With his brief career in the NFL over, Bob Sapp was broke, unemployed and so depressed he draped black towels and sheets over his windows.
He had been a third-round college draft pick for the Chicago Bears but never made the team, and was only briefly an offensive lineman with the Minnesota Vikings before being suspended for using steroids, which he calls a "bum rap."
"I must have been like that for four, five months," he said. "That was my depression mode. It was a rough state."
Then he got another chance -- this time it was a karate master who invited Sapp to become a prizefighter in Japan.
Three years later, Sapp is known to his legions of Japanese fans as "The Beast," an almost invincible headliner for the popular, brutal sport of K-1, which combines karate, tae kwon do and kickboxing. At 193cm tall and 170kg, it's a role that fits him well.
"Oh, man, it's crazy," Sapp said. "And it's so hard to explain. A regular celebrity would hope to just get half this phenomenon."
Charismatic and willing to clown for the cameras, Sapp, 29, is one of the best-known Americans in Japan.
He has signed on as the "ambassador" for Northwest Airlines and the NFL's Japan office. He is almost a regular feature on Japanese TV, appearing in commercials promoting everything from DVD players to fabric softener. His tongue-in-cheek debut CD, Sapp Time, has sold more than 100,000 copies since March.
When asked about reports he'll make US$3 million this year, most of it outside the ring, he replied: "That's the worst case scenario."
Sapp trained for just six months before making his Japan debut last April, when he beat his opponent by TKO in the first round. In December, some 74,000 fans packed the Tokyo Dome and another 10 million watched on TV as he pulverized four-time world champion Ernesto Hoost of the Netherlands.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS