Death List Members in the News
May 2007
Charles Nelson Reilly
January 2007
Bobby Hamilton
December 2006
Gerald Ford
November 2006
Jack Palance
August 2006
Fidel Castro, Kirk Douglas, John Madden
July 2006
Keith Richards, Ozzy Osbourne, Gerald Ford, Tony Stewart, Phyllis Diller,
B.B. King, Dale Jarrett, Arnold Palmer
May 2006
Keith Richards, David Blaine
April 2006
Tony Stewart, Gerald Ford, B.B. King, Queen Elizabeth, Mickey Rooney, Bob
Barker, Harry Morgan, Charlton Heston, David Blaine, Vin Scully, Muhammad
Ali, Hugh Hefner, Arnold Palmer, Jerry Lewis
March 2006
Courtney Love, Dale Jarrett, Sterling Marlin, Jerry Lewis, Osama Bin Laden,
Queen Elizabeth, Ozzy Osbourne, Gerald Ford
February 2006
Walter Cronkite, Brian Dennehy, Don Knotts, Willie Mays, Vin Scully, Tony
Bennett, Courtney Love, Bob Barker
January 2006
Gerald Ford, Tony Stewart, B.B. King, Walter Cronkite, William Shatner, Courtney
Love, Nick Nolte
December 2005
Richard Pryor, Ozzy Osbourne & Queen Elizabeth, Nick Nolte, Hugh Hefner,
Tony Bennett, Tony Stewart, David Blaine
November 2005
George Michael, Courtney Love, William Shatner, Muhammad Ali
October 2005
Rosa Parks, William Shatner, Joe Namath, B.B. King, Jerry Lewis, Tony Stewart,
Arnold Palmer, Richard Pryor, Jack Klugman, Michael Waltrip, Hugh Hefner,
Dale Jarrett
September 2005
Courtney Love, Ozzy Osbourne, B.B. King, Michael Waltrip, Willie Nelson, Courtney
Love, Jerry Lewis, Arnold Palmer
August 2005
William Shatner, Vin Scully, Ron Popeil, Hugh Hefner, Dale Jarrett, Keith
Richards, Ozzy Osbourne, John Madden, Courtney Love, Richard Pryor, Sterling
Marlin, Tony Stewart, Tony Bennett, Don Knotts, Jerry Lewis
July 2005
Muhammad Ali, Courtney Love, Kirk Douglas, Bob Barker, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony
Stewart, Dale Jarrett, Phyllis Diller, Michael Waltrip, Gerald Ford, Mickey
Rooney, Jack Klugman, Keith Richards, Nick Nolte, Rosa Parks,
Luther Vandross
June 2005
Jim Otto, Vin Scully, Tony Bennett, Gerald Ford, Tony Stewart, Queen Elizabeth,
Muhammad Ali, Ozzy Osbourne, Jack Klugman, John Madden
May 2005
May 31 - Michael Waltrip
May 24 - Queen Elizabeth
May 23 - Fidel Castro
May 21 - Tony Stewart
May 20 - Walter Cronkite
May 16 - Arnold Palmer
May 15 - B.B. King
May 13 - George Michael
May 13 - Vin Scully
May 11 - Arnold Palmer
May 10 - Keith Richards
May 10 - Don Knotts
May 10 - Brian Dennehy
May 9 - Michael Waltrip
May 9 - Wilford Brimley
May 6 - Ozzy Osbourne
May 6 - B.B. King
May 5 - Willie Mays
May 2 - Bob Barker
May 2 - Nick Nolte
May 1 - Jim Otto
April 2005
Larry Hagman, Richard Pryor, Willie Mays, Phyllis Diller, David Blaine, Tony
Stewart, Queen Elizabeth, Muhammad Ali, Nick Nolte and William Shatner, B.B.
King, Ozzy Osbourne, Rosa Parks, Luther Vandross, Pope John Paul II
March 2005
Ozzy Osbourne, Pope John Paul II, Courtney Love, Phyllis Diller, Vin Scully,
Fidel Castro, Ed Asner, Bob Barker, B.B. King, Arnold Palmer, Keith Richards,
Muhammad Ali, Jack Palance, Jack Klugman, Sterling Marlin, Joe Namath, Charlton
Heston, Jerry Lewis, Horatio Sanz
February 2005
Pope John Paul II, Wilford Brimley, Tony Stewart, Queen Elizabeth, Willie
Nelson, B.B. King, Ozzy Osbourne, Dale Jarrett, Fidel Castro, Phyllis Diller,
Courtney Love, Gerald Ford, Larry Hagman, Rosa Parks, Mickey Rooney, Hugh
Hefner
January 2005
Willie Mays, Ozzy Osbourne, Arnold Palmer, B.B. King, Vin Scully, John Madden,
Johnny Carson, Brian Dennehy, Kirk Douglas, William Shatner, Rosa Parks, Jerry
Lewis, Courtney Love, Pope John Paul II, Willie Nelson, Mickey Rooney, Gerald
Ford, Bob Barker
December 2004
Richard Pryor, Queen Elizabeth, Ozzy Osbourne, Keith Richards, Rosa Parks,
Nick Nolte, Don Knotts
November 2004
Kirk Douglas, Ozzy Osbourne, Arnold Palmer, Jerry Lewis, Larry Hagman, Johnny
Carson, Queen Elizabeth, B.B. King, Muhammad Ali
October 2004
Courtney Love, Keith Richards, Tony Bennett, Fidel Castro, Ernest Borgnine,
Mickey Rooney, Willie Nelson, Jack Klugman, Jack Palance, Pope John Paul II,
Hugh Hefner, Rodney Dangerfield
September 2004
Courtney Love, Arnold Palmer, Rosa Parks, Rodney Dangerfield, Bob Barker,
Nick Nolte, Tony Bennett
August 2004
Arnold Palmer, Rodney Dangerfield, Bob Barker, Brian Dennehy, Ernest Borgnine,
Rosa Parks, Walter Cronkite, Willie Mays, Pope John Paul II, Fidel Castro,
Julia Child, Jerry Lewis, Mickey Rooney, Joe Namath, B.B. King
July 2004
Rosa Parks, Courtney Love, Fidel Castro, Nick Nolte, Don Knotts, Larry Hagman,
Kirk Douglas, William Shatner
May 31, 2005: Feud of the Week: Michael Waltrip vs. Junior
Before
Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600 there was actually a smattering of boos for NASCAR's
most popular driver.
They might just be louder this weekend at Dover after what ensued during the race.
On lap 246, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was running seventh right behind teammate Michael Waltrip when, inexplicably, he ran into the back of him. The contact sent Waltrip into a spin and collected Earnhardt Jr., too.
Waltrip's crew was furious. Most worked on Earnhardt Jr.'s car last year, but friction between Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Eury Jr., his cousin, resulted in an offseason swap of teams.
"Michael was just running out there in front of me and I got a real good run off the corner and tried to go to the outside of him," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I looked to the outside of him on the front straightaway and he either moved up or took his natural line through the front straightaway. The next thing I know he was spinning right there in front of me.
"I didn't know that I was as close as I was to him to hit him. I just made a mistake."
But Earnhardt Jr.'s uncle, Tony Eury Sr., DEI's director of competition, wasn't buying it.
"I don't know what his problem is with Michael. He acts like he's friends with him, but every time he gets near him on the race track he ends up wrecking him."
It does sometimes appear that Earnhardt Jr. doesn't have much respect for Waltrip's driving skills and -- having worked closely with Earnhardt Jr. -- you'd have to have to think Eury Sr. has a little bit of inside knowledge on the situation, but driver No. 8 denied any problems.
"There's no truth to it," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We don't get in the habit of running into each other. And we don't really race each other that hard. We actually try to work together most of the time."
That might have been true at one time, but they've barely sniffed each other on their past few visits to the restrictor-plate tracks, where teamwork has become of the utmost importance. Earnhardt Jr.'s rift with Waltrip's crew hasn't helped matters.
Pete Rondeau, who had taken over as Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief before being relieved of his duties last week, told the (Columbia) State that the teams had stopped working together and Eury Sr. pretty much ignored the team after Daytona.
Though he was dumbfounded by Earnhardt Jr.'s actions, Waltrip has played good soldier, refusing to fan the flames of controversy.
Earnhardt Jr. probably didn't mean to intentionally wreck Waltrip, but he should have drove with a little more care around his teammate, especially considering all the wrecks that had happened throughout the evening.
"I can't expect everybody to understand exactly what was going on at that moment and how we all came together and wrecked," Earnhardt Jr. said. "You know, the people that understand will move on and we'll try to get better next week."
From CBS SportsLine, Brian De Los Santos
May 24, 2005: Arise … and stop messing around
Jasper,
Alberta: When you are two, waiting for the Queen can be a tiresome business.
Brynn Noble had been given a flower to present to the Queen, who was attending Sunday service in a mountain town in the Canadian Rockies.
As the smiling monarch walked slowly out of St Mary and St George's Anglican church in Jasper, Brynn decided enough was enough. She toddled into the Queen's path, and lay down.
The Queen, accompanied by the Reverend Victoria Matthews, the first female bishop to lead the Queen in a church service, was forced to step around her, while Prince Philip roared with laughter behind.
Unfazed, little Brynn continued to roll at the Queen's feet, before sticking her tongue out and scampering back to her parents, Maggie and Todd.
"We told her to wait for the Queen and she had hold of a flower for her," said her mother. "But she decided to break free from the crowd and just lay down to wait. The Queen seemed to think it was very amusing."
Brynn's encounter took place as the Queen enjoyed a private two-day break in Jasper National Park, midway through her nine-day tour of Canada.
With elks, wolves and bears roaming freely around its glittering lakes and dense forest, it was a spot that had enchanted her parents, George VI and Queen Elizabeth, on their cross- Canada tour 66 years ago.
The cabin where she is staying, in Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and one of the most luxurious hotels in Canada, is built on the exact spot of the cabin where George and Elizabeth stayed during their 1939 Canadian tour, a journey that endeared Canada to the late Queen Mother.
The Queen spent four days helping the prairie province of Saskatchewan celebrate the centenary of its joining the Canadian confederation, and will do the same in neighbouring Alberta after her two-day break.
From the Telegraph, London
May 23, 2005: Cuban dissident conference boldly defies Castro
HAVANA,
Cuba (AFP): Cuban dissidents wrapped up a first ever pro-democracy conference
outside Havana late Saturday, defying communist President Fidel Castro with
unusual unity and little apparent interference from his government.
The Assembly for the Promotion of Civil Society brought 168 delegates from Cuba's 14 provinces who issued a bold final statement describing Castro's government as "Stalinist" and calling for a return to Cuba's "democratic traditions."
Diplomats from the United States, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic observed the gathering, which kicked off with a message from US President George W. Bush promising that Cuba would "soon be free."
The two-day conference unfolded without incident or police presence, prompting participants to wonder nervously when a government reaction would materialize.
Castro's government did expel a dozen would-be European observers in days leading up to the event, prompting sharp rebukes from foreign ministers of Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic.
In their final statement, dissidents called for the immediate release of political prisoners from Cuban jails, a return to political plurality, abolishment of the death penalty and economic reforms.
The resolution called for Cuba's government to demonstrate its rejection of terrorism by expelling from Cuba "members of the Basque organization ETA" and "any other foreign terrorists who have found haven here."
And it said that the official policy of distributing rice and cookware to Cubans rendered them dependent and impoverished and enabled the government to "manipulate the masses."
In a secret ballot, delegates chose a 36-member board which in turn appointed three executives -- economist Marta Beatriz Roque, lawyer Rene Gomez Manzano and engineer Feliz Bonne.
Roque, 50, the only woman of the 75 dissidents thrown in prison during a crackdown in 2003, was released for health problems in 2004 and immediately set about organizing the gathering.
It was held on land next to Bonne's home in Rio Verde, a semi-rural area just outside Havana.
Blue, white and red Cuban flags flapped in the breeze and several banners were hung reading "The fatherland belongs to everyone," "Let's open the door," and "It's about time for Cuba".
Organizers denied that Washington funded the event, but played a message from Bush to kick it off on Friday in which he promised that Cuba would "soon be free."
"No tyrant can stand forever against the power of liberty because the hope of freedom is found in every heart," Bush said in a recorded message to delegates who erupted in cheers of "Viva Bush!"
"The tide of freedom is spreading across the globe, and it will reach Cuban shores," Bush added in his message, while a group on the street outside the event publicly shouted "Down With Fidel Castro" -- highly unusual in Cuba.
"This is a success of democratic forces," an ecstatic Roque told delegates, who chanted for the release of political prisoners.
Castro last week accused the United States of bankrolling the gathering and accused its organizers of being "mercenaries".
The United States has sent "millions more to foment destabilization, conspiracy, domestic subversion," Castro said Monday. "Do these mercenaries think we are here sucking our thumbs? That we are idiots?"
US-Cuban relations have been fraught with bitter tensions for the past four decades, including a nuclear near-confrontation in 1962. Castro regularly warns the United States could invade at any time, which Washington denies.
The congress reflected an unusual degree of unity for Cuba's typically divided dissident community. But some noted activists kept their distance, including Oswaldo Paya of the Christian Liberation Movement and Manuel Cuesta Morua of the moderate Progressive Arch.
Several would-be European observers -- two former Spanish senators, a Czech Senator, a German lawmaker and two Polish euro-deputies -- were kept away by Havana, drawing furious responses from their respective governments.
From Caribbean Net News
May 21, 2005: At ease - Stewart
a happier Hoosier
Moving back home helps improve Tony Stewart's mental attitude
on the track.
CONCORD,
N.C. -- Tony Stewart's acting like a kid again, but not in a bad way.
As his crew prepared his No. 20 Chevrolet for tonight's Nextel All-Star Challenge, the temperamental Stewart seemed to have returned to the carefree times of his youth. He helped a crew member clean some of his tires and examine them, then chatted with members of the media and passers-by.
He's been that way for the entire season, thoroughly enjoying himself, though he's not exactly sure why.
"The only thing that I know that is different than last year is that I moved to Indiana at the end of last year, and I'm back at home with my buddies and living in the house that I started living in when I was 10 months old," he said. "I don't know if that's it, but I'm just to the point where I'm tired of being mad about stuff. I realize I can't change things whether I'm right or wrong about it."
He said he's much happier when he leaves NASCAR racing behind for a few days each week.
"It's easier to do your deal and no matter what it is at the end of the day, just forget about it, get in a plane and go home and enjoy your week at home," he said. "That gets you ready for the next week."
Stewart said he's also hired professional managers to look after his business affairs, adding to his peace of mind.
Some say Stewart's fresh approach helps explain at least three pieces of spectacular driving this year. He spun off the track in the Busch Series race at Daytona, righted the car, steered it back onto the banking and went on to win.
He recovered from a late-race spin at Bristol last month and finished third. Last week, he spun while leading at Richmond but lost just two spots and wound up second behind Kasey Kahne.
"I was having so much fun racing with Kasey and Kurt [Busch] in lapped traffic that I got too aggressive on the throttle and just spun it," he said. "I went from first to third. It didn't bother me. I was laughing about it."
Jimmy Makar, vice-president of racing operations for the Joe Gibbs Racing team that fields Stewart's car, said Stewart's new attitude hasn't improved his skills behind the wheel, but it does allow him to minimize the impact of each slip-up.
"Where a positive mental attitude really shows up is in not letting situations like that get you worked up and make you make other mistakes after that," Makar said. "He's focused," Makar said. "He's not letting things that in the past worried him worry him."
Friday night, Stewart had another spin during qualifying for the All-Star Challenge. He qualified 17th out of 20 cars.
Ryan Newman, aided by a 13-second pit stop by his crew, sped to the pole, edging Mark Martin and teammate Rusty Wallace for the top spot with an average speed of 132.306 mph. The format included three laps and a pit stop, and although Kahne had a faster speed on the track, the combination of the quick service from the crew and a smooth entry onto pit road put Newman over the top.
Mike Bliss led qualifying for the Nextel Open. The winner of the Open advances to the All-Star Challenge.
From the Associated Press and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Rick Minter
May 20, 2005: Walter Cronkite undergoes medical procedure
Former
CBS newscaster Walter Cronkite underwent a minor medical procedure on his
right heel earlier this week and was reported doing well.
Cronkite, 88, was given a preliminary skin graft Monday to repair a wound related to surgery on his Achilles tendon three or four years ago, his chief of staff, Marlene Adler, said Thursday. He had injured the tendon playing tennis.
He felt "very well" but was advised to limit his activities for a week, Adler said.
If the procedure is successful, he could undergo a second graft, she said.
Cronkite underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery in 1997 and had knee replacement surgery in 1996.
He anchored the "CBS Evening News" from 1962 until he retired in 1981.
From the Associated Press
May 16, 2005: Arnold Palmer shares golf, life lessons with WFU graduates
Arnold
Palmer, one of the most beloved golf legends of all time and a Wake Forest
University alumnus, shared some of his own secrets to success with Wake Forest's
2005 graduating class and challenged them to make a difference in their world
during the university's May 16 commencement ceremony.
Palmer gave the university's 163rd commencement address to 1,494 graduates during the 9 a.m. outdoor ceremony on the university's Thomas K. Hearn Jr. Plaza (the Quad). Approximately 13,000 friends and family of graduates attended the event, which was Wake Forest president Thomas K. Hearn Jr.'s last as president of the university. Hearn, one of the longest serving university presidents in the nation, will retire June 30 after serving 22 years as president of Wake Forest.
"I came from modest circumstances, and I was determined to be successful in my adult life," said Palmer, whose father was a golf professional and course superintendent at Latrobe Country Club in Pennsylvania. "I didn't know then that golf would be my life and that the talent I had, coupled with dedication and hard work, would take me to the heights of my profession. Each one of you, realize and understand that you are now in a position to make a difference. Make a difference in the world you are entering.
"It can and will happen, provided you have confidence in yourself and work at it with dedication and determination every minute of your lives. You owe this to yourselves, to your parents and to the families you will have in the years to come."
Palmer told the university's 890 undergraduates and 604 graduate students that although some of his greatest successes came many years ago, he still has a handle on what works in a new and changed world.
"Certainly, there are many things that I cannot fully comprehend, but there are still the absolutes that transcend place and time," Palmer said. "Hard work will always yield positive results. Be fully aware of the world around you. Act purposefully on your strongest perceptions, and then with no regrets."
Self confidence, a characteristic that Palmer has long promoted to individuals bent on improving their golf game, is something he said can serve people well in life.
"There is no way you can focus your mind and efforts to succeed if you're brimming over with self-doubts," Palmer said. "Your level of performance has a way of living up to prior expectations and, if you start off believing you're going to have a bad day, you will. Errors tend to multiply and, if you have a bundle of self-doubts, you won't be able to cope with the problems and the failure that will follow."
Palmer, who played golf for Wake Forest from 1948 to 1950 before joining the U.S. Coast Guard for a three-year stint, shared a story with graduates about his best friend and Wake Forest teammate Marvin "Buddy" Worsham, who died in a car accident in 1950. The event filled Palmer with shock and grief, prompting him to leave Wake Forest early for the Coast Guard.
He returned briefly to Wake Forest and won the first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference Championship in 1954. Palmer reached the pinnacle of his amateur career in 1954 with a victory in the U.S. Amateur Championship.
Throughout his life, Palmer has maintained strong ties to Wake Forest, serving on its board of trustees from 1983 to 1986, 1988 to 1991 and 1993 to 1997. He was a tri-chair of the university's Heritage & Promise Capital Campaign, which raised $173 million for the university in the early 1990s. He was elected a life trustee of the university in 1997. Palmer endowed Wake Forest with its first golf scholarship in 1960 in honor of his close friend Bud Worsham.
The university has honored Palmer with the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1962 and an honorary doctor of laws degree in 1970. A university residence hall was named in honor of him in the early 1980s. Palmer is a member of the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.
He said his long association with Wake Forest had afforded him the opportunity to know many of the talented and dedicated men and women who have played parts in the progress of the university.
In perhaps the day's most tangible display of dedication to the university, it was announced during the ceremony by Murray C. Greason Jr., chairman of the Wake Forest Board of Trustees, that the university had met its $600 million capital campaign goal early, thanks in part to a major gift from retiring Wake Forest President Hearn and his wife, Laura. Recent gifts, including a major planned gift of an undisclosed amount by the Hearns, enabled Wake Forest to meet and exceed its $600 million goal. The total raised at this point is $617 million.
Launched publicly in 2001, the "Honoring the Promise" capital campaign will continue as scheduled through June 2006, with a special focus on endowment gifts that provide for student financial aid and faculty support. Wake Forest has not yet raised the full amount sought in those two categories.
During his closing, Palmer implored graduates to make "an all-out effort to get back to the basic values and virtues of humanity." He said this is crucial if society wants to give future generations the quality of life for which our forefathers worked.
"I don't despair of today's young people," Palmer said. "I just ask all of you to seek your places in the world, to accept the responsibility that is being placed on your shoulders. I appeal to you to try to restore a more kind and gentle atmosphere to this world of ours.
"So, please, go forth from your college careers armed with a determination to truly make our world a better place to live. Tomorrow belongs to you."
From Wake Forest University News Service, Jacob McConnico
May 15, 2005: MUSIC - Nothing can
stop soon-to-be-80 B.B. King
Guitar great keeps pace with album and museum in the works
B.B.
King turns 80 this year, and he sounds every minute of it in the opening moments
of a phone conversation from a New York hotel room.
"I'm doing very good," said the venerable bluesman in a weary tone that's not too convincing. He has been riding in a bus all day, finishing the trip with a nearly hourlong delay in a New York traffic jam.
He doesn't have big plans for his milestone birthday Sept. 16, but it's a safe bet that he'll be on the road somewhere. Although he has trimmed back his ambitious touring schedule in recent years, he still does close to 200 dates a year.
And that's not all. Not content to rest on his laurels, King is starting work on a duets album and contributing ideas and memorabilia for the B.B. King Museum. That $10 million project in his hometown of Indianola, Miss., will celebrate its groundbreaking with a ceremony that King will attend in June. He was honored with the 2004 Polar Music Prize, bestowed by the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, and recently inducted pal Buddy Guy into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
On a Rolling Stone list of all-time greatest guitar players, King ranks third behind Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman. Oh, there's also a new greatest-hits compilation, "B.B. King: The Ultimate Collection."
After almost 60 years on stage, King takes it all in stride. His appraisal of his work is modest, even for the landmark 1965 "Live at the Regal" album that is considered an unparalleled blues classic.
"Of all the CDs I've ever done, I don't think I've made a perfect one," King said. "But I do think in each of them there is some good work. If someone says that it's not so good, maybe they listened to the part that wasn't so good. But if they listen carefully, they will find some good work in each of them."
King acknowledges that he has "quite often been told that 'Live at the Regal' is my best."
When he listens to it now, King still finds room for improvement. Same goes for every album and every show: "I miss notes every day," he said.
He has hit enough of the right ones to become an international icon, a status that will be celebrated in the B.B. King Museum in his hometown of 12,000.
The museum will be built around a historic brick cotton gin where King worked for a time before hitching a ride to Memphis, Tenn., to start his music career in the late 1940s.
King returns each summer to Indianola to play concerts and is pleased about the prospect of influencing young people about the life-changing power of music.
"I've seen the plans, and I like what I see," he said. "I'm very pleased with what's going on."
The museum's design combines memorabilia with an interactive studio, where visitors will be introduced to the basics of playing blues on guitar.
The final plans for the museum are taking shape, but there have been enough strange coincidences to make it seem as if the project is destined to be special, says Allan Hammons, the museum foundation's interim executive director.
Two teams of architectural students from Auburn and Mississippi State universities each independently recommended the same site for the project. When King made a visit, he reported that the museum was based at the same cotton gin where he once had worked.
The memorabilia almost certainly will include at least one Lucille out of the 16 that King has used in his career.
"I feel good about it," King said. "I'm at least hoping it will be a place of recreation as well as learning. I understand that people come just to sit where I used to sit on the corner, so I figure this is better than sitting on the corner."
When King returns to his hometown, he also is enthused about how much it has changed since the hard days of his youth.
"There's an old saying I hear quite often that you never miss what you never had. I grew up in a segregated society, and I didn't know anything else. The things I did were just things I wanted to do."
King is doing his best to enjoy things now, because he's getting better with age.
"It's like going to school. You know when you get the lesson because you wouldn't get an 'A' if you didn't."
From the Orlando Sentinel, Jim Abbott
May 13, 2005: D.C. Sports - On media: Local machinery
For
more than 25 years in Washington, and nearly 14 years nationally, George Michael
has driven one of the most enduring machines on TV. "The George Michael
Sports Machine" was a staple before highlight shows were the norm. Recently,
I had a chance to speak to with the man who created The Sports Machine, about
his show and passion for sports.
Jim Williams: How did the Sports Machine get started?
George Michael: It began as Sports Extra in 1980 but people around the office
kidded me about working like a machine so I changed the name of the show to
George Michael's Sports Machine. In 1984, we offered the show to NBC stations
and then in 1991 it was syndicated and we have not looked back since.
JW: Why do you think the show has been so successful?
GM: It is more than a highlights show. We showcase personalities, we allow the viewers to get to know sports figures. The features we do are long form, so you don't get that short sound byte; you get to hear sports figures give long answers to our questions. They like the format and we do as well so it has been a win-win.
The real success of the show comes from the fact that I enjoy telling a good story and in sports there are so many great stories to tell. The success of the Sports Machine is that we have been able to find so many wonderful, interesting people over the years and tell their stories. That is what I think the people enjoy the most, good stories told in their entirety.
JW: I know it is tough, but do you have any favorite stories that you have done over the years?
GM: Man there has been so many... I have done stories that have turned into many wonderful friendships and I guess that two come to mind. One would have to be Dale Earnhardt, who was a true friend and also a great story. He once said to me, 'Can you believe that I am a millionaire from driving a race car?' He was a special man to be sure.
The other was the late Walter Payton and again he was a great story as a player and a tragic story as his illness took over. But all that Walter ever wanted from me was a tape of my "Plays of the Year." Both he and Dale were special people not only to me but to their many fans.
JW: Speaking of NASCAR, you were a fan of the sport before it was cool to be, why?
GM: Simple. What you see is what you get from the guys of NASCAR. Dale Jr., Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gordon, and Tony Stewart and all the other guys I speak to along the way are real people. They are accessible to the press, to their fans and that is why I think they have become successful. I have gotten plenty of good stories from them over the years.
JW: Do you have a favorite sport to cover?
GM: Not really. I have many friends, people like Joe Gibbs, and so many others. I like to see them do well. Sometimes it is tough because they come up against each other and so you just have wished them both the best. But I guess if I had a favorite sport to watch it would be bull riding. That is a fun sport to watch.
In a city where we have some of the most talented sports anchors in the country there really is only one king and that is George Michael. The Machine is being driven by a Hall of Fame driver still at the top of his game.
From the Washington Examiner, Jim Williams
May 13, 2005: Scully named top broadcaster
LOS
ANGELES -- Charley Steiner grew up in Brooklyn listening to Vin Scully call
Dodgers games on the radio, and ever since those formative summer nights,
Steiner's had no doubt about whom he wanted to emulate.
"His voice is the sound of baseball," Steiner said. "When I was 7 years old, he was the first voice I ever listened to and he's the reason I wanted to get into this racket."
Not surprisingly, then, the first-year Dodgers broadcaster wasn't at all surprised to hear that Hall of Famer Scully was named as the best announcer in baseball history in Curt Smith's just-released book, "Voices of Summer."
"It's the absolute truth," Steiner said. "His voice, his timing, his experience. [Scully's] the man."
Scully is in his 56th season as the voice of the Dodgers, and he's been behind the mike for each and every one of the Dodgers' world championships. Perhaps befitting baseball's greatest announcer, Scully has had some excellent company in the broadcast booth.
Among active Dodger broadcasters, Hall of Famer Jaime Jarrin was named the No. 1 Spanish-language sportscaster (28th overall) and Steiner received an honorable mention.
Jarrin's voice is as recognizable among Spanish-language listeners as Scully's is with the English-language audience, giving the Dodgers the first-ever tandem of Hall of Fame broadcasters in both Spanish and English.
As if that wasn't enough of a legacy, seven other Dodgers broadcasters cracked the 101-man list, including Hall of Famers Ernie Harwell (No. 3) and Red Barber (No. 5).
Smith's book ranked baseball's top 101 announcers on a scale of 1-10 in 10 categories: "longevity, continuity, network coverage, kudos, language, popularity, persona, voice knowledge and miscellany." Scully was the only broadcaster to score a perfect 100.
It's the latest in a long line of honors for Scully, Jarrin and Steiner. Scully, honored by the Hall of Fame in 1982, was voted the "Sportscaster of the 20th Century" by the American Sportscasters Association in 2000. Jarrin, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998, was awarded Ecuador's highest non-military commendation in 1992. Steiner won a Clarion Award and contributed to an Emmy Award-winning series during 14 years at ESPN.
And, unlike many of the greats from days gone by listed in Smith's book, Scully, Jarrin and Steiner are still alive, well and as entertaining as ever.
From MLB.com, Mark Thoma
May 11, 2005: Palmer opens World Cup venue in Portugal
The
Victoria Course at the Vilamoura Golf Club in Portugal was officially opened
last week by Arnold Palmer.
The seven-time major winner designed the course, which looks set to take its place among the finest in Europe.
The world's best players will be converging on Vilamoura this September for the 2005 World Cup of Golf.
To recognise the services Palmer has provided for golf in Portugal, he received a 'Command Portuguese Order of Merit' from the country's President Jorge Sampaio.
The Victoria Course has been three years in the making and Palmer - involved in course design for over 30 years - is understandably delighted with the results.
Championship Director Peter Adams says that the foundations are already in place to provide the perfect challenge for the world's finest players.
From the Associated Press
May 10, 2005: Stones Start Up
in N.Y.
Rockers play surprise set to announce massive world tour
The
Rolling Stones played a surprise set outside New York City's Julliard School
of the performing arts just after one o'clock on Tuesday to announce their
upcoming world tour and studio album.
On a perfect spring afternoon, a crowd of nearly 2,000 people -- from media
members and celebrities (designer Tommy Hilfiger, model Linda Evangelista,
TV host Matt Lauer) seated in front of the impromptu stage, to the hordes
of fans in the plaza below and on a nearby rooftop -- managed to catch the
three-song set. A group of very enthusiastic Julliard students wearing matching
Rolling Stones T-shirts stood to stage left, just below a giant banner bearing
the band's signature tongue logo (stitched like a baseball, to evoke the stadiums
their tour will visit).
Once the Stones -- singer Mick Jagger, guitarists Keith Richards and Ron Wood, drummer Charlie Watts and bassist Darryl Jones -- took the stage, they launched into "Start Me Up," with Jagger grinning broadly and playing to the kids in the crowd.
"This is one of the earliest concerts in a while -- that we've been to, anyway," quipped Jagger, before launching into the new song, "Oh No Not You Again." The straight-up rocker featured a guitar solo from Keith Richards and the lyric, "Oh no, not you again/You're fucking up my life!" At its close, Jagger turned to the music students and said, to big cheers, "There was one bum note . . . I think the examiners at Julliard would make us take that one again."
For the final song, the Stones played "Brown Sugar," with the crowd pitching in on the chorus' "Yeah, yeah, yeah/Woo!" With surprisingly pumped-up biceps, Jagger tossed off his jacket and managed -- in spite of the jaded press presence -- to work the crowd, and Richards tossed his guitar pick into the audience.
After the set, Jagger, Richards, Wood and Watts returned to field questions about their massive Rolling Stones On Stage tour. This time around, the veteran rockers will hit more than thirty-five cities in the U.S. alone, kicking off at Boston's Fenway Park on August 21st, before moving on to Latin America, Japan, possibly China and Europe by the summer of 2006.
While the set list for the shows hasn't been decided -- "Sometimes [the songs] choose themselves!" said Richards -- Jagger revealed that the band "might dig into the catalog" for songs they haven't played in years, as well as work up some "cover versions and some blues." And for the first time ever, the stadium set will feature a second stage on which approximately 400 audience members will be seated, in the middle of the show. Those lucky fans, said Jagger, "will get a great view of our bums."
Tickets for the first round of U.S. dates will go on sale on Saturday (ticket prices will start at around $100, up approximately ten percent from the band's last outing). The Stones hold the record for the two most well-attended North American tours of all time.
Between tour rehearsals in Toronto, the Stones will finish off their next, as-yet-untitled album -- their first studio effort since 1997's Bridges to Babylon. "We tried to make this album a direct album, very simple as far as lyrics and ideas are concerned," Jagger said. "It's eighty-five percent done."
While no release date has been set for the record, the band will be debuting the new material on tour.
The Rolling Stones North American tour dates:
8/21: Boston, Fenway Park
8/26: Hartford, CT, Rentschler Stadium
8/28: Ottawa, Canada, Frank Clair Stadium
8/31: Detroit, Comerica Park
9/3: Moncton, Canada, Magnetic Hill
9/6: Minneapolis, Xcel Energy Center
9/10: Chicago, Soldier Field
9/15: East Rutherford, NJ, Giants Stadium
9/24: Columbus, OH, Nationwide Arena
9/26: Toronto, Rogers Centre
9/28: Pittsburgh, PNC Park
10/1: Hershey, PA, Hersheypark Stadium
10/3: Washington, DC, MCI Center
10/6: Charlottesville, VA, Scott Stadium
10/10: Philadelphia, Wachovia Center
10/15: Atlanta, Philips Arena
10/17: Miami, American Airlines Arena
10/19: Tampa, FL, St. Pete Times Forum
10/21: Charlotte, NC, Charlotte New Arena
10/28: Calgary, Canada, Pengrowth Saddledome
10/30: Seattle, Key Arena
11/1: Portland, OR, Rose Garden
11/4: Anaheim, CA, Angel Stadium of Anaheim
11/11: San Diego, Petco Park
11/13: San Francisco, SBC Park
11/20: Fresno, CA, Save Mart Center
11/22: Salt Lake City, Delta Center
11/24: Denver, Pepsi Center
11/27: Phoenix, Glendale Arena
11/29: Dallas, American Airlines Center
From RollingStone.com
May 10, 2005: Don Knotts Honored in West Virginia
MORGANTOWN,
W.Va. — Don Knotts will get the first star on what could become West
Virginia’s version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
City officials are hoping artist Jamie Lester will design a pattern that could be used in front of the Metropolitan Theater to honor other celebrities.
“We’re starting with somebody we know and then we’ll see where it goes,” Jack Thompson, spokesman for the Greater Morgantown Convention & Visitors Bureau, said Monday. “It’s just a great way for Morgantown to honor its most famous son.”
Other West Virginia stars include Kathy Mattea, Brad Paisley, Jennifer Garner, Ann Magnuson, Chris Sarandon and Soupy Sales.
The 80-year-old Knotts, a Morgantown native, is best known for his role as the bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on television’s “The Andy Griffith Show” and as would-be swinger landlord Ralph Furley on “Three’s Company.”
He’ll be the voice of Turkey Mayor in the upcoming animated movie “Chicken Little.”
Knotts will be honored by his hometown Aug. 12-15 with a parade, a film festival and a local beer to be brewed and named in his honor.
Thompson said the city is also negotiating the launch of a Don Knotts chapter of The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Club.
From the Associated Press
May 10, 2005: Dennehy’s Salesman Starts London
Brian
Dennehy will die the death of a salesman every night at London’s Lyric
Theatre in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, which begins previews May
10.
The production comes originally from The Goodman Theatre of Chicago — later moving to Broadway — and it is the first London staging of Miller’s classic since the playwright’s death.
Brian Dennehy stars as Willy Loman, making his West End stage debut. Clare Higgins plays Linda Loman, while Douglas Henshall and Mark Bazely will play, respectively, Biff and Happy. Howard Witt plays Charley. Also in the cast are Steve Pickering, Allen Hamilton, Jonathan Aris, Samantha Coughlan, Eleanor Howell and Abigail McKern.
The show’s creative team is the same as the American production. Robert Falls directs, with scenic design by Mark Wendland, costume design by Birgit Rattenborg Wise, lighting by Michael Philippi and music and sound by Richard Woodbury.
In New York the production won five Tony Awards, including Best Revival, Best Direction and Best Actor for Dennehy. Despite being most famous for his film work, Dennehy is an experienced stage actor and followed this performance by winning a second Tony for Long Day's Journey Into Night opposite Vanessa Redgrave, also directed by Falls. A U.S. TV version of Death of a Salesman bagged him a Golden Globe.
The London producers are David Richenthal, Anthony D. Marshall and Charlene Marshall for Delphi Productions.
For more information call (0)870 890 1107.
From Playbill
May 9, 2005: Waltrip, Green feud
all night at Darlington
Kentucky natives called to NASCAR hauler after on-track fracas
DARLINGTON,
S.C. -- An ongoing on-track feud between Michael Waltrip and Jeff Green that
started at Martinsville Speedway last month continued Saturday night at Darlington
Raceway, prompting NASCAR to summon both veterans to the hauler for a post-race
discussion.
Eight laps into the Dodge Charger 500, the Owensboro, Ky., natives were racing one another down the backstretch and got together, sending Waltrip into the Turn 3 wall.
"I just got up on the outside of him and he decided he needed to turn right, and I had a foot on him and tried to get on the brakes and he turned himself into the fence," Green said.
Waltrip went to the garage for repairs to the front end of the No. 15 Chevrolet and returned to the track seeking payback.
On Lap 207, he exercised it, bumping Green exiting Turn 4, then hitting him twice more before spinning him out on the frontstretch.
"It's pretty obvious," Green said. "He tries to wreck me all the way down the back straightaway and I'm fast enough not to let him.
"Then finally he gets a run on me there and wrecks me, and I guess (NASCAR) didn't do anything to him.
"If I did anything to him it wasn't intentional. I've got to race these guys every week. I don't want to race like that."
Waltrip disagreed.
"They just asked that we not get around each other," Waltrip said upon exit from the NASCAR transporter. "That'd be good with me, because the only two times I've ever had him behind me this year he's spun me out."
Waltrip and Green also had a run-in at Martinsville, when Green got intoWaltrip, wrecking him.
"It's unfortunate that we have to deal with stuff like this," Waltrip said. "I'm baffled. I was running down the back straightaway on the first lap of green, and he hit me and run me over and wrecked me.
"The sad part is he doesn't pay any price and I get my car tore all to pieces. So it's cool with me, though. If NASCAR says just stay away from each other or you'll regret it, then that's good, because he's hit me in the back twice.
"It's sad. Good thing it was Mother's Day because my momma said don't
talk bad about people."
Green said Saturday's incident wasn't intentional.
"Maybe I shouldn't have got up on the outside of him, but we're racing, I ain't gonna let off for nobody," Green said. "I hate it for him, but it tore our car up. We had to fix it all night long.
"It just killed us from the get-go. I had a car-width there, and he tried to pass on the bottom and he couldn't get a run so he tried to get back up in the groove getting into three. He thinks I wrecked him, but I didn't."
NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said he's uncertain whether any penalties await the drivers.
"Everybody that was in the hauler tonight left with a clear understanding of how we stand and where we stand," Hunter said. "Whether or not any penalties will be forthcoming, I honestly don't know at this point. I would say possibly.
"Mike Helton made it pretty clear that these kinds of deals are over and won't be tolerated."
From NASCAR.COM, Marty Smith
May 9, 2005: Brimley makes surprise stop at Diabetes gala
The
sweetest thing at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's gala Saturday
night was the surprise.
Actor Wilford Brimley, star of the film ``Cocoon'' and spokesman for Liberty
Healthcare Group's diabetes division, was secretly brought to the Marriott
Hotel Copley Place to help honor Liberty's chief operating officer Peter McKenzie
of Danvers.
``I'm proud to be affiliated with any group that does what you do, help people
who need help,'' Brimley told the audience of 1,000 fund supporters. ``We
don't get paid for it, but that's OK.''
Liberty is the nation's largest provider of home-delivered diabetes testing
equipment and prescriptions. McKenzie was the foundation's Man of the Year
at its 23rd annual Main Event Gala.
Ted Kurland of Newton received the Nancy Jones Diabetes Champion Volunteer
Award. Family members attending included son Alex, now 15, who was diagnosed
with juvenile diabetes at age 4.
WFXT-TV co-anchor Maria Stephanos was emcee despite the fact that she was
on duty Saturday night and had to rush back to the studio during the event.
WBUR-FM's Robin Young, a family friend of Brimley, also attended the gala.
Guests included Anna Cheshire Levitan of Boston and Denise Korn of Boston.
The band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy performed.
From the Boston Herald, Dana Bisbee
May 6, 2005: 'Osbournes' star Ozzy Osbourne suffering from Parkin Syndrome
British
rocker Ozzy Osbourne says he's relieved his debilitating body tremors are
from a genetic syndrome -- not his lifetime of drug abuse.
Osbourne said doctors said he suffers from Parkin Syndrome, a genetic problem with similar symptoms but is different than Parkinson's Disease. He will take medication the rest of his life.
Osbourne, 56, said doctors ruled out Parkinson's disease despite tremors that were "practically destroying my life" as well as multiple sclerosis.
"I'd always assumed it was the booze and stuff," Osbourne told the World Entertainment News Network. "Now I've found it all stems from the family."
Once doctors diagnosed Parkin Syndrome, Osbourne said his sister told him his mother, aunt and grandmother suffered from the same problem.
"I'm like, 'Thanks for (expletive) telling me'. Me walking around thinking I've got some drug paralysis," Osbourne said.
From United Press International
May 6, 2005: B.B. King wins top entertainer Handy Award for seventh time in row
MEMPHIS,
Tenn. — Mavis Staples and Charlie Musselwhite each won three awards
at the 26th annual W.C. Handy Awards, and B.B. King was named entertainer
of the year for the seventh time in a row.
Staples won best album for Have a Little Faith, which also won soul album, and she was named top female soul artist Thursday night. Musselwhite won for best contemporary male artist and best harmonica player, and his Sanctuary album won the award for contemporary album.
Musselwhite said the blues is a reflection of life.
"It's music played from the heart," he said. "It celebrates good times and gets you through the bad. I call it my comforter."
The Holmes Brothers were named top band, Staples' Have a Little Faith won top song for writers Jim Tullio and Jim Weider, and John Lee Hooker Jr. won as best new artist.
The awards, named for blues pioneer W.C. Handy and called "Handys," are given out by The Blues Foundation of Memphis.
Handy, a bandleader who performed in clubs along the city's famous Beale Street in the early 1900s, is credited with being the first musician to put blues music into written form.
Before that, the distinctive American music that sprang from the songs of poor black residents of the Mississippi River Delta was passed along from one artist to another.
From the Associated Press
May 5, 2005: Mays tribute put on hold; next council may revive it
Faced
with the possibility that an attempt to honor baseball great Willie Mays by
naming the field at Municipal Stadium for him would turn into an insult instead,
the Hagerstown Mayor and Council wisely put the idea on hold for now.
Perhaps the next administration can convince the nay-sayers that the tribute
would be a good idea.
Some have asked what Willie Mays ever did for Hagerstown. The real question
to consider, however, is what he could do for the city in the future.
For starters, he could lend his name - and perhaps some of his memorabilia - to an effort to bring more tourists to Hagerstown and more visitors to the Hagerstown Suns' games.
If you're a baseball fan driving on Interstates 70 or 81 and you see a sign that says, "Willie Mays Museum," might you be tempted to stop, especially if it's time for a meal anyway?
And, might you be persuaded to eat that meal in downtown Hagerstown and patronize some of the businesses there?
Both are possibilities that begin with giving visitors a chance to see something unique, including a place where history was made, where a future Hall of Famer played his first professional game.
In Tuesday's council meeting, Councilman Lewis Metzner took responsibility for the proposal to rename Memorial Boulevard in Mays' honor - an action which upset local veterans - and the plan to rename the field as well.
For that, he drew praise from Mayor William Breichner, who said, "It's about time somebody took a hit for something besides me."
Was the effort to provide a tribute to Mays handled as well as it could have been? No, but given the possibilities for tourism and marketing, the lack of vocal support from the agencies concerned with such things was disappointing.
As a result, we will not be surprised if the next city administration's members are more timid about what they propose.
Just as the continuing problems with the Hagerstown Ice & Sports Complex have stopped some from advancing other public works proposals, the failure of this tribute to win any significant support may keep the next council from offering anything that might possibly arouse someone's ire.
It is ironic that the ice rink proposal, which has cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, was not nearly as controversial when proposed as this idea, which would have cost little and potentially yielded a great deal.
From the Hagerstown Morning Herald
May 2, 2005: Bob Barker Has Skin Cancer Again
Veteran
game show host Bob Barker will miss his chance to attend next month's Daytime
Emmy Awards ceremony because he's getting a cancerous lesion removed from
his back.
Barker, 81, said he's had bouts with skin cancer in the past because of a lifetime of sunbathing, particularly his summer months spent shirtless growing up in South Dakota.
"I can attribute it to a misspent youth," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday.
Barker is scheduling his surgery around a week off from taping "The Price is Right," when he was supposed to come to New York to see if he'll win his 14th Emmy as best game show host.
"It's not going to be a problem at all if I take care of it," he said. "Anyone who spends a great deal of time in the sun, or spent time in the sun, should see a dermatologist once or twice a year."
Barker has won a total of 17 Emmy awards — 13 as TV host (more than any other performer), three as Executive Producer of PIR and the Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award for Daytime Television in 1999. He was installed into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in June 2004.
He is nominated this year as Outstanding Game Show Host and the show's Executive Producer.
Barker has hosted "The Price Is Right" since its premiere on CBS in 1972, and before that, hosted "Truth or Consequences" for 18 seasons. He has been seen continually on television, Mondays through Fridays, for 47 years, often appearing on two or three shows per day. Last year, he broke Johnny Carson's record for continuous performances in a single network series.
"I was considering retiring this year and going into body building with the thought in mind of becoming governor of California," Barker told CBS.com. "But I decided instead to stay with the body I have and the job I have."
From CBS News and the Associated Press
May 2, 2005: Nick Nolte Joins Prostate
Cancer Campaign
NOLTE WARNS US MEN ABOUT PROSTATE PROBLEM
Movie
star NICK NOLTE is urging American men to seek second opinions when doctors
insist they need their prostate removed to avoid cancer, after discovering
many operations are unnecessary.
The NORTHFOLK star has always been an advocate of good health and was stunned when he was told he might have to have his prostate removed. But he did his research and discovered many doctors act too quickly to perform the surgery.
He explains, "There's no place in the world where they are taking out prostates, apart from the United States. What they're calling prostate cancer is not prostate cancer.
"There's an age-related cell change that happens and every man will have this; in only one per cent of cases does it ever become cancer. It's very, very rare. If you do a biopsy of the prostate it will never recover.
"Last year, in the medical round-up, the man who invented the PSA test, which they are using to say it's cancer or not said that this test cannot be used to predict cancer at all because it reacts to too many things.
"Even though the man who invented it says it's not the indicator of cancer, they're still using it as a primary way of predicting cancer. I keep track of my hormonal levels myself and my PSA (protein manufactured in the prostate) was tested by a doctor (for abnormal levels to detect prostate cancer).
"If there is a four-point difference between your Free PSA (Free PSA is that percentage of the total PSA which circulates in the blood without a carrier protein) and your PSA there is a 56 per cent chance of cancer.
"The doctor called me, panicked, wanting me to see a urinologist, which I knew not to do because that's how he makes his living. I'm not saying doctors are corrupt, but things can become fashionable and they only know what they were taught in school."
From Femalefirst
May 1, 2005: Webster settlement from NFL not nearly enough
Jim
Otto played center for the Oakland Raiders for 15 years and was good enough
to earn a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
In the course of that career, Otto's nose was broken 10 times. His jaw was broken once. He played through those and many more injuries to start 210 consecutive games.
Today, Otto is 67 years old. He has a nominal consulting job with the Raiders organization and also owns some fast-food franchises that provide him with a good income.
Thanks to 15 years of pro football, Otto has made 40 trips to the operating room. He has had new artificial knees installed eight times. Both of his shoulders have been replaced. He's had to fight off three life-threatening infections related to those surgeries.
One of the infections was so bad that Otto was forced to live six months without a right knee until doctors could safely install a new artificial joint.
Yet compared to the late Mike Webster, Otto is the lucky one.
Webster played 15 seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers before two final seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. Like Otto, he had his share of crippling injuries.
But worse was the brain damage that resulted from the constant head-on collisions that followed every snap.
Webster, who was smart enough to read defenses and instantly pass adjustments on to quarterback Terry Bradshaw, was suddenly challenged to think and speak coherently.
His post-football life was one sad chapter after another, filled with drug dependency, homelessness, and an inability to reason that soon drained the money he made playing football. Webster had virtually no quality of life after his career ended and he died two and a half years ago at 50. He truly left it all on the field.
Last week a federal judge in Maryland ruled that Webster's estate is entitled to an additional $1.18 million in disability benefits from the NFL.
In most cases, $1.18 million seems like a lot of money. In this instance, it doesn't seem like nearly enough.
From the Beaver County Times and Allegheny Times, John Mehno
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