arguing after pinch hitter Chris Johnson was called out on strikes with two on to end the threat.He didnt think it was a strike, Johnson said. And I didnt think it was a strike.Bonds was in the dugout when plate umpire Cory Blaser gave him the thumb. Bonds then came onto the field to briefly argue further before being pulled away by manager Don Mattingly.Johnson also argued.Obviously Chris thinks its outside, Mattingly said. You cant tell in or out from the dugout; youre going off the players.Bonds knows his strike zone -- hes the career major league leader in walks (2,558), as well as home runs. And replays showed he and Johnson had a legitimate complaint.Thats baseball, Johnson said. Human error is part of the game.The first ejection was the first for Bonds since he returned to the majors this year with Miami.The Marlins didnt hit much with or without their hitting coach. Jeff Samardzija (10-8) pitched 5 2/3 innings to best his former Notre Dame teammate, David Phelps. Samardzija had lost his past three starts.Four relievers completed a five-hitter. Santiago Casilla pitched around a two-out double in the ninth by Ichiro Suzuki, striking out J.T. Realmuto to earn his 26th save.Suzuuki singled and doubled to increase his career hit total to 3,002.dddddddddddd Teammate Marcell Ozuna singled to end an 0-for-18 slump. But Miami bunched two hits in an inning only once -- in the second -- and Derek Dietrich was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double.We couldnt mount anything, Mattingly said.San Francisco won with six hits, and took a series for the first time since the All-Star break.Two days after Brandon Crawford battered the Marlins with an NL record-tying seven hits, he beat them with one swing. Crawford homered leading off the fourth against Phelps (5-6).Whoever said solo home runs dont beat you is a liar, Phelps said. I was telling myself not to walk him. Thats what happens when you do that. I threw a pitch in the middle of the plate and he timed it up.Phelps, making his second start of the season after moving from the bullpen into the rotation, pitched five innings.TRAINERS ROOMMarlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton, nursing a sore right hip, pinch-hit with two on in the fifth and flied out to end the inning. Mattingly said he hopes Stanton will be able to return to the starting lineup for the Marlins next game Friday.UP NEXTRHP Andrew Cashner (4-8, 4.96) is scheduled to start for the Marlins when they begin a three-game series Friday against the Chicago White Sox. It will be the first game for the White Sox in Miami since 2004. ' ' '