To slightly misquote ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr., it's still showtime for boxing fans at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino, even with a summer of changes in the hotel's mixed martial arts division.

As always, veteran SoCal trainer and promoter Dan Goosen is thinking big.

Goosen is one of the founders of Goosen Tutor Promotions, which promotes boxing shows on the West Coast, from the tiny Tachi bingo hall to big arenas like the Staples Center in Los Angeles and San Jose's HP Pavilion, aka the Shark Tank.

"We're more than committed. I believe everything is here to make this a great place for boxing. We've got great people to work with," he said.

"One of the things we have the opportunity to do is bring in some really good fighter and some of the younger kids," he continued.

That was on display Thursday, with the Edison Miranda's quick-but-entertaining dispatch of Francisco Sierra in the first round of a scheduled 12-round NABO super middleweight fight, as well as a 10-round win by decision for Palace staple Manuel Quezada to defend his WBC Caribbean heavyweight championship, over Nicolai Firtha.

Part of the future of boxing at the Palace definitely includes Shawn Estrada, the 2008 U.S. Olympian who is fighting as a middleweight in the Goosen Tutor stable.

Estrada lived in Hanford in his grade school days before moving to East Los Angeles for more competition. He calls both Hanford and Los Angeles home.

Estrada has been out of the ring since May 16, when he won in Oakland on a card featuring Andre Ward, a long-time Palace favorite.

Goosen said Estrada's been sidelined with injuries, but should be back in action late next month.

"I believe Shawn's going to be a good one," Goosen said. "When was the last time we had a fighter in the Olympics from around here?"

Now, that's something to ponder as we move on to more thoughts worthy of dessert on a Tuesday afternoon/evening as we await the return of "Friday Night Lights" to the DirecTV lineup on Thursday (and for those of you not satellited, we'll leave plenty of spoiler space):

• Former Lemoore High state wrestling champ and Oklahoma State standout Chris Peterson won the 185 lb. division in the men's freestyle division at the Sunkist Kids International Open in Phoenix Saturday.

Pendleton, who lives in Stillwater, Okla., defeated 2008 Olympian Ben Askren, from the University of Missouri, for the gold medal.

Pendleton was named the meet's outstanding freestyle wrestler.

• Apparently, this space's effort at song last week weren't enough to inspire the Dodgers and Angels, but that could be a blessing in disguise. After all, the last time two teams from the same metropolitan area in this state met - the Giants and A's in 1989 - it was literally earthshattering.

A theme for the World Series, aside from the Phillies seeking to avenge the 1950 Whiz Kids? "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" Because a nice scattering of white stuff may very well be the only thing that shows baseball that kowtowing to Fox is just another cash grab at the expense of the fans and potential fans.

Let's hope this year's Series gets wrapped up quickly, since with a New York team involved, there's always the danger of delaying the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

Richard de Give is The Sentinel's sports editor. He can be reached at 583-2430 or rdegive@HanfordSentinel.com.

(Oct. 27, 2009)