RAY SWANSON | KEYSTONER Holyfield's header may put him back in picture

It looks as if 39-year-old Evander Holyfield may have extended his ring career following his recent victory over Hasim Rahman.
Holyfield, at times appearing like the ring warrior he had been in his prime, stopped Rahman via a technical decision in the eighth round after a head butt in the fourth round proved to be Rahman's demise.
This is not a normal swelling of a head butt, but a grotesque bump that protruded out of the top left side of Rahman's forehead. It appeared to be the size of a soup can, however, the Associated Press was quoted as saying it resembled a baseball.
And to think that Rahman only several months ago owned the world's heavyweight championship after knocking out Lennox Lewis with a thundering one-punch blow to the head. Lewis, however, avenged that defeat by knocking out Rahman and regaining his world title.
Maybe now Holyfield is back in the picture since Lewis stopped Mike Tyson last weekend in Memphis. Lewis gave Tyson a boxing lesson and then stopped him in the eighth round.
In the Rahman/Holyfield bout, Rahman was the favorite, but as the fight progressed it was evident that Holyfield was the man to beat. He showed no fear from a man who was 10 years younger and was supposedly much stronger.
If anyone was rooting for Lewis to put Tyson away, it had to be Holyfield. You remember what happened in a previous Holyfield/Tyson slugfest when Evander lost a piece of his ear.
Rahman was quoted as saying that he would retire if he didn't beat Holyfield. We'll see.
Few believed that Rahman was a true champion anyway and that his one-punch victory over Lewis was a fluke. Know what, though? His name will be recorded in the ring record books as a world champ. You can't knock that.
Lane Mending
Remember Mills Lane, the 64-year-old former district attorney and county judge who starred in a nationally syndicated TV show entitled "Judge Mills Lane" for about three years?
Lane was a boxing referee and he worked some of the greatest fights of all time, including some of Youngstown's Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini. And while on the subject of Holyfield, he worked the heavyweight title bout when Tyson bit off a piece of Evander's ear. He disqualified Tyson.
Well, Mills recently suffered a serious stroke, one that resulted in mild weakness to the right side of his body and was to undergo speech therapy in New York City. He was reportedly doing well and on the mend. Best of luck, Mills, and a speedy recovery.
Tremendous efforts
Hats off to a pair of young ladies who reached back for that little bit extra and came up with some eye-popping athletic efforts recently.
Serene Ross, a former Wilmington High School state champion in the javelin now at Purdue University, and Rachelle Gill, a senior pitcher with the West Middlesex High School softball team, are the two competitors we're addressing.
Ross, competing in the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Baton Rouge, La., in May, won the national championship in the javelin competition with a heave of 195 feet, eight inches -- nearly eight feet better than her previous best.
In Baton Rouge, her heave also set an American record. Her mark bettered the previous record set by Lynda Blutreich of 192-3 in 2000.
Gill had an outstanding season for the Reds as she cranked out three no-hitters. Her third gem was a 4-0 win over Hickory. At that point in the season she was 14-1 with an earned run average of 0.30.