AaronGleeman.com

I'd almost be willing to forgive Kevin McHale's many sins as general manager of the Timberwolves if only he'd at least sign Shirley to the same type of long-term deal that he's handed out to guys like Troy Hudson and Mark Madsen.

I'm not surprised that a world-class boxer would think that, but I'd be willing to bet a large sum of money that he's very wrong. Because they're both combat sports, it's natural to compare boxing and MMA fighting. However, the reality is that they're very different. Mayweather no doubt feels like he has to stick up for his sport, but there's no more reason for him to do that than for Johan Santana to say that any great pitcher could be the best quarterback in the NFL.

Both sports involve throwing a ball and require many of the same skills, but greatness in one is not dependent upon greatness in the other. The same applies to boxing and MMA fighting. Just as Santana would likely be a terrible NFL quarterback and Peyton Manning would likely be a terrible MLB pitcher, Fedor Emelianko and Chuck Liddell likely aren't capable of being great boxers. On the other hand, world-class boxers like Mayweather would likely get demolished in top-level MMA competition.

All of which isn't to say that I'd pass up the chance to see someone like Mayweather put his money where his mouth is against a world-class MMA fighter, because I'd gladly shell out $50 to see that on pay-per-view. I doubt something like that will happen any time soon, but with MMA fighting's popularity rapidly growing at the expense of boxing, I wouldn't be surprised to see a showdown of the two sports at some point.

If that ever happens and the fight takes place under MMA rules, it might be the tipping point for MMA fighting as a mainstream sport and the final nail in boxing's coffin. Whether or not it's a fair comparison, seeing an elite boxer get taken down and submitted would be an eye-opener for hardcore boxing fans who aren't yet familiar with MMA fighting or don't consider it as legitimate a sport. Assuming it's a matchup between an elite boxer and an elite MMA fighter, I'll take the guy who "can't handle boxing."

UPDATE: One of my bosses sent along this still picture from the video to entice you to watch it:

I fear there may be some confusion about the meaning of "entice."

Hunter makes approximately $75,000 per game and some quick-and-dirty work on Google suggests that 25 bottles of Dom Perignon would cost him something in the ballpark of $5,000, depending on the year. So yeah, Mike Sweeney probably has a point, although the idea surely sounded a lot more worthwhile to Hunter before the Twins were swept out of the playoffs.

The league is filled with a bunch of friendly AG.com readers who fill the message board with daily chatter, but it's also extremely competitive. Because of that, any new owners would have to convince me that they're capable of devoting a decent chunk of time to maintaining their team on a near-daily basis. If you're interested in claiming a spot and aren't worried about real-life responsibilities getting in the way of managing a fake baseball team, drop me an e-mail.