STAMFORD, Conn. >> World Wrestling Entertainment says the former star wrestler and manager Harry Fujiwara, better known as Mr. Fuji, has
died at age 82.
Fujiwara, a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, started his professional career in 1965 in his native Hawaii. After years of touring several territories, he made his way to Vince McMahon Sr.’s World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1972. Over the next four decades, Fujiwara established himself as a tag-team specialist and one of the most decorated managers of his or any other era. In total, Fujiwara accumulated five WWF Tag Team Championship reigns; three with Professor Toru Tanaka and two with Masa Saito. Fujiwara also managed several legendary figures in professional wrestling.
Fujiwara got his start in pro wrestling in 1965; although his character was billed as hailing from Osaka, Fujiwara was actually a Japanese-American born in Hawaii, where he debuted under the name Mr. Fujiwara in the National Wrestling Alliance. In 1966, Fujiwara won his first tag-team championship with partner King Curtis Iaukea. By that point, the wrestler had shortened his moniker to Mr. Fuji.
In 1972, Fujiwara made his first appearance in Vince McMahon Sr.’s World Wide Wrestling Federation. Fujiwara came on as a heel, claiming the World Tag Team Championship with his partner Professor Toru Tanaka and manager The Grand Wizard. Fujiwara defended that title against legends like Bruno Sammartino before leaving the WWWF for Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1974.
Fujiwara returned to the WWWF in 1977, before returning to the NWA territories where he got his start. The wrestler made his second return to McMahon’s company—now known as the World Wrestling Federation—in 1981.
Fujiwara experienced his greatest success in the WWF, first as he and Mr. Satio—under the management styling’s of Captain Lou Albano—claimed the Tag Team Championship in 1981. During his run wrestling in the WWF, he feuded with Rick Martel and tag team The Wild Samoans. Fujiwara retired from wrestling in 1985, but remained with the WWF as a manager of his fellow heels.
Fujiwara starred as a tag team champion in the ring before shifting into
a bad guy manager role in the 1980s. “Magnificent” Don Muraco, Yokozuna
and George “The Animal” Steele were among those he managed. He was
known for his trademark tactic of throwing salt into the eyes of
opponents.
In 1985, Fujiwara adopted his signature look of a black tuxedo, bowler, and cane, creating a character that resembled between Oddjob and Charlie Chan. Known as “the devious one,” Fujiwara would frequently cheat when the referee wasn’t looking by throwing salt in his opponent’s eyes, blinding them and making them easy to pin down.
While a manager, Fujiwara took the reins on the some of the WWF’s best bad guys, including George “The Animal Steel,” Don Muraco, and the tag team Demolition. Demolition eventually turned face and abandoned Mr. Fuji, who in turn took over management duties on Ax and Smash’s rivals, The Powers Of Pain. Fujiwara also led the mammoth Yokozuna—a sumo character—to his two world heavyweight titles. In a recent tribute to Fujiwara, announcer Mean Gene Okerlund described Fujiwara’s management style as “one of a kind.”
While known as a sinister character in and around the ring, Fujiwara revealed his dry sense of humor on Tuesday Night Titans, a WWF-produced parody of late-night talk shows. Fujiwara was a regular guest on the show, and appeared in TV parodies such as Fuji General and Fuji Vice. “Mr.Fuji was the first man to ever rib me, and taught me the beginnings of the Art of Ribbing,” wrestling manager and 2011 WWE Hall of Fame inductee Tamra “Sunny” Sytch writes in a Facebook tribute to Fujiwara quoted by Inquisitr.
By 1996, Fujiwara had turned face, and retired from the business shortly thereafter. Fujiwara went on to run a dojo out of Knoxville, Tennessee until 2001, and was a part-time movie usher in his spare time. He was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame on March 31, 2007 by former wrestler and fellow Hawaiian Don Muraco.
“Fuji spent more than 30 years entertaining fans worldwide as both an in-ring competitor and one of WWE’s greatest managers,” the WWE says in a statement. “With Muraco, Fuji treated WWE fans to the classic Fuji Vice, Fuji General, Fuji Bandito and Fuji Chan series. These series were ahead of their time because spoofing successful television shows as they tried to break into Hollywood was the epitome of sports-entertainment. His career will be remembered by different generations for different reasons, but Mr. Fuji, whether as a Superstar or manager, is one of the most entertaining performers in the history of WWE.”
Monday, August 29, 2016
Sunday, August 07, 2016
Alex Rodriguez to retire
Three-time American League MVP and 14-time All-Star Alex Rodriguez is
set to play his final game on Aug. 12, the Yankees announced on Sunday
prior to a press conference at Yankee Stadium.
Rodriguez will be unconditionally released from his player contract after the game and join the Yankees as a special adviser and instructor, ending a 22-year MLB career. That adviser-instructor deal will last until Dec. 31, 2017, the Yankees announced.
"This is a tough day," an emotional Rodriguez said. "I love this game and I love this team, and today I'm saying goodbye to both."
Rodriguez's 696 career home runs is fourth-all time, behind only Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth.
Rodriguez's announcement on Sunday came just two days after teammate Mark Teixeira announced he would retire at the end of the 2016 season.
"Saying 'Goodbye' may be the hardest part of the job, but that's what I'm doing today," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez, who turned 41 on July 27, has hit .204 with nine home runs in 62 games this season. Since July 16, Rodriguez is 2-for-26 with one home run. The down year comes after a strong 2015 in which he hit 33 home runs.
The first overall pick by the Mariners in the 1993 draft, Rodriguez made his MLB debut the next season. A perennial All-Star at the shortstop position, Rodriguez signed a 10-year, $252 million contract with the Rangers prior to the 2001 season. But the team, mired at the bottom of the AL West, traded Rodriguez to the Yankees in a blockbuster deal before the 2004 season.
To accommodate incumbent Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, Rodriguez switched to third base upon his arrival in New York. After his MVP 2007 season with the Yankees, Rodriguez opted out of his original contract and signed a new 10-year, $275 million contract with multiple bonus clauses. Both his original Texas contract and the 2007 Yankees deal were, at the time of their signing, the biggest contracts ever signed by an MLB player.
Rodriguez will be unconditionally released from his player contract after the game and join the Yankees as a special adviser and instructor, ending a 22-year MLB career. That adviser-instructor deal will last until Dec. 31, 2017, the Yankees announced.
"This is a tough day," an emotional Rodriguez said. "I love this game and I love this team, and today I'm saying goodbye to both."
Rodriguez's 696 career home runs is fourth-all time, behind only Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth.
Rodriguez's announcement on Sunday came just two days after teammate Mark Teixeira announced he would retire at the end of the 2016 season.
"Saying 'Goodbye' may be the hardest part of the job, but that's what I'm doing today," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez, who turned 41 on July 27, has hit .204 with nine home runs in 62 games this season. Since July 16, Rodriguez is 2-for-26 with one home run. The down year comes after a strong 2015 in which he hit 33 home runs.
The first overall pick by the Mariners in the 1993 draft, Rodriguez made his MLB debut the next season. A perennial All-Star at the shortstop position, Rodriguez signed a 10-year, $252 million contract with the Rangers prior to the 2001 season. But the team, mired at the bottom of the AL West, traded Rodriguez to the Yankees in a blockbuster deal before the 2004 season.
To accommodate incumbent Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, Rodriguez switched to third base upon his arrival in New York. After his MVP 2007 season with the Yankees, Rodriguez opted out of his original contract and signed a new 10-year, $275 million contract with multiple bonus clauses. Both his original Texas contract and the 2007 Yankees deal were, at the time of their signing, the biggest contracts ever signed by an MLB player.
Monday, July 25, 2016
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Mark Takai, the Rainbow
When it was briefly decreed that “Warriors” would thereafter be the University of Hawaii’s sole athletic nickname, striking the word “Rainbow,” K. Mark Takai flew into action to help force reconsideration.
When there was talk of cutting some UH sports due to mounting deficits, the then-state representative proposed a one-time fund to match public donations with state money.
Why, U. S. Rep. Takai was asked, did he expend so much effort and energy on UH causes when, as a legislator, he had any number of issues to deal with?
The answer always came back to what he took to be a heart-felt and long-standing debt. Receiving a swimming scholarship to UH, Takai maintained, opened so many doors for him that he felt honor-bound to pay it back whenever he could.
Takai, who died Wednesday at the too-young age of 49 following a nine-month bout with pancreatic cancer, was as relentless on UH’s behalf in public service as he had been in the pool.
A four-year member of the Rainbows’ swim team, he went on to earn two degrees from UH where he also served as ASUH President and an editor of the campus paper, Ka Leo. Later he would be an officer in the Letterwinner’s Club, serve on the Athletic Advisory Board and Alumni Association.
“UH was — and will always be — a big part of my life,” Takai often said, proudly introducing himself as, “a Rainbow through and through.”
It was easy for people who hadn’t known him to write off Takai’s zeal for UH issues as the case of just another politician trying to grab some face time in the spotlight. But Takai’s interest was both earnest and early on.
Jan Prins, one of his UH coaches, said in an email, “What I recall most with Mark as a team member was his persistence in looking for ways to work with the athletic department to better assist the swim team … always a challenge given the ‘second tier’ attention that is part of the lot of a ‘non-revenue’ sport.”
Prins wrote, “There were times when his tenacity prompted more than one call to me from (athletic director) Stan Sheriff, wondering why ‘this freshman’ was so intent on doing whatever he can to get more attention paid to the swim team.”
In time Sheriff would become a good friend and mentor, even calling upon Takai, after graduation, to help the department and ASUH mediate contentious issues over student seating and ticket prices.
Sheriff, as was the case with many who dealt with Takai in the early UH days, saw someone destined for something special.
When there was talk of cutting some UH sports due to mounting deficits, the then-state representative proposed a one-time fund to match public donations with state money.
Why, U. S. Rep. Takai was asked, did he expend so much effort and energy on UH causes when, as a legislator, he had any number of issues to deal with?
The answer always came back to what he took to be a heart-felt and long-standing debt. Receiving a swimming scholarship to UH, Takai maintained, opened so many doors for him that he felt honor-bound to pay it back whenever he could.
Takai, who died Wednesday at the too-young age of 49 following a nine-month bout with pancreatic cancer, was as relentless on UH’s behalf in public service as he had been in the pool.
A four-year member of the Rainbows’ swim team, he went on to earn two degrees from UH where he also served as ASUH President and an editor of the campus paper, Ka Leo. Later he would be an officer in the Letterwinner’s Club, serve on the Athletic Advisory Board and Alumni Association.
“UH was — and will always be — a big part of my life,” Takai often said, proudly introducing himself as, “a Rainbow through and through.”
It was easy for people who hadn’t known him to write off Takai’s zeal for UH issues as the case of just another politician trying to grab some face time in the spotlight. But Takai’s interest was both earnest and early on.
Jan Prins, one of his UH coaches, said in an email, “What I recall most with Mark as a team member was his persistence in looking for ways to work with the athletic department to better assist the swim team … always a challenge given the ‘second tier’ attention that is part of the lot of a ‘non-revenue’ sport.”
Prins wrote, “There were times when his tenacity prompted more than one call to me from (athletic director) Stan Sheriff, wondering why ‘this freshman’ was so intent on doing whatever he can to get more attention paid to the swim team.”
In time Sheriff would become a good friend and mentor, even calling upon Takai, after graduation, to help the department and ASUH mediate contentious issues over student seating and ticket prices.
Sheriff, as was the case with many who dealt with Takai in the early UH days, saw someone destined for something special.
Monday, July 11, 2016
Saturday, July 09, 2016
Friday, July 01, 2016
Coastal Carolina wins World Series
OMAHA, Neb. >> Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore often said he just wanted his team to reach the College World Series.
Until this week, he never imagined the Chanticleers would do so much more: They’re heading back to Conway, S.C., with the school’s first national championship in any sport.
The Chanticleers defeated Arizona 4-3 in the deciding Game 3 of the College World Series final on Thursday, capitalizing on two errors on the same play to score four unearned runs in the sixth inning of a game delayed a day by bad weather.
It was worth the wait.
“Whenever I die, I’ll know this group of guys here, they willed themselves to be the national champion,” Gilmore said. “It was just meant to be, no doubt. If there is such a thing as a team of destiny, this group is it.”
Coastal Carolina (55-18) became the first team since Minnesota in 1956 to win the title in its first CWS appearance. Arizona (49-24) was trying for its second national title since 2012, but came up just short in a season in which it was picked to finish ninth in the Pac-12.
“Amazing season, and they’re a deserving champion,” first-year Arizona coach Jay Johnson said of the Chanticleers. “We played as good as we possibly could this year, and they’re the best team we’ve played, in my opinion.”
Andrew Beckwith (15-1), the national leader in wins, went 52⁄3 innings after pitching two complete games and picked up his third victory of the CWS. He was named the most outstanding player.
“He’s been coaching for 21 years, and he deserves every bit of it,” Beckwith said of Gilmore. “We got him to Omaha and we got him a national championship. The senior class, the hard work in the fall, the dedication of the guys who don’t play much. It doesn’t go unnoticed. It was a full team effort the whole College World Series, and we got it done.”
Alex Cunningham earned his first save, striking out Ryan Haug with a full-count fastball to end the game after Arizona had pulled within one in the bottom of the ninth. When Haug swung and missed, Cunningham turned to his dugout, beat his chest with his fist three times and saluted before flipping his glove away to start the celebration.
“The running joke is that in high school I lost the state championship three times in a row. I was not going to lose this one, I promise you that,” Cunningham said.
The championship was the first in a team sport in the 33-year history of the Big South Conference. The Big South could savor the accomplishment for only about eight hours. The Chanticleers become members of the Sun Belt Conference today.
“This program has been a lot better than people give it credit for,” Gilmore said. “They thought we played in a small conference and couldn’t get this done. This bunch wanted to prove everybody wrong.”
Until this week, he never imagined the Chanticleers would do so much more: They’re heading back to Conway, S.C., with the school’s first national championship in any sport.
The Chanticleers defeated Arizona 4-3 in the deciding Game 3 of the College World Series final on Thursday, capitalizing on two errors on the same play to score four unearned runs in the sixth inning of a game delayed a day by bad weather.
It was worth the wait.
“Whenever I die, I’ll know this group of guys here, they willed themselves to be the national champion,” Gilmore said. “It was just meant to be, no doubt. If there is such a thing as a team of destiny, this group is it.”
Coastal Carolina (55-18) became the first team since Minnesota in 1956 to win the title in its first CWS appearance. Arizona (49-24) was trying for its second national title since 2012, but came up just short in a season in which it was picked to finish ninth in the Pac-12.
“Amazing season, and they’re a deserving champion,” first-year Arizona coach Jay Johnson said of the Chanticleers. “We played as good as we possibly could this year, and they’re the best team we’ve played, in my opinion.”
Andrew Beckwith (15-1), the national leader in wins, went 52⁄3 innings after pitching two complete games and picked up his third victory of the CWS. He was named the most outstanding player.
“He’s been coaching for 21 years, and he deserves every bit of it,” Beckwith said of Gilmore. “We got him to Omaha and we got him a national championship. The senior class, the hard work in the fall, the dedication of the guys who don’t play much. It doesn’t go unnoticed. It was a full team effort the whole College World Series, and we got it done.”
Alex Cunningham earned his first save, striking out Ryan Haug with a full-count fastball to end the game after Arizona had pulled within one in the bottom of the ninth. When Haug swung and missed, Cunningham turned to his dugout, beat his chest with his fist three times and saluted before flipping his glove away to start the celebration.
“The running joke is that in high school I lost the state championship three times in a row. I was not going to lose this one, I promise you that,” Cunningham said.
The championship was the first in a team sport in the 33-year history of the Big South Conference. The Big South could savor the accomplishment for only about eight hours. The Chanticleers become members of the Sun Belt Conference today.
“This program has been a lot better than people give it credit for,” Gilmore said. “They thought we played in a small conference and couldn’t get this done. This bunch wanted to prove everybody wrong.”
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
2016 Olympic Basketball Team
NEW YORK — Once again, the U.S. Men's Senior National Team has, by necessity, a lot of new faces.
Selected for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team, which is seeking a third consecutive Olympic title, were: Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks/Syracuse); Harrison Barnes (Golden State Warriors/North Carolina); Jimmy Butler (Chicago Bulls/Marquette); DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings/Kentucky); DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors/USC); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder/Texas); Paul George (Indiana Pacers/Fresno State); Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors/Michigan State); Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers/Duke); DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers/Texas A&M); Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors/Villanova); and Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors/Washington State).
Only two of the 12 Americans -- Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant -- set to play in Rio this summer were on the squad that won gold in London in 2012.
USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo and Senior Team head coach Mike
Krzyzewski named a pool of 30 players in January, adding the Portland
Trail Blazers' Damian Lillard
a couple of weeks later. And by the time the NBA season was done, they
basically had to go through the whole list before coming up with 12 guys
who were both willing and able to play in Rio.
Really, only 11 of the 12 players came from the January pool. The Toronto Raptors' Kyle Lowry, who wasn't on the original list, was added because of the need for a second point guard.
This is the first time since the 2006 World Cup -- the last competition that the U.S. didn't win -- that Colangelo and Krzyzewski are only taking two point guards on their roster. Along with LeBron James, point guards Stephen Curry, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook (all National Team vets) are the most notable players who chose not to participate this year.
This is the first time since the 2006 World Cup -- the last competition that the U.S. didn't win -- that Colangelo and Krzyzewski are only taking two point guards on their roster. Along with LeBron James, point guards Stephen Curry, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook (all National Team vets) are the most notable players who chose not to participate this year.
Buddy Ryan
Former NFL head coach and influential defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan died Tuesday. He was 82.
Ryan, who was outspoken and coached in the NFL for 26 seasons, was known for building some of football's top defenses with a relentlessness that focused on creating havoc on the field.
His death was confirmed by the Buffalo Bills, who employ twin sons Rex and Rob Ryan. James Solano, Buddy Ryan's agent, said he died in Kentucky, where he lived on a ranch in Shelbyville, but did not give a cause.
"I wonder who just lost their defensive-coordinating job in heaven," former Chicago Bears defensive tackle Steve McMichael told ESPN on Tuesday.
James David Ryan was a Korean War veteran who went to Oklahoma State, then got a master's degree from Middle Tennessee State even while coaching. He got his first major job in the pros in New York, then of the American Football League, in 1968. Ryan was the linebackers coach for the Joe Namath-led Jets, a boastful, confident team that fit his personality.
Those Jets led the AFL in defense in his first season on staff, then shocked the Colts in the Super Bowl 16-7.
Buddy Ryan's first job as a defensive coordinator came in 1976 with the Minnesota Vikings under Bud Grant, like Ewbank a Hall of Fame coach. He spent two years there before moving to the rival Bears, where he concocted the 46 defense that overwhelmed the league with its aggressiveness and unpredictability.
With the Bears, Ryan's notoriety skyrocketed. The 46 defense was founded on sending more blitzing players than an offense could block. And in 1984, the Bears tallied 72 sacks, a record that still stands. The '85 Bears capped their Super Bowl title with seven sacks.
Ryan's defenders, featuring such Hall of Famers as linebacker Mike Singletary and ends Dan Hampton and Richard Dent, came from all angles and were nearly impossible to budge on the ground. Not that teams had more success in the air, either.
Ryan and head coach Mike Ditka often feuded during that 15-1 '85 season and Super Bowl run. They nearly slugged it out at halftime of Chicago's only defeat, at Miami on a Monday night in December. (Ryan later punched offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride on national TV on Jan. 2, 1994, when both were assistant coaches with the Houston Oilers.)
"We won a Super Bowl together, and we would have never did it without each other," Ditka told SportsCenter on Tuesday. "... Buddy was far before his time, really. He did things defensively that people had no concept of. It took a long time for people to figure out what to do against his defense, not that they ever figured it out.
"What Buddy did was genius. He was way ahead of his time."
Ryan, who was outspoken and coached in the NFL for 26 seasons, was known for building some of football's top defenses with a relentlessness that focused on creating havoc on the field.
His death was confirmed by the Buffalo Bills, who employ twin sons Rex and Rob Ryan. James Solano, Buddy Ryan's agent, said he died in Kentucky, where he lived on a ranch in Shelbyville, but did not give a cause.
"I wonder who just lost their defensive-coordinating job in heaven," former Chicago Bears defensive tackle Steve McMichael told ESPN on Tuesday.
James David Ryan was a Korean War veteran who went to Oklahoma State, then got a master's degree from Middle Tennessee State even while coaching. He got his first major job in the pros in New York, then of the American Football League, in 1968. Ryan was the linebackers coach for the Joe Namath-led Jets, a boastful, confident team that fit his personality.
Those Jets led the AFL in defense in his first season on staff, then shocked the Colts in the Super Bowl 16-7.
Buddy Ryan's first job as a defensive coordinator came in 1976 with the Minnesota Vikings under Bud Grant, like Ewbank a Hall of Fame coach. He spent two years there before moving to the rival Bears, where he concocted the 46 defense that overwhelmed the league with its aggressiveness and unpredictability.
With the Bears, Ryan's notoriety skyrocketed. The 46 defense was founded on sending more blitzing players than an offense could block. And in 1984, the Bears tallied 72 sacks, a record that still stands. The '85 Bears capped their Super Bowl title with seven sacks.
Ryan's defenders, featuring such Hall of Famers as linebacker Mike Singletary and ends Dan Hampton and Richard Dent, came from all angles and were nearly impossible to budge on the ground. Not that teams had more success in the air, either.
Ryan and head coach Mike Ditka often feuded during that 15-1 '85 season and Super Bowl run. They nearly slugged it out at halftime of Chicago's only defeat, at Miami on a Monday night in December. (Ryan later punched offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride on national TV on Jan. 2, 1994, when both were assistant coaches with the Houston Oilers.)
"We won a Super Bowl together, and we would have never did it without each other," Ditka told SportsCenter on Tuesday. "... Buddy was far before his time, really. He did things defensively that people had no concept of. It took a long time for people to figure out what to do against his defense, not that they ever figured it out.
"What Buddy did was genius. He was way ahead of his time."
Pat Summitt
Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt, a pioneer of women's college basketball who guided the Tennessee Volunteers to eight national titles in her 38 seasons at the university, died Tuesday morning. She was 64.
Summitt led the Lady Vols to 1,098 victories -- the most in Division I college basketball history (men or women) -- before stepping down in 2012, one year after announcing she had early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type.
Named the NCAA coach of the year seven times, Summitt led the Lady Vols to 22 Final Fours (18 NCAA, four AIAW) in her nearly four decades as coach.
"Pat Summitt is synonymous with Tennessee, but she truly is a global icon who transcended sports and spent her entire life making a difference in other peoples' lives," Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart said in a statement. "She was a genuine, humble leader who focused on helping people achieve more than they thought they were capable of accomplishing. Pat was so much more than a Hall of Fame coach; she was a mother, mentor, leader, friend, humanitarian and inspiration to so many. Her legacy will live on through the countless people she touched throughout her career."
Of her eight national championships, she won three straight from 1996 to 1998. Her teams won 16 Southeastern Conference tournament titles and made an unprecedented 31 consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament.
Summitt led the Lady Vols to 1,098 victories -- the most in Division I college basketball history (men or women) -- before stepping down in 2012, one year after announcing she had early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type.
Named the NCAA coach of the year seven times, Summitt led the Lady Vols to 22 Final Fours (18 NCAA, four AIAW) in her nearly four decades as coach.
"Pat Summitt is synonymous with Tennessee, but she truly is a global icon who transcended sports and spent her entire life making a difference in other peoples' lives," Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart said in a statement. "She was a genuine, humble leader who focused on helping people achieve more than they thought they were capable of accomplishing. Pat was so much more than a Hall of Fame coach; she was a mother, mentor, leader, friend, humanitarian and inspiration to so many. Her legacy will live on through the countless people she touched throughout her career."
Of her eight national championships, she won three straight from 1996 to 1998. Her teams won 16 Southeastern Conference tournament titles and made an unprecedented 31 consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament.
Thursday, June 23, 2016
2016 NBA Draft
NBA Mock Draft 3.0 4.0 / NBADraft.net / The Vertical / Finch (as of 6/21/16) / Consensus
1. Philadelphia - Ben Simmons / Simmons / Simmons / Simmons
2. Los Angeles Lakers - Brandon Ingram /Ingram / Ingram / Ingram
3. Boston Celtics - Dragan Bender / Kris Dunn / Dunn / Dunn
4. Phoenix Suns - Marquese Chriss / Chriss / Jaylen Brown / Chriss
5. Minnesota Timberwoves - Kris Dunn / Buddy Hield / Hield / Hield
6. New Orleans Pelicans - Jamal Murray / Murray / Murray / Murray
7. Denver Nuggets - Buddy Hield / Bender / Bender / Bender
8. Sacramento Kings - Jaylen Brown / Brown / Domantas Sabonis / Brown
*** [6/23/16]
NBA draft about to begin. Watching on WatchESPN.
The big question is what will happen with the third pick. It's looking like it'll be Kris Dunn, but will Boston retain their pick?
1. Philadelphia - Ben Simmons PF, LSU
2. Los Angeles Lakers - Brandon Ingram SF, Duke
3. Boston Celtics - Jaylen Brown SF, California (really?)
4. Phoenix - Dragan Bender PF, Croatia
5. Minnesota - Kris Dunn PG, Providence
6. New Orleans - Buddy Hield SG, Oklahoma
7. Denver - Jamal Murray G, Kentucky
8. Sacramento - Marquese Chriss PF, Washington
So the top eight players went as expected, but not in the order expected after the top two.
And now I hear, Chriss is going to be traded to Phoenix who people expected to draft at no. 4 in the first place. So now Phoenix will get both Chriss and Bender. Now who will Phoenix give up? The answer is: the no. 13 pick, then no. 28 pick, and Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Orlando takes Domantas Sabonis and reportedly has traded him and Victor Oladipo to Oklahoma City for Serge Ibaka. And Ilyasova too.
***
Grading the first round
1. Philadelphia - Ben Simmons / Simmons / Simmons / Simmons
2. Los Angeles Lakers - Brandon Ingram /Ingram / Ingram / Ingram
3. Boston Celtics - Dragan Bender / Kris Dunn / Dunn / Dunn
4. Phoenix Suns - Marquese Chriss / Chriss / Jaylen Brown / Chriss
5. Minnesota Timberwoves - Kris Dunn / Buddy Hield / Hield / Hield
6. New Orleans Pelicans - Jamal Murray / Murray / Murray / Murray
7. Denver Nuggets - Buddy Hield / Bender / Bender / Bender
8. Sacramento Kings - Jaylen Brown / Brown / Domantas Sabonis / Brown
*** [6/23/16]
NBA draft about to begin. Watching on WatchESPN.
The big question is what will happen with the third pick. It's looking like it'll be Kris Dunn, but will Boston retain their pick?
1. Philadelphia - Ben Simmons PF, LSU
2. Los Angeles Lakers - Brandon Ingram SF, Duke
3. Boston Celtics - Jaylen Brown SF, California (really?)
4. Phoenix - Dragan Bender PF, Croatia
5. Minnesota - Kris Dunn PG, Providence
6. New Orleans - Buddy Hield SG, Oklahoma
7. Denver - Jamal Murray G, Kentucky
8. Sacramento - Marquese Chriss PF, Washington
So the top eight players went as expected, but not in the order expected after the top two.
And now I hear, Chriss is going to be traded to Phoenix who people expected to draft at no. 4 in the first place. So now Phoenix will get both Chriss and Bender. Now who will Phoenix give up? The answer is: the no. 13 pick, then no. 28 pick, and Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Orlando takes Domantas Sabonis and reportedly has traded him and Victor Oladipo to Oklahoma City for Serge Ibaka. And Ilyasova too.
***
Grading the first round
Monday, June 20, 2016
LeBron makes history
OAKLAND, Calif. – Magnificent. It’s the only word that can describe this spectacular three-game stretch from LeBron James,
one that began last Monday in a season-saving win at Oracle Arena,
continued with a blowout of Golden State on Thursday and then, this: 27
points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a 93-89 victory in Game 7 of the
NBA Finals on Sunday that clinched the Cavaliers’ first championship in
franchise history.
“He was first in everything in the Finals,” said Kyrie Irving,
referring to James having more points, rebounds and assists than anyone
in this year's edition. “If that’s not a unanimous Finals MVP, he
showed it tonight. … That guy led us all year. He knew what it took and
how to lead us. We all just took it from there.”
The Cavaliers became the first
team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the Finals and ended Cleveland’s
52-year major professional sports championship drought.
“For us to be able to end this, end this drought, our fans deserve it,” James said. “They deserve it. And it was for them."
In a series marred by lopsided
scores, this was tight early. Both teams played to their strengths:
Cleveland was physical, bullying Golden State on the boards (48-39) and
in the paint (48-28). James – fresh off back-to-back 41-point games –
was assertive, racking up 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists in
the first half. While all eyes were on Stephen Curry, it was Draymond Green who provided a first-half spark, piling up 22 points – and making all five of his 3-point attempts.
“We didn't win,” Green said. “So
we can look at a stat line and say, ‘Oh, he was great or whatever,’ but
we didn't win. So that really doesn't matter.”
Green was the only Warriors
player who looked comfortable. Curry scored nine points in the first
half, but needed eight shots to get them. Klay Thompson was worse. Curry’s sidekick scored five points on 2-of-9 shooting in the first two quarters.
Fortunately for Golden State,
James received less help. After scoring 64 points the last two games,
Irving could muster just nine in the first half. And Kevin Love, desperately in need of a breakout performance, had five points on 1-of-5 shooting.
Golden State, which won a record
73 regular-season games, took a seven-point lead into the locker room –
a lead Cleveland erased in three minutes. From there, it was a series
of runs: a five-point lead for the Warriors; a seven-point lead for the
Cavaliers. Irving came alive in the third quarter, pumping in 12 points.
Harrison Barnes shook off a rough first half to chip in seven. Golden State took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter.
If the absence of Andrew Bogut wasn’t felt in Game 6, it was in Game 7. Bogut, the Warriors’ starting center, was lost for the season to a knee injury suffered during Game 5, and the Cavaliers took advantage, pounding Golden State on the boards and in the paint in Game 6. Kerr countered with Festus Ezeli in Game 7, but Ezeli (zero points) was ineffective, and Anderson Varejao’s suspect hands effectively forced Golden State to play four-on-five. Midway through the third, Kerr abandoned both, playing small the rest of the way.
“That game was right there for us,” Thompson said. “They just made big plays. It comes down to making plays. It’s that simple.”
The back and forth continued in the fourth. Curry knocked down a three over Tristan Thompson; James responded with a pair of turnarounds. Klay Thompson hit a contested shot over J.R. Smith. James hit back with three free throws. With less than two minutes to go, Andre Iguodala
soared for a transition layup that would have given Golden State a
two-point lead. James blocked it, an out-of-nowhere rejection that has
become part of his repertoire. Irving drained a three on the other end,
and James extended the lead to four with a free throw. A Curry miss –
his 13th of the night – sealed it, and the Cavaliers’ bench rushed
toward James, Akron’s prodigal son, who delivered the championship he
promised when he returned to Cleveland two years ago.
“I came back for a reason,” James said. "I came back to bring a championship to our city. I knew what I was capable of doing.”
“I came back for a reason,” James said. "I came back to bring a championship to our city. I knew what I was capable of doing.”
Friday, June 10, 2016
Gordie Howe
Gordie Howe, who helped lead the Detroit Red Wings to four Stanley Cup titles in six years and earned the nickname “Mr. Hockey” during his record 26 seasons in the National Hockey League, has died. He was 88.
His death was confirmed by the Red Wings in a Twitter post. He died Friday in Toledo, Ohio, where he had been staying with his son, Murray, according to the Detroit Free Press, which cited the team. Howe, who had dementia, suffered a severe stroke on October 2014.
Named the NHL’s most valuable player six times, Howe set a slew of records that stood until Wayne Gretzky, who idolized him growing up, shattered them in the 1990s. One was most career goals in regular-season play: Howe, with 801, trails only Gretzky (894). Howe’s record of playing in 1,767 regular-season NHL games still stands.
Few athletes, in any sport, could compete with Howe for longevity. He retired in 1971 after 25 years with the NHL’s Red Wings and was inducted into the sport’s Hall of Fame the following year. In 1973, at 45, he returned to the ice, joining his sons, Mark and Marty Howe, on the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association, a short-lived competitor to the NHL. The Aeros won consecutive championships, and Howe was named league MVP in 1974.
Howe and his sons moved in 1977 to the New England Whalers, which merged into the NHL as the Hartford Whalers before the 1979-1980 season, giving Howe one final year in the sport’s premier league. That season, he scored 15 goals and registered 26 assists in 80 games, and the Whalers made the playoffs, losing in the first round.
All told, he scored 174 goals in the World Hockey Association.
A panel of experts assembled by the Associated Press in 1999 chose Gretzky as the greatest hockey player of the 20th century, just ahead of Howe, who earned the same number of points but three fewer first-place votes.
His death was confirmed by the Red Wings in a Twitter post. He died Friday in Toledo, Ohio, where he had been staying with his son, Murray, according to the Detroit Free Press, which cited the team. Howe, who had dementia, suffered a severe stroke on October 2014.
Named the NHL’s most valuable player six times, Howe set a slew of records that stood until Wayne Gretzky, who idolized him growing up, shattered them in the 1990s. One was most career goals in regular-season play: Howe, with 801, trails only Gretzky (894). Howe’s record of playing in 1,767 regular-season NHL games still stands.
Few athletes, in any sport, could compete with Howe for longevity. He retired in 1971 after 25 years with the NHL’s Red Wings and was inducted into the sport’s Hall of Fame the following year. In 1973, at 45, he returned to the ice, joining his sons, Mark and Marty Howe, on the Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association, a short-lived competitor to the NHL. The Aeros won consecutive championships, and Howe was named league MVP in 1974.
Howe and his sons moved in 1977 to the New England Whalers, which merged into the NHL as the Hartford Whalers before the 1979-1980 season, giving Howe one final year in the sport’s premier league. That season, he scored 15 goals and registered 26 assists in 80 games, and the Whalers made the playoffs, losing in the first round.
All told, he scored 174 goals in the World Hockey Association.
A panel of experts assembled by the Associated Press in 1999 chose Gretzky as the greatest hockey player of the 20th century, just ahead of Howe, who earned the same number of points but three fewer first-place votes.
Saturday, June 04, 2016
Muhammad Ali 1942-2016
He was fast of fist and foot — lip, too — a heavyweight champion who promised to shock the world and did. He floated. He stung. Mostly he thrilled, even after the punches had taken their toll and his voice barely rose above a whisper.
He was The Greatest.
Muhammad Ali died today at age 74, according to a statement from the family. He was hospitalized in the Phoenix area with respiratory problems earlier this week, and his children gathered around him.
“It’s a sad day for life, man. I loved Muhammad Ali, he was my friend. Ali will never die,” Don King, who promoted some of Ali’s biggest fights, told The Associated Press early Saturday. “Like Martin Luther King his spirit will live on, he stood for the world.”
A funeral will be held Wednesday in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. The city plans a memorial service Saturday.
“What I suffered physically was worth what I’ve accomplished in life. A man who is not courageous enough to take risks will never accomplish anything in life.”
— Muhammad Ali, 1984
With a wit as sharp as the punches he used to “whup” opponents, Ali dominated sports for two decades before time and Parkinson’s Syndrome, triggered by thousands of blows to the head, ravaged his magnificent body, muted his majestic voice and ended his storied career in 1981.
He won and defended the heavyweight championship in epic fights in exotic locations, spoke loudly on behalf of blacks, and famously refused to be drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War because of his Muslim beliefs.
Despite his debilitating illness, he traveled the world to rapturous receptions even after his once-bellowing voice was quieted and he was left to communicate with a wink or a weak smile.
Revered by millions worldwide and reviled by millions more, Ali cut quite a figure, 6 feet 3 and 210 pounds in his prime. “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” his cornermen exhorted, and he did just that in a way no heavyweight had ever fought before.
He fought in three different decades, finished with a record of 56-5 with 37 knockouts and was the first man to win heavyweight titles three times.
He whipped the fearsome Sonny Liston twice, toppled the mighty George Foreman with the rope-a-dope in Zaire, and nearly fought to the death with Joe Frazier in the Philippines. Through it all, he was trailed by a colorful entourage who merely added to his growing legend.
“Rumble, young man, rumble,” cornerman Bundini Brown would yell to him.
And rumble Ali did. He fought anyone who meant anything and made millions of dollars with his lightning-quick jab. His fights were so memorable that they had names — “Rumble in the Jungle” and “Thrilla in Manila.”
But it was as much his antics — and his mouth — outside the ring that transformed the man born Cassius Clay into a household name as Muhammad Ali.
“I am the greatest,” Ali thundered again and again.
Few would disagree.
He later embarked on a second career as a missionary for Islam.
“Boxing was my field mission, the first part of my life,” he said in 1990, adding with typical braggadocio, “I will be the greatest evangelist ever.”
Ali couldn’t fulfill that goal because Parkinson’s robbed him of his speech. It took such a toll on his body that the sight of him in his later years — trembling, his face frozen, the man who invented the Ali Shuffle now barely able to walk — shocked and saddened those who remembered him in his prime.
“People naturally are going to be sad to see the effects of his disease,” Hana, one of his daughters, said, when he turned 65. “But if they could really see him in the calm of his everyday life, they would not be sorry for him. He’s at complete peace, and he’s here learning a greater lesson.”
The quiet of Ali’s later life was in contrast to the roar of a career that had breathtaking highs as well as terrible lows. He exploded on the public scene with a series of nationally televised fights that gave the public an exciting new champion, and he entertained millions as he sparred verbally with the likes of bombastic sportscaster Howard Cosell.
Ali once calculated he had taken 29,000 punches to the head and made $57 million in his pro career, but the effect of the punches lingered long after most of the money was gone. That didn’t stop him from traveling tirelessly to promote Islam, meet with world leaders and champion legislation dubbed the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act. While slowed in recent years, he still managed to make numerous appearances, including a trip to the 2012 London Olympics.
Despised by some for his outspoken beliefs and refusal to serve in the U.S. Army in the 1960s, an aging Ali became a poignant figure whose mere presence at a sporting event would draw long standing ovations.
With his hands trembling so uncontrollably that the world held its breath, he lit the Olympic torch for the 1996 Atlanta Games in a performance as riveting as some of his fights.
A few years after that, he sat mute in a committee room in Washington, his mere presence enough to convince lawmakers to pass the boxing reform bill that bore his name.
Members of his inner circle weren’t surprised. They had long known Ali as a humanitarian who once wouldn’t think twice about getting in his car and driving hours to visit a terminally ill child. They saw him as a man who seemed to like everyone he met — even his archrival Frazier.
“I consider myself one of the luckiest guys in the world just to call him my friend,” former business manager Gene Kilroy said. “If I was to die today and go to heaven it would be a step down. My heaven was being with Ali.”
One of his biggest opponents would later become a big fan, too. On the eve of the 35th anniversary of their “Rumble in the Jungle,” Foreman paid tribute to the man who so famously stopped him in the eighth round of their 1974 heavyweight title fight, the first ever held in Africa.
“I don’t call him the best boxer of all time, but he’s the greatest human being I ever met,” Foreman said. “To this day he’s the most exciting person I ever met in my life.”
He was The Greatest.
Muhammad Ali died today at age 74, according to a statement from the family. He was hospitalized in the Phoenix area with respiratory problems earlier this week, and his children gathered around him.
“It’s a sad day for life, man. I loved Muhammad Ali, he was my friend. Ali will never die,” Don King, who promoted some of Ali’s biggest fights, told The Associated Press early Saturday. “Like Martin Luther King his spirit will live on, he stood for the world.”
A funeral will be held Wednesday in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. The city plans a memorial service Saturday.
“What I suffered physically was worth what I’ve accomplished in life. A man who is not courageous enough to take risks will never accomplish anything in life.”
— Muhammad Ali, 1984
With a wit as sharp as the punches he used to “whup” opponents, Ali dominated sports for two decades before time and Parkinson’s Syndrome, triggered by thousands of blows to the head, ravaged his magnificent body, muted his majestic voice and ended his storied career in 1981.
He won and defended the heavyweight championship in epic fights in exotic locations, spoke loudly on behalf of blacks, and famously refused to be drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War because of his Muslim beliefs.
Despite his debilitating illness, he traveled the world to rapturous receptions even after his once-bellowing voice was quieted and he was left to communicate with a wink or a weak smile.
Revered by millions worldwide and reviled by millions more, Ali cut quite a figure, 6 feet 3 and 210 pounds in his prime. “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” his cornermen exhorted, and he did just that in a way no heavyweight had ever fought before.
He fought in three different decades, finished with a record of 56-5 with 37 knockouts and was the first man to win heavyweight titles three times.
He whipped the fearsome Sonny Liston twice, toppled the mighty George Foreman with the rope-a-dope in Zaire, and nearly fought to the death with Joe Frazier in the Philippines. Through it all, he was trailed by a colorful entourage who merely added to his growing legend.
“Rumble, young man, rumble,” cornerman Bundini Brown would yell to him.
And rumble Ali did. He fought anyone who meant anything and made millions of dollars with his lightning-quick jab. His fights were so memorable that they had names — “Rumble in the Jungle” and “Thrilla in Manila.”
But it was as much his antics — and his mouth — outside the ring that transformed the man born Cassius Clay into a household name as Muhammad Ali.
“I am the greatest,” Ali thundered again and again.
Few would disagree.
He later embarked on a second career as a missionary for Islam.
“Boxing was my field mission, the first part of my life,” he said in 1990, adding with typical braggadocio, “I will be the greatest evangelist ever.”
Ali couldn’t fulfill that goal because Parkinson’s robbed him of his speech. It took such a toll on his body that the sight of him in his later years — trembling, his face frozen, the man who invented the Ali Shuffle now barely able to walk — shocked and saddened those who remembered him in his prime.
“People naturally are going to be sad to see the effects of his disease,” Hana, one of his daughters, said, when he turned 65. “But if they could really see him in the calm of his everyday life, they would not be sorry for him. He’s at complete peace, and he’s here learning a greater lesson.”
The quiet of Ali’s later life was in contrast to the roar of a career that had breathtaking highs as well as terrible lows. He exploded on the public scene with a series of nationally televised fights that gave the public an exciting new champion, and he entertained millions as he sparred verbally with the likes of bombastic sportscaster Howard Cosell.
Ali once calculated he had taken 29,000 punches to the head and made $57 million in his pro career, but the effect of the punches lingered long after most of the money was gone. That didn’t stop him from traveling tirelessly to promote Islam, meet with world leaders and champion legislation dubbed the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act. While slowed in recent years, he still managed to make numerous appearances, including a trip to the 2012 London Olympics.
Despised by some for his outspoken beliefs and refusal to serve in the U.S. Army in the 1960s, an aging Ali became a poignant figure whose mere presence at a sporting event would draw long standing ovations.
With his hands trembling so uncontrollably that the world held its breath, he lit the Olympic torch for the 1996 Atlanta Games in a performance as riveting as some of his fights.
A few years after that, he sat mute in a committee room in Washington, his mere presence enough to convince lawmakers to pass the boxing reform bill that bore his name.
Members of his inner circle weren’t surprised. They had long known Ali as a humanitarian who once wouldn’t think twice about getting in his car and driving hours to visit a terminally ill child. They saw him as a man who seemed to like everyone he met — even his archrival Frazier.
“I consider myself one of the luckiest guys in the world just to call him my friend,” former business manager Gene Kilroy said. “If I was to die today and go to heaven it would be a step down. My heaven was being with Ali.”
One of his biggest opponents would later become a big fan, too. On the eve of the 35th anniversary of their “Rumble in the Jungle,” Foreman paid tribute to the man who so famously stopped him in the eighth round of their 1974 heavyweight title fight, the first ever held in Africa.
“I don’t call him the best boxer of all time, but he’s the greatest human being I ever met,” Foreman said. “To this day he’s the most exciting person I ever met in my life.”
Wednesday, June 01, 2016
2015-2016 All NBA
NEW YORK — Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and forward LeBron James
of the Cleveland Cavaliers lead the 2015-16 All-NBA First Team, the NBA
announced today. Curry is the only player to receive First Team votes
on all 129 ballots, earning First Team honors for the second straight
year. James (125 First Team votes) has been named to the First Team for
the 10th time in 13 seasons, tying seven players for the second-most
selections in NBA history.
Joining Curry (645 total points) and James (637 points) are three players making their debuts on the All-NBA First Team: Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (627 points, 120 First Team votes), San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (575 points, 94 First Team votes) and Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (317 points, 39 First Team votes).
The All-NBA Second Team consists of forwards Kevin Durant of the Thunder and Draymond Green of the Warriors, center DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings and guards Chris Paul of the Clippers and Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers.
The All-NBA Third Team is composed of forwards Paul George of the Indiana Pacers and LaMarcus Aldridge of the Spurs, center Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons and guards Klay Thompson of the Warriors and Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors.
Joining Curry (645 total points) and James (637 points) are three players making their debuts on the All-NBA First Team: Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (627 points, 120 First Team votes), San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (575 points, 94 First Team votes) and Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (317 points, 39 First Team votes).
The All-NBA Second Team consists of forwards Kevin Durant of the Thunder and Draymond Green of the Warriors, center DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings and guards Chris Paul of the Clippers and Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers.
The All-NBA Third Team is composed of forwards Paul George of the Indiana Pacers and LaMarcus Aldridge of the Spurs, center Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons and guards Klay Thompson of the Warriors and Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors.
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Jim Ray Hart
SAN FRANCISCO -- Jim Ray Hart, one of the
most prominent members of the talent-laden yet title-less Giants teams
of the 1960s, died Thursday following a long illness in Acampo, Calif.,
the club announced. He was 74.
Hart played mostly third base for the Giants from 1963-73 before ending his career as a designated hitter with the Yankees in 1973-74. He hit 31 home runs during 1964, his first full Major League season, to establish a Giants franchise rookie record that still stands.
Hart played mostly third base for the Giants from 1963-73 before ending his career as a designated hitter with the Yankees in 1973-74. He hit 31 home runs during 1964, his first full Major League season, to establish a Giants franchise rookie record that still stands.
"He was another Giant product during that
era of unbelievable players," said former catcher Jack Hiatt, a fixture
in San Francisco's scouting and player development departments.
Two traits of Hart's were universally recognized.
First, he could hit a baseball ferociously.
Hiatt described the aural experience of being in Hart's general vicinity when he took batting practice.
"You could have your back turned and not see the hitter, and when that ball came off Jimmy Ray's bat, it made a different sound," Hiatt said. "He hit the ball extremely hard. He hit a home run off of [Sandy] Koufax in Los Angeles that almost knocked the foul pole down."
Former outfielder Ken Henderson marveled at the strength Hart displayed as he wielded his imposing 36-inch, 35-ounce bat. Hart, who averaged 28 home runs and 89 RBIs per season from 1964-68, often was overshadowed by future Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda. But teammates appreciated his talent.
"I think he'll always be remembered as one of the best players ever in that organization and certainly as one of the best hitters who ever played there. No question about it," Henderson said of Hart, a North Carolina native who recorded a .278 career batting average with 170 homers. "He would turn on the ball and hit these missiles, these rockets. If he ever hit one directly at the third baseman, he'd take his head off."
Hart's demeanor also left an enduring impression. He was remembered as being genial but quiet, as well as a loner.
"Jimmy Ray never tooted his own horn," Hiatt said. "He stayed away from all publicity. He never talked. But when he said something, he always had a grin."
Henderson recalled Hart inviting him to dinner after an afternoon game in St. Louis -- a surprising act, since to that point they hadn't socialized together. They talked late into the night.
"It was kind of one of the most revealing, important times that I had, to really understand Jim Ray's roots and what he was all about," Henderson said. "I got to know him as a man. And he was a sweetheart of a man."
"Everyone in the Giants organization is deeply saddened by the news of Jim's passing," Giants president and chief executive officer Larry Baer said in a statement Friday. "Our condolences go out to the Hart family for their tremendous loss and we extend our thoughts to Jim's teammates, his friends, and to all those touched by his passing."
Two traits of Hart's were universally recognized.
First, he could hit a baseball ferociously.
Hiatt described the aural experience of being in Hart's general vicinity when he took batting practice.
"You could have your back turned and not see the hitter, and when that ball came off Jimmy Ray's bat, it made a different sound," Hiatt said. "He hit the ball extremely hard. He hit a home run off of [Sandy] Koufax in Los Angeles that almost knocked the foul pole down."
Former outfielder Ken Henderson marveled at the strength Hart displayed as he wielded his imposing 36-inch, 35-ounce bat. Hart, who averaged 28 home runs and 89 RBIs per season from 1964-68, often was overshadowed by future Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda. But teammates appreciated his talent.
"I think he'll always be remembered as one of the best players ever in that organization and certainly as one of the best hitters who ever played there. No question about it," Henderson said of Hart, a North Carolina native who recorded a .278 career batting average with 170 homers. "He would turn on the ball and hit these missiles, these rockets. If he ever hit one directly at the third baseman, he'd take his head off."
Hart's demeanor also left an enduring impression. He was remembered as being genial but quiet, as well as a loner.
"Jimmy Ray never tooted his own horn," Hiatt said. "He stayed away from all publicity. He never talked. But when he said something, he always had a grin."
Henderson recalled Hart inviting him to dinner after an afternoon game in St. Louis -- a surprising act, since to that point they hadn't socialized together. They talked late into the night.
"It was kind of one of the most revealing, important times that I had, to really understand Jim Ray's roots and what he was all about," Henderson said. "I got to know him as a man. And he was a sweetheart of a man."
"Everyone in the Giants organization is deeply saddened by the news of Jim's passing," Giants president and chief executive officer Larry Baer said in a statement Friday. "Our condolences go out to the Hart family for their tremendous loss and we extend our thoughts to Jim's teammates, his friends, and to all those touched by his passing."
Friday, May 13, 2016
Stephen Curry, MVP * 2
From the jaw-dropping half-court heaves that somehow sink through the
net to the dazzling drives and zippy passes from every which way, Stephen Curry's
desire to keep getting better while always trying to entertain at every
stop has the Golden State superstar being mentioned right along with
the best ever, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.
And he just turned 28. There might still be so much more for the 6-foot-3, baby-faced point guard whose ability to make it on the big NBA stage was initially questioned by some.
On Tuesday, Curry accomplished something those former greats never did: He became the first unanimous NBA MVP, earning the award for the second straight season after leading the defending champion Warriors to a record-setting season.
"I never really set out to change the game. I never thought that would happen in my career," Curry said. "What I wanted to do was just be myself. ... I know it inspires a lot of the next generation, a lot of people who love the game of basketball to value the skill of it, value the fact that you can work every single day to get better. You've got to be able to put the time and the work. That's how I got here, that's how I continue to get better every single day.
Curry is the 11th player in league history to be voted MVP in consecutive seasons and the first guard since Steve Nash in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
And he just turned 28. There might still be so much more for the 6-foot-3, baby-faced point guard whose ability to make it on the big NBA stage was initially questioned by some.
On Tuesday, Curry accomplished something those former greats never did: He became the first unanimous NBA MVP, earning the award for the second straight season after leading the defending champion Warriors to a record-setting season.
"I never really set out to change the game. I never thought that would happen in my career," Curry said. "What I wanted to do was just be myself. ... I know it inspires a lot of the next generation, a lot of people who love the game of basketball to value the skill of it, value the fact that you can work every single day to get better. You've got to be able to put the time and the work. That's how I got here, that's how I continue to get better every single day.
Curry is the 11th player in league history to be voted MVP in consecutive seasons and the first guard since Steve Nash in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
Tuesday, May 03, 2016
Hawaii High School Football recruiting news (2016)
5/17/16 - Rolo offers 15-year old Tui Tuitele
5/13/16 - Rolovich makes offer to eighth grader Noah Sewell
5/3/16 - Tua chooses Alabama
3/18/16 - Hawaii first to offer Taulia Tagovailoa, QB, Kapolei
3/9/16 - Alabama offers Tua Tagovailoa, QB, St. Louis
5/13/16 - Rolovich makes offer to eighth grader Noah Sewell
5/3/16 - Tua chooses Alabama
3/18/16 - Hawaii first to offer Taulia Tagovailoa, QB, Kapolei
3/9/16 - Alabama offers Tua Tagovailoa, QB, St. Louis
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Tommy Kono
Two-time gold medalist Tommy Kono, who overcame asthma as a young
child to set 26 world records in weightlifting, died today in Honolulu,
according to a family member. He was 85.
Born in Sacramento, Calif., Kono moved to Hawaii in the 1970s after putting together an incredible career that included a gold medal at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, at 149 pounds. He then won another gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics at 182 pounds and captured a silver medal at the Olympics Games in Rome at 165 pounds.
Kono is the only Olympic weightlifter in history to have set world records in four different weight classes: lightweight (149 pounds), middleweight (165), light-heavyweight (182 lb) and middle-heavyweight (198). He was named to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame on July 6, 1990 in Minneapolis, Minn., and the International Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 1994 in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Kono was named the top weightlifter of all-time by the official magazine of the International Weightlifting Federation.
“He is in my opinion the greatest weightlifter of all-time,” former Olympic weightlifter Pete George told the Honolulu Advertiser in 2003. George also won a gold medal at the 1952 Olympics and a silver in 1956. “He would always go where the competition was the toughest. Some of us went where we thought we’d get a medal.”
In addition to Olympic success, Kono won six world championships in events that included the clean and jerk, clean and press, and snatch. Kono was the head coach of the United States’ Olympic weightlifting team in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
He was also a successful bodybuilder, winning the Iron Man Mr. World title in 1954.
***
Kono did not live in Aiea and train at the Nuuanu YMCA until after he’d won his first of two Olympic gold medals, in Helsinki, Finland, in 1952. So sometimes people question why Hawaii lays claim to him as one of its favorite sons and finest athletes.
The answer is Kono fit in while standing out. He immediately took to Hawaii and its culture upon his arrival to work in the office of a friend, Dr. Richard Yu, when he wasn’t training.
“He was already famous, but he didn’t make high maka maka. That’s why people in Hawaii embraced him. He didn’t come over acting like a big shot,” said Gus Rethwisch, a power lifter, actor, event promoter and University of Hawaii baseball player who lived here for 12 years and knew Kono well. “When I met him in 1973 he was humble but still a tremendous presence.”
Kono had retired from weightlifting nine years prior, but remained active as a coach and doing anything to help anyone interested in power lifting or bodybuilding (sometimes people forget the man who was voted the top Olympic weightlifter of all-time in 1998 also won four Mr. World and Mr. Universe titles from 1954 to 1961).
He and his wife, Florence, were raising their family in Aiea. “He didn’t want to go back to California because he was more accepted here,” his daughter, Joann Sumida, said.
Kono said it himself in a 2009 Star-Bulletin story:
“At competitions I’d be introduced as the ‘Hawaiian, Tommy Kono,’ and I never corrected them,” Kono said. “I looked like I came from Wahiawa. I blended right in from the start.
“On the mainland I was an Olympic and world champ but never got the publicity like I got here. … Being adopted by Hawaii is really something, and interestingly, of my 26 world records, 21 were in foreign countries and five in Hawaii. Nothing in the continental U.S. It’s why I felt more that I was always representing Hawaii than the U.S.”
Born in Sacramento, Calif., Kono moved to Hawaii in the 1970s after putting together an incredible career that included a gold medal at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, at 149 pounds. He then won another gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics at 182 pounds and captured a silver medal at the Olympics Games in Rome at 165 pounds.
Kono is the only Olympic weightlifter in history to have set world records in four different weight classes: lightweight (149 pounds), middleweight (165), light-heavyweight (182 lb) and middle-heavyweight (198). He was named to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame on July 6, 1990 in Minneapolis, Minn., and the International Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 1994 in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Kono was named the top weightlifter of all-time by the official magazine of the International Weightlifting Federation.
“He is in my opinion the greatest weightlifter of all-time,” former Olympic weightlifter Pete George told the Honolulu Advertiser in 2003. George also won a gold medal at the 1952 Olympics and a silver in 1956. “He would always go where the competition was the toughest. Some of us went where we thought we’d get a medal.”
In addition to Olympic success, Kono won six world championships in events that included the clean and jerk, clean and press, and snatch. Kono was the head coach of the United States’ Olympic weightlifting team in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
He was also a successful bodybuilder, winning the Iron Man Mr. World title in 1954.
***
Kono did not live in Aiea and train at the Nuuanu YMCA until after he’d won his first of two Olympic gold medals, in Helsinki, Finland, in 1952. So sometimes people question why Hawaii lays claim to him as one of its favorite sons and finest athletes.
The answer is Kono fit in while standing out. He immediately took to Hawaii and its culture upon his arrival to work in the office of a friend, Dr. Richard Yu, when he wasn’t training.
“He was already famous, but he didn’t make high maka maka. That’s why people in Hawaii embraced him. He didn’t come over acting like a big shot,” said Gus Rethwisch, a power lifter, actor, event promoter and University of Hawaii baseball player who lived here for 12 years and knew Kono well. “When I met him in 1973 he was humble but still a tremendous presence.”
Kono had retired from weightlifting nine years prior, but remained active as a coach and doing anything to help anyone interested in power lifting or bodybuilding (sometimes people forget the man who was voted the top Olympic weightlifter of all-time in 1998 also won four Mr. World and Mr. Universe titles from 1954 to 1961).
He and his wife, Florence, were raising their family in Aiea. “He didn’t want to go back to California because he was more accepted here,” his daughter, Joann Sumida, said.
Kono said it himself in a 2009 Star-Bulletin story:
“At competitions I’d be introduced as the ‘Hawaiian, Tommy Kono,’ and I never corrected them,” Kono said. “I looked like I came from Wahiawa. I blended right in from the start.
“On the mainland I was an Olympic and world champ but never got the publicity like I got here. … Being adopted by Hawaii is really something, and interestingly, of my 26 world records, 21 were in foreign countries and five in Hawaii. Nothing in the continental U.S. It’s why I felt more that I was always representing Hawaii than the U.S.”
ILH-OIA football (re)union proposed
[5/4/16] The Interscholastic League of Honolulu voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the proposed union of its football teams with the Oahu Interscholastic Association for the coming season, according to two trusted Honolulu Star-Advertiser sources close to the league.
Under the proposal, a 10-team Open “power” division would be formed by three ILH schools and seven OIA schools, with the top six in the nine-game regular season moving on to that division’s state tournament.
With ILH approval, the proposal moves on to the OIA for a vote. It is not known when or where that vote will take place.
***
[4/26/16] A new era in Oahu high school football could be on the horizon.
If a new proposal continues to gain steam, a union of the Oahu Interscholastic Association and the Interscholastic League of Honolulu could be here faster than you can say “high-speed rail.”
Fans have been clamoring for a competitive reorganization for years, and this plan — for football only — is getting traction behind the scenes.
According to trusted Honolulu Star-Advertiser sources, ILH principals will vote May 3 whether to approve the restructuring. That is the first of three big hurdles. If it passes there, votes by OIA principals and then by the Hawaii High School Athletic Association would follow. Sources say the plan has support among key decision-makers within the OIA and overwhelming overall support from the ILH and HHSAA.
Sources said the realignment plan, which would reunite public and private schools in the regular season for the first time since their split after the 1969 season, was developed by former HHSAA Executive Director Keith Amemiya, OIA Executive Director Ray Fujino, ILH Executive Director Blane Gaison and ILH assistant Georges Gilbert.
The three-year pilot project — presently called the OIA-ILH Football Alliance — would be reviewed annually and calls for an Open Division of 10 teams playing a nine-game regular-season schedule. There would also be a 10-team Division I and a nine-team Division II.
IN THE OPEN Division, the ILH’s three prominent football programs — Saint Louis, Kamehameha and Punahou — would join seven top OIA football teams to be determined by that league. Sources believe six of the seven would be chosen based on on-field performance throughout the years — Kahuku, Mililani, Waianae, Kapolei, Farrington and Campbell. Several other schools would have the potential to be the seventh school, including Leilehua, Kailua and Kaiser.
One of the goals in expanding to a three-tier system is to eliminate or reduce the number of blowouts that result when perennial powers play side by side with teams that sporadically or never reach such heights. Last season, McKinley, which in a down year struggled to put enough players on the field, lost to eventual state champion Kahuku 78-0 and Waianae 90-0 in back-to-back weeks.
The aim is to create competitive balance by pairing similarly talented schools against each other every week, cutting down on routs and forfeits. If games are more competitive, the hope is fan interest will increase; one source said high-ranking officials from both leagues believe the football revenue would grow significantly because of the better matchups.
AFTER THE REGULAR season, the top six teams in the standings would move on to the Open Division state tournament, likely marking the first time more than one ILH team qualifies.
One of the concerns that stood in the way of past proposals of this sort was the issue of recruiting and transfers. Public school football players from the OIA sometimes opted to switch schools and receive a paid education at a private school in the ILH, leading to the rich getting richer on the football field and the public schools losing star players.
UNDER THE NEW format, if approved, transferring players would need to sit out two years before playing, a strict measure that would ensure in most cases that once a player enters a high school, he or she is not lured away to another one.
Another concern was the apportionment of gate receipts. Because the OIA has more schools (22) than the ILH (seven), an equitable system was never seriously considered and would have been difficult to hammer out. Now, whatever loss, if any, in gate revenue the OIA takes by forming this alliance would be regained through a $3 million ($1 million per year) donation from local business groups. The money would go to every Oahu public high school for their athletic departments (not just football). According to sources, Amemiya has numerous pledges toward that figure already. Sources also said that two former Hawaii high school football stars now in the NFL, Marcus Mariota of the Tennessee Titans and Manti Te’o of the San Diego Chargers, have pledged their support.
FOR SOME an OIA-ILH alliance would have the potential to restore some of the shine from the glory days of football, that pre-1970 period that is talked about by the old-timers with reverence, when the old Honolulu Stadium was filled with 25,000 spectators for rivalry games such as Roosevelt vs. Punahou and Farrington vs. Kamehameha. Prep football was king in those days, when Thanksgiving Day games were the season’s centerpiece.
Prep football was so big then that Farrington’s historic victory over Kamehameha in 1965 was splashed across the front page of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin with a headline reading, “The Day the Govs Won It All.”
That story, written by Jim Becker, galvanized the Kalihi community and forged lifetime friendships. In fact, members of that team, including Stan Cadiente, Walter Rodrigues, Ambrose Costa, Jim Kalili and Tom Gushiken, would meet annually to celebrate that victory.
If this new proposal passes, some old rivalries could be renewed, and new ones would likely be formed.
Under the proposal, a 10-team Open “power” division would be formed by three ILH schools and seven OIA schools, with the top six in the nine-game regular season moving on to that division’s state tournament.
With ILH approval, the proposal moves on to the OIA for a vote. It is not known when or where that vote will take place.
***
[4/26/16] A new era in Oahu high school football could be on the horizon.
If a new proposal continues to gain steam, a union of the Oahu Interscholastic Association and the Interscholastic League of Honolulu could be here faster than you can say “high-speed rail.”
Fans have been clamoring for a competitive reorganization for years, and this plan — for football only — is getting traction behind the scenes.
According to trusted Honolulu Star-Advertiser sources, ILH principals will vote May 3 whether to approve the restructuring. That is the first of three big hurdles. If it passes there, votes by OIA principals and then by the Hawaii High School Athletic Association would follow. Sources say the plan has support among key decision-makers within the OIA and overwhelming overall support from the ILH and HHSAA.
Sources said the realignment plan, which would reunite public and private schools in the regular season for the first time since their split after the 1969 season, was developed by former HHSAA Executive Director Keith Amemiya, OIA Executive Director Ray Fujino, ILH Executive Director Blane Gaison and ILH assistant Georges Gilbert.
The three-year pilot project — presently called the OIA-ILH Football Alliance — would be reviewed annually and calls for an Open Division of 10 teams playing a nine-game regular-season schedule. There would also be a 10-team Division I and a nine-team Division II.
IN THE OPEN Division, the ILH’s three prominent football programs — Saint Louis, Kamehameha and Punahou — would join seven top OIA football teams to be determined by that league. Sources believe six of the seven would be chosen based on on-field performance throughout the years — Kahuku, Mililani, Waianae, Kapolei, Farrington and Campbell. Several other schools would have the potential to be the seventh school, including Leilehua, Kailua and Kaiser.
One of the goals in expanding to a three-tier system is to eliminate or reduce the number of blowouts that result when perennial powers play side by side with teams that sporadically or never reach such heights. Last season, McKinley, which in a down year struggled to put enough players on the field, lost to eventual state champion Kahuku 78-0 and Waianae 90-0 in back-to-back weeks.
The aim is to create competitive balance by pairing similarly talented schools against each other every week, cutting down on routs and forfeits. If games are more competitive, the hope is fan interest will increase; one source said high-ranking officials from both leagues believe the football revenue would grow significantly because of the better matchups.
AFTER THE REGULAR season, the top six teams in the standings would move on to the Open Division state tournament, likely marking the first time more than one ILH team qualifies.
One of the concerns that stood in the way of past proposals of this sort was the issue of recruiting and transfers. Public school football players from the OIA sometimes opted to switch schools and receive a paid education at a private school in the ILH, leading to the rich getting richer on the football field and the public schools losing star players.
UNDER THE NEW format, if approved, transferring players would need to sit out two years before playing, a strict measure that would ensure in most cases that once a player enters a high school, he or she is not lured away to another one.
Another concern was the apportionment of gate receipts. Because the OIA has more schools (22) than the ILH (seven), an equitable system was never seriously considered and would have been difficult to hammer out. Now, whatever loss, if any, in gate revenue the OIA takes by forming this alliance would be regained through a $3 million ($1 million per year) donation from local business groups. The money would go to every Oahu public high school for their athletic departments (not just football). According to sources, Amemiya has numerous pledges toward that figure already. Sources also said that two former Hawaii high school football stars now in the NFL, Marcus Mariota of the Tennessee Titans and Manti Te’o of the San Diego Chargers, have pledged their support.
FOR SOME an OIA-ILH alliance would have the potential to restore some of the shine from the glory days of football, that pre-1970 period that is talked about by the old-timers with reverence, when the old Honolulu Stadium was filled with 25,000 spectators for rivalry games such as Roosevelt vs. Punahou and Farrington vs. Kamehameha. Prep football was king in those days, when Thanksgiving Day games were the season’s centerpiece.
Prep football was so big then that Farrington’s historic victory over Kamehameha in 1965 was splashed across the front page of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin with a headline reading, “The Day the Govs Won It All.”
That story, written by Jim Becker, galvanized the Kalihi community and forged lifetime friendships. In fact, members of that team, including Stan Cadiente, Walter Rodrigues, Ambrose Costa, Jim Kalili and Tom Gushiken, would meet annually to celebrate that victory.
If this new proposal passes, some old rivalries could be renewed, and new ones would likely be formed.
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Kobe finishes with 60
Kobe Bryant's
20th and final NBA season came to a close on Wednesday night. He
finished it exactly as he spent most of it: remorselessly and gleefully
gunning.
In his last game as a professional basketball player, Bryant fully embraced the Viking funeral that began when he announced on Nov. 29, 2015,
that this would be his last ride. With Los Angeles Lakers fans, NBA
legends, former teammates, Hollywood royalty, his wife and his children
watching his every move, Kobe entertained us all one more time with a
performance that seemed, even as it was unfolding, like the stuff of
fiction.
He scored 60 points — the highest-scoring game in the NBA this season, topping Anthony Davis' 59; the sixth 60-point game of his career, second-most all-time behind fellow Laker great Wilt Chamberlain; and the most points ever by a player in his final NBA game (joining, of all people, Jordan Crawford and Eddie House!). He did so on 50 field-goal attempts, the most by any player in any one game dating back to the 1983-84 season, to lead the Lakers to a thrilling and unbelievable 101-96 win over the visiting Utah Jazz.
Golden State 73
The biggest story of the NBA's regular season has reached its resolution. It ends with the Golden State Warriors holding a 73-9 record, a new league record for wins in a single season.
The Warriors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 125-104 at Oracle Arena on Wednesday to end the season on a four-game winning streak that puts them one win ahead of the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls
for the new mark. If the Warriors can repeat as champions, they will
certainly be remembered as one of the greatest teams in NBA history and
will be considered a budding dynasty.
This final win concludes a thrilling regular season for Golden State in
which they dominated the NBA landscape. They started the season with a record 24 victories in a row, continued a home winning streak that ended with an all-time high 54 straight
at Oracle Arena, became the second team to win 70 games in one season
and 65 games in consecutive seasons (and the only one to improve on a
65-win season), and avoided losing two straight games for the first time
in league history. They also did it with a style that won fans all over
the basketball world, thanks in large part to the dominance of
presumptive back-to-back MVP Stephen Curry.
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
2016 NFL transactions
4/14/16 - Titan's trade no. 1 pick to Rams
3/24/16 - Cleveland signs RG3
3/11/16 - Denver trades for Mark Sanchez from Philadelphia giving up a conditional seventh-round pick
3/9/16 - Brock Osweiler leaving Denver for Houston (and $72 million for four years)
3/8/16 - Calvin Johnson retires after nine seasons
3/6/16 - Peyton Manning retires
3/24/16 - Cleveland signs RG3
3/11/16 - Denver trades for Mark Sanchez from Philadelphia giving up a conditional seventh-round pick
3/9/16 - Brock Osweiler leaving Denver for Houston (and $72 million for four years)
3/8/16 - Calvin Johnson retires after nine seasons
3/6/16 - Peyton Manning retires
Thursday, April 07, 2016
Lord James Blears
[4/7/16] Signature wrestling moves such as the Oxford leg strangle and Ferris wheel finish initially brought Lord James “Tally Ho” Blears to Hawaii, but it was a booming British-accented voice rich in character that made him a household name here for 60 years.
The charismatic Blears provided the colorful soundtrack for the heyday of pro wrestling in the state in the 1960s and ’70s and went on to become “the voice of surfing” and water sports for another 30 years.
His remarkable life, which ended last month at age 92, will be celebrated in a memorial service Saturday at 11 a.m. at Makaha Beach.
***
[3/8/16] James Blears, a legendary wrestling champion, local promoter and World War II survivor who was nearly killed by his Japanese captors, has died.
Blears died of natural causes Thursday night at Kuakini Medical Center, his son Clinton Blears said. He was 92.
“He lived a good life,” Clinton Blears said. “He always told jokes. He gave us the gift of being able to tell stories because he was a story- and a joke teller.”
Blears, a professional wrestler known as Lord “Tally-Ho” Blears, told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in 2001 that he would eat a can of peaches every March 29 in homage to his fellow captives who perished and to remind himself of the preciousness of life and resilience. He said he ate peaches because it was the first food sailors gave him after they plucked him from the Indian Ocean, following his escape from his Japanese captors in 1944.
Blears was a 21-year-old radio officer on a Dutch merchant ship that had been sunk by a Japanese submarine near the end of World War II. The Japanese brought aboard the survivors and were shooting or decapitating many on the foredeck. Blears said he escaped by kicking a Japanese officer and pulling his hand out of a rope, then jumping overboard.
In Hawaii, Blears was an announcer for multiple sporting competitions including the Waikiki Rough Water Swim and the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big-wave surf contest. He was also a skilled waterman, surfer and canoe paddler. He is the father of former professional surfer Laura Blears.
***
Lord James "Tallyho" Blears 92, passed March 3rd. Born in the United Kingdom. 1923-2016.
WRESTLER/ WATER- MAN/SPORTS ANNOUNCER
Joined the Service and endured, survived WWII War Atrocities, then became a Professional Big Time Wrestler. Lord and his wife Lee retired and lived in Makaha where they enjoyed living amongst the wonderful people of The West Side of Oahu. Lord Tallyho Blears, will be missed. " ALOHA & TALLYHO! "
Lord is survived by daughters, Carol & Laura, son; Clinton, Grandsons; Dylan & Zach and Great Grand Daughter, Ka'imino'eau Gwenna-Leigh Ching.
A MEMORIAL SERVICE WILL BE HELD AT MAKAHA BEACH ON SATURDAY, APRIL 9TH, 2016 AT 11:00am. FRIENDS ARE INVITED TO CELEBRATE AND SHARE MEMORIES OF HIS LIFE. Info: Clinton 808 224-7321.
*** [4/6/16] Mufi remembers 50th State Wrestling (page 24)
The charismatic Blears provided the colorful soundtrack for the heyday of pro wrestling in the state in the 1960s and ’70s and went on to become “the voice of surfing” and water sports for another 30 years.
His remarkable life, which ended last month at age 92, will be celebrated in a memorial service Saturday at 11 a.m. at Makaha Beach.
***
[3/8/16] James Blears, a legendary wrestling champion, local promoter and World War II survivor who was nearly killed by his Japanese captors, has died.
Blears died of natural causes Thursday night at Kuakini Medical Center, his son Clinton Blears said. He was 92.
“He lived a good life,” Clinton Blears said. “He always told jokes. He gave us the gift of being able to tell stories because he was a story- and a joke teller.”
Blears, a professional wrestler known as Lord “Tally-Ho” Blears, told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in 2001 that he would eat a can of peaches every March 29 in homage to his fellow captives who perished and to remind himself of the preciousness of life and resilience. He said he ate peaches because it was the first food sailors gave him after they plucked him from the Indian Ocean, following his escape from his Japanese captors in 1944.
Blears was a 21-year-old radio officer on a Dutch merchant ship that had been sunk by a Japanese submarine near the end of World War II. The Japanese brought aboard the survivors and were shooting or decapitating many on the foredeck. Blears said he escaped by kicking a Japanese officer and pulling his hand out of a rope, then jumping overboard.
In Hawaii, Blears was an announcer for multiple sporting competitions including the Waikiki Rough Water Swim and the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big-wave surf contest. He was also a skilled waterman, surfer and canoe paddler. He is the father of former professional surfer Laura Blears.
***
Lord James "Tallyho" Blears 92, passed March 3rd. Born in the United Kingdom. 1923-2016.
WRESTLER/ WATER- MAN/SPORTS ANNOUNCER
Joined the Service and endured, survived WWII War Atrocities, then became a Professional Big Time Wrestler. Lord and his wife Lee retired and lived in Makaha where they enjoyed living amongst the wonderful people of The West Side of Oahu. Lord Tallyho Blears, will be missed. " ALOHA & TALLYHO! "
Lord is survived by daughters, Carol & Laura, son; Clinton, Grandsons; Dylan & Zach and Great Grand Daughter, Ka'imino'eau Gwenna-Leigh Ching.
A MEMORIAL SERVICE WILL BE HELD AT MAKAHA BEACH ON SATURDAY, APRIL 9TH, 2016 AT 11:00am. FRIENDS ARE INVITED TO CELEBRATE AND SHARE MEMORIES OF HIS LIFE. Info: Clinton 808 224-7321.
*** [4/6/16] Mufi remembers 50th State Wrestling (page 24)
Tuesday, April 05, 2016
Villanova wins NCAA Championship
HOUSTON (AP) -- One good shot deserved another.
Kris Jenkins of Villanova wasn't about to be outdone.
Jenkins overcame the shock of watching North Carolina's Marcus Paige hit a double-clutch 3 to tie it by spotting up behind the right side of the arc and draining a 3 of his own at the buzzer to lift Villanova to a 77-74 victory and the national championship Monday night.
What a shot! What a game!
Kris Jenkins of Villanova wasn't about to be outdone.
Jenkins overcame the shock of watching North Carolina's Marcus Paige hit a double-clutch 3 to tie it by spotting up behind the right side of the arc and draining a 3 of his own at the buzzer to lift Villanova to a 77-74 victory and the national championship Monday night.
What a shot! What a game!
Monday, April 04, 2016
Yao, Shaq, Iverson in Hall of Fame
Pound for pound, the best player of his era has been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Allen Iverson also got in as well.
Shaquille O’Neal joined Yao Ming and Iverson in being named to the Hall of Fame on Monday. Iverson worked in stark contrast to both Shaq and Yao, a 6-foot (maybe) waterbug taking on all comers in the last NBA era to feature low post behemoths.
O’Neal won three titles while manning the paint as a Los Angeles Laker. Starting his career in Orlando, the center made it to the Finals in just his third year as a pro before moving on to California. He paired with Kobe Bryant to take Los Angeles to four Finals overall prior to being traded to Miami. Teaming with Dwyane Wade, O’Neal won a title in 2006. His time in Phoenix, Cleveland and Boston was less successful, but he did work on teams that made it deep into the playoffs before hanging things up in 2011.
Iverson’s career was a little more complicated.
Shaquille O’Neal joined Yao Ming and Iverson in being named to the Hall of Fame on Monday. Iverson worked in stark contrast to both Shaq and Yao, a 6-foot (maybe) waterbug taking on all comers in the last NBA era to feature low post behemoths.
O’Neal won three titles while manning the paint as a Los Angeles Laker. Starting his career in Orlando, the center made it to the Finals in just his third year as a pro before moving on to California. He paired with Kobe Bryant to take Los Angeles to four Finals overall prior to being traded to Miami. Teaming with Dwyane Wade, O’Neal won a title in 2006. His time in Phoenix, Cleveland and Boston was less successful, but he did work on teams that made it deep into the playoffs before hanging things up in 2011.
Iverson’s career was a little more complicated.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Warriors get first ever NCAA tournament win
SPOKANE, WASH. >> Eran Ganot sat by himself, folded against a
table in a corner of his team’s deserted locker room. His shirt was
soaked from a celebratory dousing. His phone buzzed incessantly on the
tabletop.
“This thing’s going crazy,” Hawaii’s first-year head coach said. “What just happened here?”
Only the biggest victory in Rainbow Warriors basketball history.
***
When time had expired and confirming glances at the TV screen attested to the authenticity of the University of Hawaii’s opening-round NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament victory, the old coach went airborne.
Propelled by the exultation of a breakthrough triumph 44 long years in coming, 74-year-old Riley Wallace leaped out of his chair at the California Hotel &Casino in Las Vegas, where he had joined a gathering of Hawaii fans.
“I jumped 3 inches, I was so happy,” Wallace said in a phone call. “OK, maybe 2. My (vertical) isn’t what it used to be.”
“This thing’s going crazy,” Hawaii’s first-year head coach said. “What just happened here?”
Only the biggest victory in Rainbow Warriors basketball history.
***
When time had expired and confirming glances at the TV screen attested to the authenticity of the University of Hawaii’s opening-round NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament victory, the old coach went airborne.
Propelled by the exultation of a breakthrough triumph 44 long years in coming, 74-year-old Riley Wallace leaped out of his chair at the California Hotel &Casino in Las Vegas, where he had joined a gathering of Hawaii fans.
“I jumped 3 inches, I was so happy,” Wallace said in a phone call. “OK, maybe 2. My (vertical) isn’t what it used to be.”
Friday, March 18, 2016
Fox Sports 990
Conservative talk radio on KIKI-AM 990 will give way to FOX Sports Radio effective Thursday. The station will be branded FOX Sports 990, said Chuck Cotton, president of iHeartMedia Hawaii.
Also, “we’ve signed an affiliation agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers for all the home and away games, including the Freeway Series that starts at the end of March,” he said.
The station also will carry all Tennessee Titans games, featuring Hawaii-grown quarterback Marcus Mariota, as well as some other shows from the Tennessee Titans Radio Network, he said.
An additional affiliation agreement could be completed next week, Cotton said.
The FOX Sports Radio lineup includes “FOX Sports Daybreak” with Andy Furman and Mike North, “The Dan Patrick Show,” “The Herd” with Colin Cowherd and “Jay Mohr Sports” throughout its 24-hour broadcast day.
The programming will be aired live rather than being time-shifted for the Hawaii market, said Cotton.
FOX Sports Radio shows will be pre-empted for Dodgers and Titans broadcasts, as well as for broadcasts by the yet-to-be-announced affiliate.
mid-major players to watch
As this week’s NCAA Tournament shifts from Dayton to sites across the country, we’ve put together a list of 10 players worth watching from traditional one-bid conferences. Their performances in conference play suggest they could make the most of this opportunity.
Joel Bolomboy, F/C, Weber State (Big Sky)
Quinton Chievous, F, Hampton (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
A.J. English, G, Iona (Metro Atlantic)
Marvelle Harris, G, Fresno State (Mountain West)
Chris Horton, C/F, Austin Peay (Ohio Valley Conference)
Stefan Jankovic, F, Hawaii (Big West)
Carrington Love, G, Green Bay (Horizon)
Justin Sears, F, Yale (Ivy League)
Thomas Walkup, G/F, Stephen F. Austin (Southland Conference)
Jameel Warney, F, Stony Brook (America East)
I wonder how many of these will get drafted and/or make it in the NBA?
Checking nbadraft.net, I see Bolomboy at 41 and that's it.
Joel Bolomboy, F/C, Weber State (Big Sky)
Quinton Chievous, F, Hampton (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
A.J. English, G, Iona (Metro Atlantic)
Marvelle Harris, G, Fresno State (Mountain West)
Chris Horton, C/F, Austin Peay (Ohio Valley Conference)
Stefan Jankovic, F, Hawaii (Big West)
Carrington Love, G, Green Bay (Horizon)
Justin Sears, F, Yale (Ivy League)
Thomas Walkup, G/F, Stephen F. Austin (Southland Conference)
Jameel Warney, F, Stony Brook (America East)
I wonder how many of these will get drafted and/or make it in the NBA?
Checking nbadraft.net, I see Bolomboy at 41 and that's it.
Saturday, March 12, 2016
2015-2016 Rainbow Warrior Basketball
[3/12/16] Hawaii wins Big West tournament, headed for The Big Dance
[3/8/16] Stefan Jankovic named Big West Player of the Year, Eran Ganot named Big West Coach of the Year
[10/16/15] $700,000 settlement deal for Gib Arnold
[9/2/15] Jakob Cornelissen walks on from Australia
[9/2/15] Gib Arnold hired as Celtics scout
[8/21/15] Warriors land guard from Sweden
[7/15/15] Gib's coaches: where are they now? / Benjy Taylor is now a car salesman
[6/24/15] UH to change shoes from Adidas to Under Armour
[6/21/15] Jack Purchase to transfer from Auburn to Hawaii
[6/21/15] UH rebuts Gib Arnold's counter-allegations
[6/11/15] Gib Arnold responds to UH lawsuit
[6/10/15] Gib Arnold rounding up allies
[6/7/15] Dave Rozitis issues statement in defense of Gib Arnold
[6/4/15] Former Arizona State forward Sai Tummala commits to Hawaii
[5/29/15] Gib Arnold and UH headed to arbitration
[5/27/15] Negus Webster-Chan to turn pro, forsaking final two years
[5/23/15] Chris Acker is the third assistant coach
[5/17/15] Norm Parrish named as second full assistant
[5/16/15] The University of Hawaii said it will vacate 36 victories; reduce scholarships, practice time and tryouts; cut back the role of its operations director; pay a $10,000 fine; and place itself on one-year probation for violations of NCAA rules by its men's basketball program.
[5/12/15] Bryce Canda Q&A
[5/11/15] Ganot's first recruit is Bryce Canda
[5/1/15] Awards banquet and sendoff for Benjy
[4/29/15] Ganot yet to sign contract
[4/24/15] Ganot's first hire is Adam Jacobsen
[4/14/15] Isaac Fleming will stick it out
[4/10/15] Ganot sees it as a calling
[4/10/15] Ganot is out to build a culture
[4/9/15] Eran Ganot introduced as the 21st coach for Hawaii basketball
[3/8/16] Stefan Jankovic named Big West Player of the Year, Eran Ganot named Big West Coach of the Year
[10/16/15] $700,000 settlement deal for Gib Arnold
[9/2/15] Jakob Cornelissen walks on from Australia
[9/2/15] Gib Arnold hired as Celtics scout
[8/21/15] Warriors land guard from Sweden
[7/15/15] Gib's coaches: where are they now? / Benjy Taylor is now a car salesman
[6/24/15] UH to change shoes from Adidas to Under Armour
[6/21/15] Jack Purchase to transfer from Auburn to Hawaii
[6/21/15] UH rebuts Gib Arnold's counter-allegations
[6/11/15] Gib Arnold responds to UH lawsuit
[6/10/15] Gib Arnold rounding up allies
[6/7/15] Dave Rozitis issues statement in defense of Gib Arnold
[6/4/15] Former Arizona State forward Sai Tummala commits to Hawaii
[5/29/15] Gib Arnold and UH headed to arbitration
[5/27/15] Negus Webster-Chan to turn pro, forsaking final two years
[5/23/15] Chris Acker is the third assistant coach
[5/17/15] Norm Parrish named as second full assistant
[5/16/15] The University of Hawaii said it will vacate 36 victories; reduce scholarships, practice time and tryouts; cut back the role of its operations director; pay a $10,000 fine; and place itself on one-year probation for violations of NCAA rules by its men's basketball program.
The self-imposed sanctions, contained in a 64-page reply to the NCAA on Friday, were immediately blasted by fired coach Gib Arnold's attorney, James Bickerton, who categorized them as "a typically shortsighted action, throwing students and their achievements under the bus to save their own okoles."
[5/12/15] Bryce Canda Q&A
[5/11/15] Ganot's first recruit is Bryce Canda
[5/1/15] Awards banquet and sendoff for Benjy
[4/29/15] Ganot yet to sign contract
[4/24/15] Ganot's first hire is Adam Jacobsen
[4/14/15] Isaac Fleming will stick it out
[4/10/15] Ganot sees it as a calling
[4/10/15] Ganot is out to build a culture
[4/9/15] Eran Ganot introduced as the 21st coach for Hawaii basketball
Sunday, March 06, 2016
UFC 196
LAS VEGAS - With a pair of rear naked chokes that finished two celebrated champions, Nate Diaz and Miesha Tate both accomplished the improbable in a pair of sport-shaking victories at UFC 196.
The main event was the greatest moment in the career of Diaz, a pugnacious veteran from a notorious fighting family in Stockton, California. Diaz had lost three of his past five fights, but his size and power abruptly finished McGregor, who had boasted of his plans to hold championships in multiple weight classes.
The loss was McGregor's first since November 2010, and it put a blemish on the loquacious Irish face of the UFC and the best-paid fighter in this rapidly growing sport.
McGregor agreed to fight Diaz at the welterweight limit when 155-pound lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos dropped out of his matchup with McGregor due to a foot injury. McGregor set a new UFC record with his $1 million disclosed purse for this fight, and he predicted a comfortable win over Diaz, comparing the veteran to a gazelle about to be eaten by a lion.
Instead, McGregor got bit.
"(McGregor) punches hard," Diaz said. "He's a hard-hitting little guy, but nothing I never felt before."
***
LAS VEGAS – Less than a year after she was denied a shot at the championship that had been promised to her, Miesha Tate completed an amazing comeback journey with a dramatic submission of Holly Holm Saturday in the co-main event of UFC 196 at the MGM Grand Garden.
Tate, who lost her Strikeforce title to bitter rival Ronda Rousey in 2012 and then lost a shot at the UFC belt in 2013, submitted Holm with a rear naked choke at 3:30 of the fifth round.
It was a sensational submission. Tate took Holm down, who fought to stand up. Tate stayed on her and sunk in a rear naked choke. Holm moved over to the cage and then somersaulted forward, flipping Tate over.
Tate, though, didn’t release the hold and when they hit the ground; she kept the choke. She squeezed with all her might and Holm went out at 3:30, making Tate the new champion.
She nearly finished Holm in the second after a takedown, eventually getting the champion’s back and sinking in a choke. Holm fought it and the bell sounded, saving her.
Holm seemed to take control by winning the third and fourth rounds.
But Tate, who is as dogged as any fighter in the UFC, kept coming.
“I had to be patient,” Tate said. “She’s dangerous and is capable of catching anyone at any moment.”
Her win will likely mean a third meeting with her bitter rival Rousey, though that has yet to be determined.
The victory was especially sweet for Tate after she got bypassed for the title shot last year. UFC president Dana White had promised that the winner of the Tate-Jessica Eye fight in July would meet Rousey for the title. Tate won and White confirmed that she’d meet Rousey a third time.
But he thought better of it and several weeks later, changed his mind and gave Holm the shot instead. Tate found out while she was on a movie set with Holm.
Tate was bitter, and it was made worse when Holm went to Melbourne, Australia, and knocked out Rousey on Nov. 14 at UFC 193 in arguably the greatest upset in UFC history.
***
Conor McGregor mocked Diaz, taunted him at every turn and predicted a first-round finish during the intense 10-day promotion that came about when lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos pulled out of UFC 196 because of a broken foot.
Seconds after he submitted the heavily hyped McGregor on Saturday in the second round of their welterweight bout at the MGM Grand Garden, Diaz grabbed the microphone and said, “I’m not surprised, [expletive].”
In addition to being one of the world’s best fighters, Diaz is the UFC’s undisputed king of F-bombs, and he dropped one in the cage Saturday as he was basking in the glow of his greatest victory.
McGregor, though, was the star of this show. He opted to stay on the card following dos Anjos’ injury, even though as he said afterward, “they gave me every opportunity to pull out.”
He promoted the match with Diaz hard, and turned fans who showed up at a UFC gym in Torrance, Calif., for a hastily thrown together news conference into a frenzy with his taunts.
The fight was going his way for much of the night, but he learned a lesson that welterweights are vastly different than featherweights. He started slowly, but by the mid-point of the first round, he was picking Diaz apart.
McGregor opened a cut over Diaz’s right eye and his fast hands were getting through and hitting the mark.
But when McGregor hit featherweights like Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes and Dustin Poirier with those shots, they fell and he finished them.
Diaz, though, not only took them but relentlessly kept pushing forward.
“It is what it is,” McGregor said. “He’s a heavier man. It was simply me fighting a heavier man. He can take a hell of a shot. Him and Nick have that kind of style where they can take it and remain in there and remain in your face. … I make no excuses. It is what it is. I took a chance and it didn’t pay off, but I’ll be back.”
Most likely, he’ll be back at UFC 200 in July. Whenever he’s back, it will be at featherweight, he said. That means he’ll defend against either Aldo or Frankie Edgar.
Diaz isn’t a champion, but he may have earned himself a shot at dos Anjos’ belt. Dos Anjos holds a win over Diaz, but with Diaz’s momentum, he may get the shot.
The main event was the greatest moment in the career of Diaz, a pugnacious veteran from a notorious fighting family in Stockton, California. Diaz had lost three of his past five fights, but his size and power abruptly finished McGregor, who had boasted of his plans to hold championships in multiple weight classes.
The loss was McGregor's first since November 2010, and it put a blemish on the loquacious Irish face of the UFC and the best-paid fighter in this rapidly growing sport.
McGregor agreed to fight Diaz at the welterweight limit when 155-pound lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos dropped out of his matchup with McGregor due to a foot injury. McGregor set a new UFC record with his $1 million disclosed purse for this fight, and he predicted a comfortable win over Diaz, comparing the veteran to a gazelle about to be eaten by a lion.
Instead, McGregor got bit.
"(McGregor) punches hard," Diaz said. "He's a hard-hitting little guy, but nothing I never felt before."
***
LAS VEGAS – Less than a year after she was denied a shot at the championship that had been promised to her, Miesha Tate completed an amazing comeback journey with a dramatic submission of Holly Holm Saturday in the co-main event of UFC 196 at the MGM Grand Garden.
Tate, who lost her Strikeforce title to bitter rival Ronda Rousey in 2012 and then lost a shot at the UFC belt in 2013, submitted Holm with a rear naked choke at 3:30 of the fifth round.
It was a sensational submission. Tate took Holm down, who fought to stand up. Tate stayed on her and sunk in a rear naked choke. Holm moved over to the cage and then somersaulted forward, flipping Tate over.
Tate, though, didn’t release the hold and when they hit the ground; she kept the choke. She squeezed with all her might and Holm went out at 3:30, making Tate the new champion.
She nearly finished Holm in the second after a takedown, eventually getting the champion’s back and sinking in a choke. Holm fought it and the bell sounded, saving her.
Holm seemed to take control by winning the third and fourth rounds.
But Tate, who is as dogged as any fighter in the UFC, kept coming.
“I had to be patient,” Tate said. “She’s dangerous and is capable of catching anyone at any moment.”
Her win will likely mean a third meeting with her bitter rival Rousey, though that has yet to be determined.
The victory was especially sweet for Tate after she got bypassed for the title shot last year. UFC president Dana White had promised that the winner of the Tate-Jessica Eye fight in July would meet Rousey for the title. Tate won and White confirmed that she’d meet Rousey a third time.
But he thought better of it and several weeks later, changed his mind and gave Holm the shot instead. Tate found out while she was on a movie set with Holm.
Tate was bitter, and it was made worse when Holm went to Melbourne, Australia, and knocked out Rousey on Nov. 14 at UFC 193 in arguably the greatest upset in UFC history.
***
Conor McGregor mocked Diaz, taunted him at every turn and predicted a first-round finish during the intense 10-day promotion that came about when lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos pulled out of UFC 196 because of a broken foot.
Seconds after he submitted the heavily hyped McGregor on Saturday in the second round of their welterweight bout at the MGM Grand Garden, Diaz grabbed the microphone and said, “I’m not surprised, [expletive].”
In addition to being one of the world’s best fighters, Diaz is the UFC’s undisputed king of F-bombs, and he dropped one in the cage Saturday as he was basking in the glow of his greatest victory.
McGregor, though, was the star of this show. He opted to stay on the card following dos Anjos’ injury, even though as he said afterward, “they gave me every opportunity to pull out.”
He promoted the match with Diaz hard, and turned fans who showed up at a UFC gym in Torrance, Calif., for a hastily thrown together news conference into a frenzy with his taunts.
The fight was going his way for much of the night, but he learned a lesson that welterweights are vastly different than featherweights. He started slowly, but by the mid-point of the first round, he was picking Diaz apart.
McGregor opened a cut over Diaz’s right eye and his fast hands were getting through and hitting the mark.
But when McGregor hit featherweights like Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes and Dustin Poirier with those shots, they fell and he finished them.
Diaz, though, not only took them but relentlessly kept pushing forward.
“It is what it is,” McGregor said. “He’s a heavier man. It was simply me fighting a heavier man. He can take a hell of a shot. Him and Nick have that kind of style where they can take it and remain in there and remain in your face. … I make no excuses. It is what it is. I took a chance and it didn’t pay off, but I’ll be back.”
Most likely, he’ll be back at UFC 200 in July. Whenever he’s back, it will be at featherweight, he said. That means he’ll defend against either Aldo or Frankie Edgar.
Diaz isn’t a champion, but he may have earned himself a shot at dos Anjos’ belt. Dos Anjos holds a win over Diaz, but with Diaz’s momentum, he may get the shot.
Peyton Manning retires
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. >> Peyton Manning surveyed the landscape of his brilliant career and called one last audible. He’s retiring a champion.
A month after Denver’s triumph in Super Bowl 50, Manning informed John Elway he is following his lead and riding off into that orange sunset just like the Broncos’ boss did 17 years ago after winning his second Super Bowl.
Just shy of 40, Manning will forgo $19 million and a 19th season in the NFL, where he served as both a throwback and a transformer during a glittering career bookmarked by an unprecedented five MVP awards and dozens of passing records.
“Peyton was a player that guys wanted to play with,” Elway said. “That made us better as a team and I’m thrilled that we were able to win a championship in his final year.”
Manning leaves the league he helped popularize to supersize status as its all-time leading passer and winningest starting quarterback, the only one in NFL history to win Super Bowls with two franchises.
His first came in 2007 with the Indianapolis Colts, who drafted him No. 1 overall in 1998. The Colts gave up on him after a series of neck surgeries forced Manning to miss all of the 2011 season and left him without feeling in the fingertips of his right hand.
A rare superstar quarterback on the open market in 2012, Manning resettled in Denver, where, despite a right arm weakened by nerve damage, he went 50-15 with his fifth MVP award and two trips to the Super Bowl in four seasons.
Monday, February 08, 2016
NBA 2015-2016
3/3/16 - Ty Lawson agrees to deal with Pacers
3/2/16 - Kevin Martin bought out by Minnesota
3/2/16 - Atlanta signs Kris Humphries
3/2/16 - Rockets to buy out Ty Lawson
2/27/16 - Joe Johnson to sign with Miami
2/25/16 - Nets buy out Joe Johnson who gives back $3 million
2/22/16 - Knicks sign Jimmer Fredette
2/22/16 - David Lee signs with Dallas
2/18/16 - Clippers steal Jeff Green from Memphis for Lance Stephenson
2/18/16 - Markieff Morris traded from Phoenix to Washington for DeJuan Blair, Kris Humphries and a protected first-round pick
2/18/16 - Cleveland trades Anderson Verajao to Portland who sends Jared Cunningham (expected to be waived) and a second-round pick to Orlando who sends Channing Frye to Cleveland
2/18/16 - Oklahoma City acquires Randy Foye from Denver for D.J. Augustin and Steve Novak (and $8 million less in luxury tax)
2/18/16 - Pistons acquire Donatas Motiejunas and Marcus Thornton from Houston for Joel Anthony and a lottery-protected (1-6) 2016 first round draft pick [trade rescinded]
2/18/16 - Brooklyn hires Sean Marks as general manager
2/16/16 - Orlando trades Tobias Harris to Detroit for Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova
2/16/16 - Memphis trades Courtney Lee to Charlotte who trades P.J. Hairston to Memphis and Brian Roberts to Miami who trades Chris Anderson to Memphis
2/8/16 - New York fires Derek Fisher
2/1/16 - Phoenix fires Jeff Hornacek
1/22/16 - Cleveland fires David Blatt
1/11/16 - Brooklyn fires Lionel Hollins
12/1/15 - Lakers end Philadelphia's 18-game losing streak (actually 28)
11/29/15 - Kobe announces retirement (at end of season)
11/18/15 - Rockets fire Kevin McHale
10/25/15 - Flip Saunders passes away at 60 (reactions, KG)
10/22/15 - Tristan Thompson signs with Cleveland for 5 years, $82 million
10/20/15 - NBA.com 2015-2016 GM Survey
9/25/15 - World Peace returns to Los Angeles
8/27/15 - Darryl Dawkins dies at 58
8/20/15 - J.R. Smith returns to Cleveland for two years, $5 million per season
8/7/15 - 34 players at USA Basketball mini-camp
8/1/15 - Olajuwon and Mutombo suit up for Team Africa
7/31/15 - Kings to hire Nancy Lieberman as assistant (hired)
7/30/15 - Minnesota signs Andre Miller
7/27/15 - Miami trades Shabazz Napier to Orlando for second round pick
7/27/15 - Cavaliers send Brendan Haywood and Mike Miller to Portland
7/22/15 - Richard Jefferson signs with Cleveland for the veteran's minimum (to replace the retired Shawn Marion)
7/20/15 - Nuggets trades Ty Lawson to Rockets for Nick Johnson, Kostas Papanikolaou, Pablo Prigioni, Joey Dorsey, lottery-protected 2016 first-round pick, and cash considerations
7/17/15 - Josh Smith leaves Rockets for Clippers for the one year veteran's minimum of $1.5 million (still gets $5.4 million from the Pistons)
7/16/15 - J.J. Barea re-signs with Dallas for four years, $16 million
7/16/15 - Cuban and Ballmer clear the air
7/15/15 - Deron Williams signs with Dallas for two years, $10 million
7/13/15 - Austin Rivers re-signs with Clippers for two years, $6.4 million
7/13/15 - Pacers acquire Chase Budinger from Minnesota for Damjan Rudez
7/13/15 - Andrea Bargnani chooses New Jersey over Sacramento
7/13/15 - Oklahoma City matches Portland's offer sheet for Enes Kanter
7/10/15 - Amare Stoudemire signs with Miami for one year, $1.5 million (the minimum)
7/10/15 - Kevin Garnett to re-sign with Minnesota for two years, $16 million
7/9/15 - Dallas trades for Zaza Pachulia from Milwaukee for second-round pick / Mark Cuban moves forward / Jordan tweets apology / the great emoji battle / JJ Redick reveals what actually happened
7/9/15 - LeBron James to re-sign with Cleveland for two years, $46.9 million
7/9/15 - Enes Kanters signs max $70 million four year offer sheet with Portland
7/9/15 - Kings trade Ray McCallum to Spurs for second round pick
7/9/15 - Tim Duncan agrees to take $10 million for two years
7/9/15 - Gerald Green signs with Miami for one year
7/9/15 - Jeremy Lin signs with Charlotte for two years, $4 million
7/9/15 - Luis Scola headed to Toronto for one year, $3 million, which meant Luke Ridnour leaves another team
7/9/15 - DeAndre Jordan re-signs with Clippers after all / reactions, Desperately Driving Cuban?, Chandler Parsons says it's nothing personal / what's the deal, they do it all the time in college football / Doc Rivers view / The Antonio McDyess story / Keith Olbermann's Reversal Hall of Fame / Emojis from Paul Pierce
7/8/15 - Clippers trying to get DeAndre Jordan to reconsider his decision
7/8/15 - Wesley Johnson to sign with Clippers for league minimum
7/8/15 - Charlie Villanueva returns to Dallas for one year, $1.5 million
7/8/15 - Wizards sign Alan Anderson for one year, $4 million
7/7/15 - 13 remaining free agents worth mentioning (Jeremy Lin makes the list this time)
7/7/15 - Golden State trades David Lee to Boston for Gerald Wallace
7/6/15 - Free agent winners and losers
7/6/15 - Mo Williams returns to Cavaliers for 2 years, $4.3 million
7/6/15 - David West agrees to take $1.4 million from Spurs instead of $12 million from Pacers and Ginobili decides to return (for two years, $5.7 million)
7/6/15 - Corey Joseph agrees to sign with Toronto
7/6/15 - Minnesota agrees to terms with Euroleague MVP Nemanja Bjelica for three years, $11.7 million
7/6/15 - Marc Gasol returns to Grizzlies for five years, $110 million
7/6/15 - Pistons re-sign Reggie Jackson for five years, $80 million
7/6/15 - Lou Williams to sign with Lakers for three years, $21 million and Brandon Bass
7/5/15 - Rodney Stuckey re-signs with Pacers for three years, $21 million
7/5/15 - Steve Nash training to play professional soccer
7/4/15 - Jeremy Lin not worth mentioning? (David Lee too -- well he's not a free agent)
7/4/15 - Tobias Harris staying with Orlando for four years, $64 million (turning down Sacramento)
7/4/15 - Kosta Koufas leaves Memphis for Sacramento for $33 million, four years
7/4/15 - Lakers will trade for Roy Hibbert from Indiana for second round pick
7/4/15 - LaMarcus Aldridge will leave Portland to sign with San Antonio for $80 million, four years
7/3/15 - Derrick Williams signs with the Knicks for two years, $10 million
7/3/15 - Rajon Rondo leaving Dallas to sign with Sacramento for one year, $10 million
7/3/15 - Marco Bellinelli leaving San Antonio to sign with Sacramento for three years, $19 million
7/3/15 - Patrick Beverly to return to Houston for $25 million, four years
7/3/15 - Corey Brewer to return to Houston for $24 million, three years
7/3/15 - Gary Neal signs with Wizards for one year, $2.1 million
7/3/15 - DeAndre Jordan leaves Clippers to sign with Dallas for $80 million, four years
7/3/15 - Robin Lopez leaves Portland to sign with Knicks for $54 million, four years
7/2/15 - Free agency Day 2 blog
7/3/15 - Wesley Matthews to leave Portland for Dallas for $65 million, four years
7/2/15 - Jared Dudley headed from Milwaukee to Washington for second-round pick
7/2/15 - Kenyon Martin says he is retiring
7/2/15 - Ed Davis agrees to take $20 million for three years from Portland
7/2/15 - Greg Monroe signs with Milwaukee for three years, $50 million
7/2/15 - Dwyane Wade stays with Heat for 1 year, $20 million
7/2/15 - Shane Larkin to join Nets for two years, $3 million
7/2/15 - Phoenix trades Marcus Morris, Danny Granger, Reggie Bullock to Detroit for future draft pick (and salary cap space) (official)
7/2/15 - Monta Ellis signs with Indiana for four years, $44 million
7/2/15 - Arron Afflalo signs with Knicks for two years, $16 million
7/1/15 - a hectic day in the NBA
7/1/15 - Sacramento dumps Jason Thompson, Carl Landry, Nick Stauskas, future first round pick, and two first round swaps to Philadelphia for overseas players and a future second round pick
7/1/15 - Spurs trade Tiago Splitter to Atlanta to free up cap space
7/1/15 - Draymond Green agrees to take $85 million for five years to go back to the World Champions
7/1/15 - Suns sign Tyson Chandler for $52 million, four years and bring back Brandon Knight for $70 million, five years.
7/1/15 - Paul Pierce to sign with Clippers for three years, $10.5 million
7/1/15 - Paul Milsap to re-sign with Atlanta for three seasons, $58 million
7/1/15 - DeMarre Carroll signs with Toronto for four years, $60 million
7/1/15 - Kyle Singler signs extension with Oklahoma City for $25 million, five years
7/1/15 - Amir Johnson signs with Celtics for two years, $24 million
7/1/15 - Brandon Wright signs with Memphis for three years, $18 million
7/1/15 - Kevin Love will remain with Cavaliers for five years, $110 million, Tristan Thompson to get $80 million for five years, Iman Shumpert to get $40 million for four years.
7/1/15 - Danny Green will take $45 million for four years to stay with Spurs
7/1/15 - Bucks to give Khris Middleton, $70 million, five years
7/1/15 - Damien Lillard near max-level extension for $120 million (make that $125 million+, five years to remain with Portland
7/1/15 - Goran Dragic agrees with Heat to $90 million, five years
7/1/15 - Mike Dunleavy agrees to return to Chicago for $14.4 million, three years
7/1/15 - Portland agrees to sign Al-Farouq Aminu (from Dallas) for $30 million, four years
7/1/15 - Kawhi Leonard agrees on five years, $90 million
7/1/15 - New Orleans brings back Omer Asik for five years, $60 million and Alexis Ajinca for four years, 20.5 million
7/1/5 - Anthony Davis agrees to maximum extension for five years, $140 million
6/30/15 - Luke Ridnour traded for the fourth time in less than a week (OKC to Toronto for Tomislav Zubcic)
6/26/15 - NBA draft trade roundup
Greivis Vasquez traded from Toronto to Milwaukee for 2017 first round pick and rights to no. 46 pick Norman Powell
Atlanta trades rights to no. 15 pick Kelly Oubre to Washington for rights to no. 19 pick Jerian Grant and two future second-round picks
New York trades Tim Hardaway, Jr. to Atlanta for rights to no. 19 pick Jerian Grant
Portland trades Steve Blake and rights to no. 23 pick Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to Brooklyn for Mason Plumlee and rights to no. 41 Pat Connaughton
6/25/15 - Memphis acquire Matt Barnes from Charlotte for Luke Ridnour. Ridnour traded to Oklahoma City for Jeremy Lamb
6/24/15 - Luke Ridnour traded from Orlando to Memphis for rights to Jannis Timma
6/24/15 - Portland trades Nicolas Batum to Charlotte for Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh
6/16/15 - Michael Malone agrees to be Denver head coach
6/16/15 - Lance Stephenson traded from Hornets to Clippers for Matt Barnes and Spencer Hawes
6/11/15 - Ersan Ilyasova traded from Milwaukee to Detroit for Caron Butler and Shawne Williams
6/2/15 - Chicago hires Fred Hoiberg as new head coach
6/1/15 - New Orleans hires Alvin Gentry as head coach
5/28/15 - Chicago fires Tom Thibodeau
5/12/15 - New Orleans fires head coach Monty Williams despite making the playoffs / Calipari anyone?
4/30/15 - Billy Donovan agrees to coach Oklahoma City
4/23/15 - Scott Brooks fired as Oklahoma City head coach after seven seasons
3/2/16 - Kevin Martin bought out by Minnesota
3/2/16 - Atlanta signs Kris Humphries
3/2/16 - Rockets to buy out Ty Lawson
2/27/16 - Joe Johnson to sign with Miami
2/25/16 - Nets buy out Joe Johnson who gives back $3 million
2/22/16 - Knicks sign Jimmer Fredette
2/22/16 - David Lee signs with Dallas
2/18/16 - Clippers steal Jeff Green from Memphis for Lance Stephenson
2/18/16 - Markieff Morris traded from Phoenix to Washington for DeJuan Blair, Kris Humphries and a protected first-round pick
2/18/16 - Cleveland trades Anderson Verajao to Portland who sends Jared Cunningham (expected to be waived) and a second-round pick to Orlando who sends Channing Frye to Cleveland
2/18/16 - Oklahoma City acquires Randy Foye from Denver for D.J. Augustin and Steve Novak (and $8 million less in luxury tax)
2/18/16 - Pistons acquire Donatas Motiejunas and Marcus Thornton from Houston for Joel Anthony and a lottery-protected (1-6) 2016 first round draft pick [trade rescinded]
2/18/16 - Brooklyn hires Sean Marks as general manager
2/16/16 - Orlando trades Tobias Harris to Detroit for Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova
2/16/16 - Memphis trades Courtney Lee to Charlotte who trades P.J. Hairston to Memphis and Brian Roberts to Miami who trades Chris Anderson to Memphis
2/8/16 - New York fires Derek Fisher
2/1/16 - Phoenix fires Jeff Hornacek
1/22/16 - Cleveland fires David Blatt
1/11/16 - Brooklyn fires Lionel Hollins
12/1/15 - Lakers end Philadelphia's 18-game losing streak (actually 28)
11/29/15 - Kobe announces retirement (at end of season)
11/18/15 - Rockets fire Kevin McHale
10/25/15 - Flip Saunders passes away at 60 (reactions, KG)
10/22/15 - Tristan Thompson signs with Cleveland for 5 years, $82 million
10/20/15 - NBA.com 2015-2016 GM Survey
9/25/15 - World Peace returns to Los Angeles
8/27/15 - Darryl Dawkins dies at 58
8/20/15 - J.R. Smith returns to Cleveland for two years, $5 million per season
8/7/15 - 34 players at USA Basketball mini-camp
8/1/15 - Olajuwon and Mutombo suit up for Team Africa
7/31/15 - Kings to hire Nancy Lieberman as assistant (hired)
7/30/15 - Minnesota signs Andre Miller
7/27/15 - Miami trades Shabazz Napier to Orlando for second round pick
7/27/15 - Cavaliers send Brendan Haywood and Mike Miller to Portland
7/22/15 - Richard Jefferson signs with Cleveland for the veteran's minimum (to replace the retired Shawn Marion)
7/20/15 - Nuggets trades Ty Lawson to Rockets for Nick Johnson, Kostas Papanikolaou, Pablo Prigioni, Joey Dorsey, lottery-protected 2016 first-round pick, and cash considerations
7/17/15 - Josh Smith leaves Rockets for Clippers for the one year veteran's minimum of $1.5 million (still gets $5.4 million from the Pistons)
7/16/15 - J.J. Barea re-signs with Dallas for four years, $16 million
7/16/15 - Cuban and Ballmer clear the air
7/15/15 - Deron Williams signs with Dallas for two years, $10 million
7/13/15 - Austin Rivers re-signs with Clippers for two years, $6.4 million
7/13/15 - Pacers acquire Chase Budinger from Minnesota for Damjan Rudez
7/13/15 - Andrea Bargnani chooses New Jersey over Sacramento
7/13/15 - Oklahoma City matches Portland's offer sheet for Enes Kanter
7/10/15 - Amare Stoudemire signs with Miami for one year, $1.5 million (the minimum)
7/10/15 - Kevin Garnett to re-sign with Minnesota for two years, $16 million
7/9/15 - Dallas trades for Zaza Pachulia from Milwaukee for second-round pick / Mark Cuban moves forward / Jordan tweets apology / the great emoji battle / JJ Redick reveals what actually happened
7/9/15 - LeBron James to re-sign with Cleveland for two years, $46.9 million
7/9/15 - Enes Kanters signs max $70 million four year offer sheet with Portland
7/9/15 - Kings trade Ray McCallum to Spurs for second round pick
7/9/15 - Tim Duncan agrees to take $10 million for two years
7/9/15 - Gerald Green signs with Miami for one year
7/9/15 - Jeremy Lin signs with Charlotte for two years, $4 million
7/9/15 - Luis Scola headed to Toronto for one year, $3 million, which meant Luke Ridnour leaves another team
7/9/15 - DeAndre Jordan re-signs with Clippers after all / reactions, Desperately Driving Cuban?, Chandler Parsons says it's nothing personal / what's the deal, they do it all the time in college football / Doc Rivers view / The Antonio McDyess story / Keith Olbermann's Reversal Hall of Fame / Emojis from Paul Pierce
7/8/15 - Clippers trying to get DeAndre Jordan to reconsider his decision
7/8/15 - Wesley Johnson to sign with Clippers for league minimum
7/8/15 - Charlie Villanueva returns to Dallas for one year, $1.5 million
7/8/15 - Wizards sign Alan Anderson for one year, $4 million
7/7/15 - 13 remaining free agents worth mentioning (Jeremy Lin makes the list this time)
7/7/15 - Golden State trades David Lee to Boston for Gerald Wallace
7/6/15 - Free agent winners and losers
7/6/15 - Mo Williams returns to Cavaliers for 2 years, $4.3 million
7/6/15 - David West agrees to take $1.4 million from Spurs instead of $12 million from Pacers and Ginobili decides to return (for two years, $5.7 million)
7/6/15 - Corey Joseph agrees to sign with Toronto
7/6/15 - Minnesota agrees to terms with Euroleague MVP Nemanja Bjelica for three years, $11.7 million
7/6/15 - Marc Gasol returns to Grizzlies for five years, $110 million
7/6/15 - Pistons re-sign Reggie Jackson for five years, $80 million
7/6/15 - Lou Williams to sign with Lakers for three years, $21 million and Brandon Bass
7/5/15 - Rodney Stuckey re-signs with Pacers for three years, $21 million
7/5/15 - Steve Nash training to play professional soccer
7/4/15 - Jeremy Lin not worth mentioning? (David Lee too -- well he's not a free agent)
7/4/15 - Tobias Harris staying with Orlando for four years, $64 million (turning down Sacramento)
7/4/15 - Kosta Koufas leaves Memphis for Sacramento for $33 million, four years
7/4/15 - Lakers will trade for Roy Hibbert from Indiana for second round pick
7/4/15 - LaMarcus Aldridge will leave Portland to sign with San Antonio for $80 million, four years
7/3/15 - Derrick Williams signs with the Knicks for two years, $10 million
7/3/15 - Rajon Rondo leaving Dallas to sign with Sacramento for one year, $10 million
7/3/15 - Marco Bellinelli leaving San Antonio to sign with Sacramento for three years, $19 million
7/3/15 - Patrick Beverly to return to Houston for $25 million, four years
7/3/15 - Corey Brewer to return to Houston for $24 million, three years
7/3/15 - Gary Neal signs with Wizards for one year, $2.1 million
7/3/15 - DeAndre Jordan leaves Clippers to sign with Dallas for $80 million, four years
7/3/15 - Robin Lopez leaves Portland to sign with Knicks for $54 million, four years
7/2/15 - Free agency Day 2 blog
7/3/15 - Wesley Matthews to leave Portland for Dallas for $65 million, four years
7/2/15 - Jared Dudley headed from Milwaukee to Washington for second-round pick
7/2/15 - Kenyon Martin says he is retiring
7/2/15 - Ed Davis agrees to take $20 million for three years from Portland
7/2/15 - Greg Monroe signs with Milwaukee for three years, $50 million
7/2/15 - Dwyane Wade stays with Heat for 1 year, $20 million
7/2/15 - Shane Larkin to join Nets for two years, $3 million
7/2/15 - Phoenix trades Marcus Morris, Danny Granger, Reggie Bullock to Detroit for future draft pick (and salary cap space) (official)
7/2/15 - Monta Ellis signs with Indiana for four years, $44 million
7/2/15 - Arron Afflalo signs with Knicks for two years, $16 million
7/1/15 - a hectic day in the NBA
7/1/15 - Sacramento dumps Jason Thompson, Carl Landry, Nick Stauskas, future first round pick, and two first round swaps to Philadelphia for overseas players and a future second round pick
7/1/15 - Spurs trade Tiago Splitter to Atlanta to free up cap space
7/1/15 - Draymond Green agrees to take $85 million for five years to go back to the World Champions
7/1/15 - Suns sign Tyson Chandler for $52 million, four years and bring back Brandon Knight for $70 million, five years.
7/1/15 - Paul Pierce to sign with Clippers for three years, $10.5 million
7/1/15 - Paul Milsap to re-sign with Atlanta for three seasons, $58 million
7/1/15 - DeMarre Carroll signs with Toronto for four years, $60 million
7/1/15 - Kyle Singler signs extension with Oklahoma City for $25 million, five years
7/1/15 - Amir Johnson signs with Celtics for two years, $24 million
7/1/15 - Brandon Wright signs with Memphis for three years, $18 million
7/1/15 - Kevin Love will remain with Cavaliers for five years, $110 million, Tristan Thompson to get $80 million for five years, Iman Shumpert to get $40 million for four years.
7/1/15 - Danny Green will take $45 million for four years to stay with Spurs
7/1/15 - Bucks to give Khris Middleton, $70 million, five years
7/1/15 - Damien Lillard near max-level extension for $120 million (make that $125 million+, five years to remain with Portland
7/1/15 - Goran Dragic agrees with Heat to $90 million, five years
7/1/15 - Mike Dunleavy agrees to return to Chicago for $14.4 million, three years
7/1/15 - Portland agrees to sign Al-Farouq Aminu (from Dallas) for $30 million, four years
7/1/15 - Kawhi Leonard agrees on five years, $90 million
7/1/15 - New Orleans brings back Omer Asik for five years, $60 million and Alexis Ajinca for four years, 20.5 million
7/1/5 - Anthony Davis agrees to maximum extension for five years, $140 million
6/30/15 - Luke Ridnour traded for the fourth time in less than a week (OKC to Toronto for Tomislav Zubcic)
6/26/15 - NBA draft trade roundup
Greivis Vasquez traded from Toronto to Milwaukee for 2017 first round pick and rights to no. 46 pick Norman Powell
Atlanta trades rights to no. 15 pick Kelly Oubre to Washington for rights to no. 19 pick Jerian Grant and two future second-round picks
New York trades Tim Hardaway, Jr. to Atlanta for rights to no. 19 pick Jerian Grant
Portland trades Steve Blake and rights to no. 23 pick Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to Brooklyn for Mason Plumlee and rights to no. 41 Pat Connaughton
6/25/15 - Memphis acquire Matt Barnes from Charlotte for Luke Ridnour. Ridnour traded to Oklahoma City for Jeremy Lamb
6/24/15 - Luke Ridnour traded from Orlando to Memphis for rights to Jannis Timma
6/24/15 - Portland trades Nicolas Batum to Charlotte for Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh
6/16/15 - Michael Malone agrees to be Denver head coach
6/16/15 - Lance Stephenson traded from Hornets to Clippers for Matt Barnes and Spencer Hawes
6/11/15 - Ersan Ilyasova traded from Milwaukee to Detroit for Caron Butler and Shawne Williams
6/2/15 - Chicago hires Fred Hoiberg as new head coach
6/1/15 - New Orleans hires Alvin Gentry as head coach
5/28/15 - Chicago fires Tom Thibodeau
5/12/15 - New Orleans fires head coach Monty Williams despite making the playoffs / Calipari anyone?
4/30/15 - Billy Donovan agrees to coach Oklahoma City
4/23/15 - Scott Brooks fired as Oklahoma City head coach after seven seasons
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