Back in the ’90s, I lived in an apartment off Sunset Boulevard, where I had quite the assortment of neighbors, including Ellen “Grandma Walton” Corby, Lemmy Kilmister from Motörhead, and a struggling actor named Oscar Nuñez. Oscar was a performer at the Groundlings sketch comedy school, and I’d go see him perform.

On the 1981 Halloween episode of Saturday Night Live, an extraordinary musical and sociological event happened: The punk band FEAR performed, and it was shocking for anyone who saw it live, and the footage would get buried by NBC executives for decades. “They look very frightening,” said the SNL host, English actor Donald Pleasence, “but they’re really nice people … ladies and gentlemen, FEAR.”.

Friday, March 24th marked the first ever live boxing event at the Fillmore in Fishtown with six exciting professional bouts. In the main event, Northeast Philly’s “The New” Ray Robinson (23-2 12 KO) defeated tough Brazilian welterweight Claudinei Lacerda (18-17-1) by TKO at 2:30 in the 7th round of the scheduled 8 round bout.

Last week, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced that Lightweight Champion and Kensington-native Eddie Alvarez (28-4) will defend his belt at UFC 205 against Irish megastar “Notorious” Conor McGregor (20-3) in Madison Square Garden on Saturday November 12 at 10PM. A battle of champions, the historic superfight will be the first title defense for Alvarez and pits him against the reigning featherweight champion McGregor.

Opinion References to Wawa, Yuengling, Tastykakes and the Mummers can't save this new Peacock crime series from being a slogfest. Get a compelling long read and must-have lifestyle tips in your inbox every Sunday morning — great with coffee! “I grew up he

Friday night, two local fighters shone at the Victory Boxing Promotions’ PHILLY STRONG event at the 2300 Arena in South Philly. In the main event, Jaron “Boots” Ennis defeated James “Shotgun” Winchester of North Carolina by unanimous decision in a six-round welterweight clash. Appropriate to his nickname, Shotgun (20-13, 8 KO) came out blasting with a straight-ahead frontal attack that Ennis had little trouble picking apart throughout all six rounds.

The neighborhood known for its fighting spirit is welcoming a new boxing gym this week. The K&A Boxing Club is located across from McPherson Square at the corner of F & Potter Streets, the site of the former Kendrick Nightclub, which also served as an Evangelical Church in recent years. Head trainer, Navy veteran, and Edison grad Timmy Sinese had planned to open the gym last fall, but those plans came to a grinding halt due to Covid and the resulting shutdowns.

The cold weeks between New Year’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day have traditionally been a slow and painful period for Philly’s downtown Irish bars, but one group of diehard soccer fans have been throwing an annual event to keep warm, sing a few songs, raise money for charity and have a good time doing it.

So much of what proponents of opening a Safe Injection Site in Philadelphia say simply isn’t true: crime does not go down in the areas around the existing sites. The number of overdose deaths does not go down in the cities that have Safe Injection Sites. More people do not enter treatment after using a Safe Injection Site than otherwise.

Morrell Park native Tim McCloskey’s photo titled Stay Down! won “2017 Photo of the Year” honors at the recent 11th Annual Briscoe Awards. Morrell Park native Tim McCloskey’s photo titled Stay Down! won “2017 Photo of the Year” honors at the recent 11th Annual Briscoe Awards. McCloskey’s winning shot depicted rising welterweight star Jaron Ennis waiting in a neutral corner while referee Blair Talmadge counts out a fallen George Sosa, in a bout that took place at South Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena on Dec. 1, 2017.

Belfast brawler Carl “The Jackal” Frampton will make his return to the boxing ring on August 10 at Temple University’s Liacouras Center after an eight month layoff. The night will mark the second big Irish boxing event at the arena this year and is being promoted by Top Rank Promotions and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

Hundreds of people braved the humidity and eventual downpour to attend the DSG store’s grand opening on Saturday. The line to get in wound through the parking lot, but moved quickly with DJ Redz providing the music and Danny’s father, Angel, providing free hot dogs, hamburgers and cold sodas to those in attendance.

In a scheduled four round bout at the sold out 2300 Arena in South Philly, Kensington southpaw Tyhler Williams (5-0, 4 KO) scored a decisive victory over Sunbury, PA’s Jordan Morales last Saturday night on the undercard of a Jeter Promotions event. The hard-hitting Williams was too much for Morales, as the ref called the fight at 2:02 in the 2nd round after two strong knock downs by body blows, and a flurry of punches left Morales wobbly.

Irish boxer Katie Taylor is coming to Philly to add another strap to her collection. The Bray Brawler, who first rose to prominence by winning the gold medal at the London Olympics, is on a collision course with world domination. Rated the best pound-for-pound woman boxer in the world, Taylor (12-0 with five knockouts) kicks off Saint Patrick’s Day weekend in Philly in a star-studded boxing card at the Liacouras Center at Temple University on March 15.

A young County Tyrone man is in stable condition after being struck by a car on York Road in Jenkintown, PA late on Saturday, August 26. Aaron Elliott, of Clonoe, was on his way to Buckets Tavern on West Avenue to watch the Mayweather-McGregor boxing match when the accident occurred. The 22-year-old was found unconscious in the street.

The biggest Irish boxing event in Philadelphia history will take place on St. Patrick’s Day weekend at Temple University’s Liacouras Center. Led by British promoter of the year Eddie Hearn, Irish boxing stars Jono Carroll and Katie Taylor will co-headline each fight for world titles; and undefeated former Olympian John Joe Nevin will showcase on the undercard.