Tuesday, June 14, 2016  (Flag Day)

Current Weather:

Humidity rushed into the area in a BIG way late this morning.  Dew points jumped from the mid 50’s to near 70 degrees in three hours!  That has set the stage for some classic popup “hit ‘n’ miss” showers and thunderstorms.  So, far they are mostly west of I-65 but they should advance slowly eastward later this afternoon.  They are moving very slowly – about 10 mph, so if you get caught under one, watch out for some heavy rain in a short time.  As with most so-called “popups” they form quickly then rain themselves out in about an hour.

Looks like a smaller chance for thunderstorms tomorrow, but if any arrive they should be stronger than today’s.

Muhammad Ali:

With the recent death of The Champ and all the television coverage celebrating the international life of our home town hero, the story of the beginning trail of the future “Greatest” was repeated many times.  The story of the stolen bike which began the Joe Martin connection which  led to the boxing ring and future greatness is well known.  WAVE’s tv boxing show for young boxers, “Tomorrow’s Champions”, turned out to be well-named because of some appearances by a young Cassius Clay.  That story is also well known.  But apparently not all of it.

When I arrived at WAVE in 1969, the most popular story included additional details that I didn’t hear anyone relate last week.  So, as the late Paul Harvey would have said, “Here’s the rest of the story…”  Apparently, on Cassius’s first appearance on “Tomorrow’s Champions,” it came time for his match.  But, he was nowhere in sight.  Not in the studio, not in the halls, not in the rest rooms.  Finally WAVE’s legendary Ed Kallay found him in a broom closet…hiding and fighting back tears!  STAGE FRIGHT.  Ed cheered him (as he did countless children over the years),  and got him into the ring.  As they say, the rest is history.

Ali 2:

(Continued later)