Ernie Banks

CHICAGO — Cubs legend Ernie Banks has died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, according to a Cubs source. “Mr. Cub” was 83 years old.

Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts released the following statement Friday night:

“Words cannot express how important Ernie Banks will always be to the Chicago Cubs, the city of Chicago and Major League Baseball. He was one of the greatest players of all time.  He was a pioneer in the major leagues. And and more importantly, he was the warmest and most sincere person I’ve ever known.  Approachable, ever optimistic and kind hearted, Ernie Banks is and always will be Mr. Cub. My family and I grieve the loss of such a great and good-hearted man, but we look forward to celebrating Ernie’s life in the days ahead.”

Banks began his professional baseball career at 19 when he signed a contract with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues. After two years in the army, Banks’ contract was sold by the Monarchs to the Cubs for $10,000.

Banks was the first African-American to play in a Cubs game, playing a handful of contests in 1953. Starting in 1954, he rarely left the Cubs lineup for 18 years. Banks rose to stardom in 1955 with a 44 home run season. He won the National League MVP in 1958 and 1959.

Despite Banks’ success, the Cubs continued to lose–until 1969. The Cubs became a contender that summer, only to collapse late in the season and miss out on the playoffs. Banks continued to put up numbers, hitting his 500th home run in 1970.

Banks retired following the 1971 season with 512 career home runs. He continued to serve as a Cubs coach, instructor and administrator. Banks was bestowed with the Presidental Medal of Honor at the White House in 2013. His number was the first retired by the Cubs and in 2008 the team unveiled a statue of Banks off the corner of Clark and Addison.

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Known for his fun-loving, positive attitude, "Mr. Cub" broke into Major League Baseball for the Cubs in 1953. Over the course of a 19-year career, all of which came with the Cubs, Banks would hit .274/.330/.500 with 407 doubles, 512 homers and 1636 RBI. He also racked up 2583 hits and 1305 runs.

The 12-time All-Star and two-time MVP led the NL in homers and RBI twice each and is still one of the best power-hitting shortstops in history -- though he did move to first base for the second portion of his career due to knee issues.

With Banks, though, the stats only tell a portion of the tale. His infectious personality won over the hearts of Cubs fans and opposing fans alike for years, despite him being stuck on so many bad Cubs teams. The Cubs' press release announcing his death specifically mentioned his "charm" and "wit."

"Let's play two," Ernie liked to say, suggesting a doubleheader was always better than just a single game in one day. How did it start? Well, he was quoted in the Houston Chronicle as having said the following in July of 1969:

"It was about 105 degrees in Chicago and that's a time when everybody gets tired. I came into the clubhouse and everybody was sitting around and I said, 'Beautiful day. Let's play two!' And everybody looked at me like I was crazy. There were a couple of writers around and they wrote that and it stayed with me."

In 1977, Banks was inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame in his first ballot, receiving 83.8 percent of the vote.

In 1984, the Cubs retired Banks' No. 14, the first time in the history of the franchise a number was retired.

Ray Nagel

Ray Nagel, who was the University of Hawaii athletic director during an era of great growth for the Rainbows and Wahine, died last Thursday in San Antonio of natural causes at age 87, according to close family friend Chris Dey of Honolulu.

Dey said Nagel had suffered from deteriorating health since 2013.

With Nagel at the helm, many of the Manoa programs either were or became regular winners. And, despite only joining the WAC in 1980, in many cases UH teams were regular residents of the upper tier of the conference standings, or headed there.

"He presided over a special time when UH was in the national conversation in baseball with Les (Murakami) and volleyball under Dave (Shoji) and the rest of us emerging programs," said Dick Tomey, whom Nagel hired to be the Rainbows football coach in 1977.

When Nagel became the UH athletic director in 1976, the football team was coming off back-to-back 6-5 seasons against hodgepodge schedules and the basketball team was under NCAA investigation.

When he left in 1983, UH had attained membership in the Western Athletic Conference.

Football was 23-10 the previous three seasons while often selling out Aloha Stadium and establishing itself as a regular WAC contender.

Basketball fashioned three winning seasons in a row after bottoming out at 1-26 in 1978 due largely to NCAA sanctions.

Baseball had reached the finals of the College World Series in 1980 and achieved national prominence.

The women's volleyball team had just won its third national championship, and was on its way to a fourth.

Nagel left the quarry a better place than it was when he got there.

"He was forward thinking," said Jim Donovan, who played football at UH when Nagel was AD and later held the job himself. "He really helped lead UH football into what many considered a great era. Most of my interactions with Ray came when I was on staff and he was no longer the AD. He was extremely professional and loved the university. He'd do anything he could do to help."

The hiring of Tomey — an assistant at Nagel's alma mater, UCLA — was perhaps his best move. Although Tomey's teams never won the WAC, the Rainbows built a large fan base in the late '70s and early '80s, and when Tomey left for Arizona in 1986 he did so as the program's winningest coach.

Johnson, Martinez, Smoltz, Biggio elected to Hall of Fame

NEW YORK -- Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz, a trio of star pitchers who dominated in an era of offense, were elected to baseball's Hall of Fame on Tuesday along with Craig Biggio, the first time since 1955 that writers selected four players in one year.

Johnson, Martinez and Smoltz easily earned induction on their first tries, and Biggio made it on his third attempt after falling two votes shy last year.

Steroids-tainted stars Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa remained far from election.

Johnson, a five-time Cy Young Award winner with 303 victories and 4,875 strikeouts, was selected on 534 of 549 ballots by veteran members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

"The Hall of Fame was never something that I surely ever thought about," said Johnson, who has been pursuing a photography career since his retirement.

The 97.3 percentage for the left-hander was the eighth-highest in the history of voting.

"I don't think people quite understand how difficult it is to be 6-foot-10 and be throwing a ball 60 feet, 6 inches away," Johnson said. "In order to do that, you have to be consistent with your release point and where you're landing and your arm slot and all that. For someone 6-1, 6-2, there's less body to keep under control, so it's a lot easier."

Martinez, a three-time Cy Young winner, appeared on 500 ballots (91.1 percent). Martinez was 219-100, struck out 3,154, led the major leagues in ERA five times, and in 2004 helped the Boston Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years.

Martinez also became the second player from the Dominican Republic elected to Cooperstown, joining Juan Marichal (1983).

"So many people in the Dominican Republic and so many people all over the world got to know me as a player but not as a person," Martinez said during an interview with MLB Network. "What I mean to the Dominican Republic -- it was a great honor to just have the opportunity to go on the first ballot."

Smoltz was picked on 455 ballots (82.9 percent) and will join former Atlanta teammates Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, who were inducted last summer along with Chicago White Soxslugger Frank Thomas. Smoltz, the 1996 NL Cy Young winner, was 213-155 with 154 saves, the only pitcher with 200 wins and 150 saves.

"I'm honored, I'm humbled, and when the phone call came I was, for the first time ever, speechless," Smoltz told MLB Network.

Smoltz also went 15-4 in the postseason, helping Atlanta reach the World Series five times and win a championship in 1995.

"The only thing I think that all of us regret a little bit is that we didn't execute enough to deliver enough championship rings, especially for our manager [Bobby Cox]," he said.

Biggio appeared on 454 ballots, 42 more than the 75 percent needed and up from 68.2 percent in his first appearance and 74.8 percent last year. He had 3,060 hits in 20 big league seasons, all with the Houston Astros.

"I haven't been this excited or antsy or nervous in any baseball game I've ever played," Biggio told MLB Network. "I was real anxious and very grateful and humble to be able to be elected into the Hall of Fame. ... I was so excited. I was crying, I ain't going to lie. I'm 49 years old -- I was an emotional mess when it happened. Then I asked them if it was a prank phone call."

The quartet will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 26. The BBWAA had not voted in four players in a single year since selecting Joe DiMaggio, Gabby Hartnett, Ted Lyons and Dazzy Vance 60 years earlier. Mike Piazza fell 28 votes short but increased his percentage to 69.9 from 57.8 in 2013 and 62.2 last year. Clemens received 37.5 percent and Bonds 36.8 percent. Clemens, the only seven-time Cy Young winner, started at 37.6 percent in 2013 and dropped to 35.4 last year; Bonds, the only seven-time MVP, began at 36.2 and fell to 34.7.

McGwire, in his ninth and next-to-last year of eligibility, received 10 percent, down from 11 last year and less than half his peak of 23.6 percent in 2008. Sosa was on 6.6 percent of the ballot, down from 12.5 in 2013 and 7.2 last year but above the 5 percent threshold for remaining on next year's list. Jeff Bagwell was at 55.7 percent, followed by Tim Raines at 55 percent and Curt Schilling at 39.2 percent. Other players included Lee Smith (30.2),Edgar Martinez (27), Alan Trammell (25.1) andMike Mussina (24.6).

Don Mattingly received 9.1 percent in his 15th and final appearance on the ballot. Under a change made by the Hall's board last summer, players' eligibility was cut from 15 years to 10, but the 11-15 group was grandfathered.

Gary Sheffield (11.7 percent) and Nomar Garciaparra (5.5) will remain on the ballot. Among the 17 first-time eligibles who will be dropped are Carlos Delgado (3.8 percent) and players' association head Tony Clark, who did not get any votes.

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Top Ten List

*** [7/27/15]

Pedro's Hall of Fame speech

Ah Chew Goo

Basketball was once his job, always his hobby and forever his passion.

To his final days last week, Ah Chew Goo tuned in. The former University of Hawaii men's hoops coach in the 1950s watched UH broadcasts religiously, offering up observations and critiques with a sharp mind that had not dulled with age.

On Friday afternoon, Goo died at the age of 96 soon after experiencing heart problems, his son Vince said.

"Actually, he was pretty healthy. Three months and one day shy of being 97," said Vince Goo, the former UH women's coach. "They got him to a hospital. They had him on a ventilator, but he was alive, just unconscious. So the family got to visit and it was really, really good."

While Ah Chew Goo's tenure as UH coach was relatively brief (1954-57), his hoops legacy has staying power in the islands, as seen in his induction in the first Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame class (1978) and the postseason awards bearing his name in both UH men's and women's hoops.

On the men's side, the Ah Chew Goo Most Inspirational Player award was handed out from the 1968-69 season through 2012-13. For the Rainbow Wahine, the annual Ah Chew Goo award is the program's most prestigious individual honor — bestowed on a player who attains "basketball excellence through dedication, determination and perseverance."

That description summed up Goo's youth. The Hilo High product stood just 5 feet 4 1/2 inches, but he was driven from his early years to build up his skill level. In empty gyms, he'd fire basketballs at marked spots on the wall for hours with either hand to improve his accuracy. It was said he would toss behind-the-back passes at round telephone poles and never have to go running down the street after the ball.

The self-taught talent helped Hilo to three straight territorial championships (the pre-statehood title equivalent) in the 1930s.

While he never played collegiately or professionally, Goo was renowned for wizardry with the basketball.

"He was a light guy, very quick. He was like a magician," said Jimmy Yagi, a former Goo player who would go on to become UH Hilo coach. "During clinics like that, he'd show some stuff that was incredible."

Build his skill he did, to the point of national renown.

He eventually became known as the "Mandarin Magician" for his repertoire of dribbling moves and nifty passes. He famously got into a game with the Harlem Globetrotters in his mid-30s and asked to try out a couple of tricks, and was rebuffed. The Globetrotters were using those tricks the next year, though.

Press Maravich, the father of NBA legend Pete Maravich, was said to have been taken with Goo's moves while stationed with the military in Hawaii and taught some to his son.

Goo would become the 11th coach in UH program history, going 31-46 over three years against a mix of club and collegiate competition. Al Saake, who preceded Goo as coach, took over again for six more years before giving way to another Hilo High product, Red Rocha.

By age 40, Goo had "retired" from hoops because of a stomach ailment, although he stayed involved with clinics while working as a representative with the L.G. Balfour company. He also worked as a boxing official knockdown timer.

"I kept in contact with him all these years through basketball," Yagi said. "He's the one who kept me in the game … He's always been a really nice mentor for me. Man, that's a big loss to have him go."

Even in his later years, Goo was the life of any party.

"He was really a funny guy. He was a rascal," Yagi said. "Just keeping everybody kind of light. He's always been fun."

Goo's legacy includes his three sons' contributions to UH basketball.

Vince Goo was inspired by his father to coach. He'd go on to win 334 games, the most in Wahine hoops history. The whole way, he'd call Ah Chew after games for critiques.

"I would call him (next) morning when we won. And when we lost I'd wait a couple days," Vince said with a chuckle.

[1/28/15] Bob Hogue on Ah Chew Goo

Roy Tarpley

DALLAS (AP) -- Roy Tarpley, the former Dallas Mavericks star center whose NBA career was cut short by drug abuse, died Friday. He was 50.

According to a Tarrant County medical examiner's report, Tarpley died at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital in Arlington, near Dallas. No cause of death was given in the online report.

"If Roy had stayed healthy, he could have been one of the top-50 players ever," Brad Davis, the Mavericks' radio analyst and player-development coach who played with Tarpley, told The Dallas Morning News. "He could do it all -- shoot, score, rebound, pass and defend. We're all sorry to hear of his passing."

The 7-foot Tarpley was the seventh overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft out of Michigan. He played for the Mavericks until October 1991, when he was kicked out of the NBA for using cocaine.

Norm Sonju was the Mavericks' chief executive when he drafted Tarpley. He remembers Tarpley as "likable. He was witty. He was funny."

"It's sad. What breaks your heart is he was just 50 years old," Sonju told The Associated Press. "He potentially could have been just an incredible player."

Stuart Scott

BRISTOL, Conn. >> Stuart Scott, the longtime "SportsCenter" anchor and ESPN personality known for his known for his enthusiasm and ubiquity, has died at age 49.

The network says Scott died Sunday and had fought cancer since a diagnosis in late 2007, remaining dedicated to his craft even as he underwent chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.

ESPN president John Skipper says Scott was "a true friend and a uniquely inspirational figure" and that his "energetic and unwavering devotion to his family and to his work while fighting the battle of his life left us in awe, and he leaves a void that can never be replaced."

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Born in Chicago, Scott attended high school in North Carolina. After graduating from the University of North Carolina in 1987, Scott worked at three TV stations in the southern U.S. before joining ESPN for the 1993 launch of its ESPN2 network, hosting short sports update segments.

He often anchored the 11 p.m. ''SportsCenter,'' where he would punctuate emphatic highlights with ''Boo-ya!'' or note a slick move as being ''as cool as the other side of the pillow.''

Scott went on to cover countless major events for the network, including the Super Bowl, NBA finals, World Series and NCAA Tournament. He also interviewed President Barack Obama, joining him for a televised game of one-on-one. In 2001, Scott returned to Chapel Hill as the university's commencement speaker.

Scott was first diagnosed with cancer in November 2007 after he had to leave the ''Monday Night Football'' game between Miami and Pittsburgh to have his appendix removed. Doctors discovered a tumor during surgery. He underwent chemotherapy again in 2011.

Scott made a point of continuing to live his life -- at work and outside of it.

''Who engages in mixed martial arts training in the midst of chemotherapy treatments?'' Skipper said in ESPN's statement. ''Who leaves a hospital procedure to return to the set?''

Scott is survived by his parents, O. Ray and Jacqueline Scott; siblings Stephen Scott, Synthia Kearney and Susan Scott; his daughters Taelor, 19, and Sydni, 15; and girlfriend Kristin Spodobalski.
As he accepted the award named for former N.C. State coach Jim Valvano, who died of cancer in 1993, Scott noted: ''When you die, that does not mean that you lose to cancer.

''You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live,'' Scott said. ''So live. Live. Fight like hell.''

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Rich Eisen's tribute

College Football Playoffs

First the preliminaries
no. 6 TCU routs no. 9 Mississippi 42-3
no. 12 Georgia Tech outscores no. 7 Mississippi 49-34
no. 8 Michigan State comes back to beat no. 5 Baylor 42-41

no. 2 Oregon stops no. 3 Florida State 59-20, ending the defending national champions 29 game win streak.
no. 4 Ohio State upsets no. 1 Alabama 42-35.

January 12, 2014
Ohio State overcomes for Oregon 42-20, Ezekiel Elliott 246 yards with 4 TDs