NY Yankees Long Time Owner George Steinbrenner Suffers Massive Heart Attack (Update: The Boss Dies at age 80)

It is being reported that long time New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has suffered a massive heart attack. Steinbrenner just turned 80 on July 4th. Steinbrenner, the Bronx Bombers owner of the New York Yankees since 1973 has won 11 pennants and seven World Series titles.

We say goodbye to George Steinbrenner, Rest in Peace

Reports from New York indicate Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has suffered a massive heart attack.

Reports by WABC, the sister station of WPVI, indicate George Steinbrenner was rushed to St. Joseph’s hospital, and his condition is not known.

Sadly, just the other day the long time voice, iconic PA announcer Bob Sheppard of the Yankees passed away.

We wish George well!

UPDATE I: Oh my, sad news to report in the word of baseball … George Steinbrenner, The Boss, has passed away at the age of 80 after suffering a heart attack.  The Ohio born executive known as “The Boss” leaves behind his wife of 54 years, Elizabeth Joan Zieg, and their four children  Hank, Hal, Jessica and Jennifer.

Steinbrenner died around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday in Tampa, the source said.

 Steinbrenner, who celebrated his 80th birthday on July 4, has been the owner of the Yankees since 1973

West Virgina Senator Robert Byrd Has Passed Away at the Age of 92

Robert Byrd (D-WV), the longest longest serving member of Congress in history, has passed away at the age of 92 at 3 a.m. Monday at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax, VA. Most remarkable, Robert Byrd never lost an election and served 51 years in the US Senate. It was just yesterday that we learned that Byrd’s condition had taken a turn for the worse and that he was in serious condition.

Robert Byrd: 1917 – 2010, Rest in Peace

Starting in 1958, Mr. Byrd was elected to the Senate an unprecedented nine times. He wrote a four-volume history of the body, was majority leader twice and chaired the powerful Appropriations Committee, controlling the nation’s purse strings, and yet the positions of influence he held did not convey the astonishing arc of his life.

A child of the West Virginia coal fields, Mr. Byrd rose from the grinding poverty that has plagued his state since before the Great Depression, overcame an early and ugly association with the Ku Klux Klan, worked his way through night school and by force of will, determination and iron discipline made himself a person of authority and influence in Washington.

This is hardly the time or place for a political commentary on Robert Byrd, that will be done in a later post. Today, we say goodbye to a US Senator that certainly did bring home the bacon to the Mountaineer state … Robert Byrd, dead at the age of 92. Rest in Peace.

From the WSJ:

Read more

Former NBA Basketball Player & Humanitarian Manute Bol Dies at the Age of 47

A hero and a role model …

What a tragic loss to a sports athlete who totally understood how his fame could help others and was a true role model, not to children who admired basketball, but to a nation …

In Memoriam – Manute Bol
October 16, 1963 – June 19, 2010
Rest in Peace

Manute Bol at was a 7 foot 7 inch was the tallest player ever to play in the NBA. His shock blocking ability made him a menace on the court; however, for the Dinka tribesman it was his humanitarian work off the hard wood that he will forever be remembered for. Sadly, Manute Bol died today at the age of 47 from kidney failure and a a skin disease, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. Bol spent 10 years in the NBA and dedicated his life to humanitarian efforts to help his homeland Sudan. Bol was a towering figure on the court, but nothing compared to the towering presence he was to the Sudanese people.

Manute Bol is survived by 10 children, including four with his second wife, Ajok, of Olathe, KS.  May he rest in peace and God bless this man who got it and made a difference to so many in such a short period of time.

Manute Bol more than a basketball hero, a real hero who made a difference and was a role model

“Sudan and the world have lost a hero and an example for all of us,” Prichard said. “Manute, we’ll miss you. Our prayers and best wishes go out to all his family, and all who mourn his loss.”

Bol played in the NBA with Washington, Golden State, Philadelphia and Miami, averaging 2.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 blocks for his career. He led the league in blocks in 1985-86 with Washington (5.0 per game) and in 1988-89 with Golden State (4.3 a game).

Check out Manute Bol as he has his own block party. I remember watching this highlight
back in the day and simply just being amazed

Manute Bol founded Sudan Sunrise, a group based in Lenexa, KS, that promotes reconciliation in Sudan. Manute Bol, dead at the young age of 47 and a hero to so many. Unlike so many in sports, Manute Bol was a true hero and role model.

In a 2001 interview with The Times in Khartoum, Bol said he dreamed of going back to Turalei and his roots. “I would have a big, big farm,” he said. “Then we have no worries about money. If you have the cows, you have the money.”

Bol returned to Sudan regularly during his playing days and once he retired, he became more politically active there. He went there late last year to check on the school construction, then stayed on to campaign for a candidate in the region’s presidential election that was held in late April, said Mr. Prichard, who had traveled there with Bol in November. During his extended visit, Bol became ill and was briefly hospitalized in Nairobi, Mr. Prichard said.

“He really felt that his country needed him,” Mr. Prichard said. “He really died for his country. He wanted to do everything he could to see southern Sudan make it through this election in the best possible way.”

Another Golden Girl has Passed Away … Rue McClanahan Dead at the Age of 76

Rue McClanahan, another one of the “Golden Girls” has passed away at the age of 76 from a massive stroke. She was best know to all for playing Blanche Devereaux on the 80′s sitcom, The Golden Girls. Rue McClanahan had suffered a minor stroke earlier this year after recovering from bypass surgery. She passed away with her family at her side … rest in peace Blanche Devereaux.

Born in Healdton, Okla., Rue lived in six towns by the time she was 8. Her father was a road builder who moved from one project to another. She found solace in acting (“the only thing I ever wanted to do”) and after four years at the University of Tulsa moved to New York, where she worked as a part-time file clerk while trying to find jobs in the theater.

Her first job was off Broadway, in 1957, and she finally hit Broadway in 1969. TV work came from soap operas, until she made it on CBS’s Maude, starring Beatrice Arthur, starting in 1972. She played Maude’s best friend Vivian.

But it was Golden Girls that put her on the map and led to fame, fortune – and several husbands. In all, she had six, including actor Morrow Wilson, whom she wed in 1997 and who survives her, as does a son, Mark Bish, from her first marriage.

Sadly we have lost Golden Girl’s Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty

No Sheeple Here says it best … “Thank you for being a Blanche”.

Rest in Peace and God bless.

Actor Dennis Hopper Dead at Age 74 from Prostate Cancer

The Easy Rider has passed away …

Rest in Peace

An American acting icon has passed away … Dennis Hopper has died at the age of 74 from his decade long battle with prostate cancer. Dennis Hopper stared in such movies as “Rebel without a Cause, Easy Rider, Blue Velvet, Hoosiers, Speed and the list goes on and on. Hopper passed away at 9 am Saturday surrounded by family in his Los Angeles, California home.

Actor Dennis Hopper, whose 50-year film career spanned such classics as “Rebel Without a Cause,” “Easy Rider,” “Apocalypse Now” and “Blue Velvet” died Saturday following a battle with prostate cancer, Reuters reported. He was 74.

Hopper died from complications related to the cancer at his home in Venice, Calif., at 8:15am PT and had friends and family by his side, friend Alex Hitz told Reuters.

The unconventional, enigmatic Hopper played villains, counterculture heroes and even a young Napoleon Bonaparte with equal aplomb.

I guess Dennis Hopper’s estranged wife can now feel like the heel she is. Guess he was sick after all, what do you think?

Easy Rider has met the end of the road. What an acting loss this is. Hopper has his demons; however, as an actor he was simply brilliant. Sadly, cancer has taken another.

A longtime resident of Venice who also was known as a photographer, artist and collector of modern art, Hopper died at his home of complications from prostate cancer, said Alex Hitz, a friend of the family.

A frail-looking Hopper, whose battle with prostate cancer was revealed in October, was able to attend a ceremony for the unveiling of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in late March.

They certainly do not make them like Dennis Hopper any more … Rest in Peace.