RIP: Broadcast Legend Dick Enberg Dies at 82 … “Oh My” You Will Be Missed!

OH MY!!!

In the world of really sad news, broadcasting icon Dick Enberg has passed away at the age of 82. Dick Enberg, the Hall of Fame broadcaster was most known for his call,  “Oh my!” The man was amazing, If there was a major sporting event and a famous call, he made it. From the 1968 college basketball game known as the ‘Game of the Century’ between UCLA and Houston to Super Bowl XXIII Montana to Taylor to win the game in the final seconds, from Wimbledon to the 1979 NCAA College basketball championship between Michigan St. and Indiana St. and Magic Johnson and Larry Bird that put college basketball on the map forever, Dick Enberg did it all. Enberg called 8 Super Bowls, the Olympics, the NFL, Tennis, Baseball, college basketball. He could call your kid’s 5th grade soccer game and make it sound like the most exciting sporting event ever. The man had a gift. Dick Enberg will be missed, he is the last of a dying breed of broadcasting icons. Rest in peace and OH MY, thank you for the memories!!!

RIP

Legendary sports broadcaster and former Padres play-by-play announcer Dick Enberg died Thursday morning at his La Jolla home, said his wife, Barbara. He was 82.

Barbara Enberg said the family found out later in the day after Dick Enberg failed to get off a flight in Boston, where they were scheduled to meet. She said her husband appeared to be waiting for a car that was set to shuttle him to San Diego International Airport for a 6:30 a.m. flight.

“He was dressed with his bags packed at the door,” she said. “We think it was a heart attack.”

Enberg defined versatility as a broadcaster, covering 28 Wimbledon tournaments, 10 Super Bowls and eight NCAA basketball title games as the play-by-play voice of the UCLA Bruins during their dynasty-building run.

ESPN: A Legend Dies.

Enberg was one of America’s most beloved sports broadcasters, with his versatile voice spanning the world on networks such as NBC, CBS and ESPN. In all, he covered 28 Wimbledons, 10 Super Bowls and eight NCAA men’s basketball title games, including the Magic Johnson-Larry Bird showdown in 1979.

His work was celebrated with a host of honors, including the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award (2015), the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Rozelle Award (1999) and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Gowdy Award (1995). He won 13 Sports Emmy Awards and a Lifetime Achievement Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and UCLA named its media center in Pauley Pavilion after Enberg this year.

Most recently, Enberg had served as the primary play-by-play television voice of the San Diego Padres, retiring in 2016 after seven seasons with the team.

“Baseball,” he said then, “has been in my DNA from the time I was in diapers.”

The Padres released a statement Thursday night.

“We are immensely saddened by the sudden and unexpected passing of legendary broadcaster Dick Enberg,” the statement read. “Dick was an institution in the industry for 60 years and we were lucky enough to have his iconic voice behind the microphone for Padres games for nearly a decade. On behalf of our entire organization, we send our deepest condolences to his wife, Barbara, and the entire Enberg family.”

Former NBA Great Michael Jordan Donates $7 Million to Fund Health Clinics in Charlotte, NC’s Troubled Areas

WHY I LIKE MIKE … JORDAN PUTS HIS MONEY WHERE HIS MOUTH IS …

Former NBA great Michael Jordan has donated $7 million to establish two medical clinics in troubled Charlotte communities. Good for him, nice job! According to the Charlotte Observer, Novant Health is expected on Monday to announce Jordan’s personal gift, which will fund Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Clinics to be built in north and northwest Charlotte. One will be at 3149 and 3153 Freedom Drive; the other will be in the Brightwalk development on Statesville Avenue. It is not about taking a knee, it is about getting off your butt and doing something constructive to help and be a part of the solution. Instead of playing the victim card and complaining about injustices, Jordan took charge and made a difference. What a shining example of what to do.The billionaire owner of the Charlotte Hornets, greatest NBA player ever and a North Carolina native gave back to his community to make a difference.

Jordan gives not 6, but 7 million!!!

Michael Jordan is going public with his largest philanthropic gift, donating $7 million to establish two medical clinics in troubled Charlotte communities.

Jordan, the billionaire owner of the Charlotte Hornets and a North Carolina native, is making a personal gift to fund Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Clinics, according to the Charlotte Observer. The clinics, projected to open in late 2020, are designed to serve some of the city’s densest areas of poverty.

“Michael really wanted to do something personally, he and his family, in the North Carolina area, separate from the work we’ve done with the Hornets,” Estee Portnoy, Jordan’s spokesperson, told the Observer.

In a statement, Jordan said he hoped the clinics “will help provide a brighter and healthier future for the children and families they serve.”

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra Adds Four More States to State Travel Ban … Alabama, Kentucky, South Dakota and Texas

WHO FINDS THIS IRONIC … LIBERALS IN CALIFORNIA HAVE A BLACK LIST TRAVEL BAN TO STATES IN THE UNITED STATES, BUT OPPOSE A TRAVEL BAN FROM TERRORIST COUNTRIES TO AMERICA?

This should be subtitled: Be very careful what you ask for, it might come true. On Thursday, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra doubled the number of states subject to California’s state-sponsored travel ban adding Alabama, Kentucky, South Dakota and Texas. At some point, California will be adding 49 states to their travel ban.  The California travel ban law that took effect in January; however, there are a number of exemptions to the ban on travel. For example, the the restrictions do apply to the University of California and other state schools, but the attorney general’s office would not say whether the rules would prevent an athletic team from playing an away game at one of the affected states. Well of course not, state run schools are not bought and paid for by the tax payers of California (sarcasm intended). Come on libs, grow some CO-JONES, put your money where your mouth is. A travel ban is a travel ban … why would playing a basketball game in Lexington, Kentucky against the Wildcats or a football game in Alabama against the Crimson Tide be any different? This is going to come back and bite California finally in a major way. This liberal intolerance could backfire on California big time.

Decrying a “scourge of discrimination” against LGBT individuals in four states, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Thursday doubled the number of states subject to California’s state-sponsored travel ban.

Speaking in San Francisco, Becerra increased the number of states that California state employees cannot travel to on official government business from four to eight.

The four additions — Alabama, Kentucky, South Dakota and Texas — each passed state legislation that took effect starting in March that Becerra alleged.

discriminates against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their families.

“The state of California is not going to participate in discriminatory conduct by other states,” Becerra said.

The states join Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee on California’s list of banned states. The first four were put in place by then-Attorney General Kamala Harris.

Could this legislation effect college sports and in turn recruiting to California colleges?

Four FBS California public schools are scheduled to travel to one of the eight states this season:

Cal at North Carolina
Fresno State at Alabama
San Jose State at Texas
UCLA at Memphis

And these football games are also on the books in later seasons:

2019: Cal at Ole Miss
2020: Fresno State at Texas A&M
2021: Cal at TCU
2024: Cal at Auburn

Donald Trump Will Not Fill Out an NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket

GOOD, I WOULD LIKE TO THINK THE POTUS HAS MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO …

Imagine that, President Donald Trump wants to do the job of the American people rather than mugging for the camera for ESPN’s NCAA tournament brackets. Trump will not fill out a, NCAA Tournament bracket like his predecessor did on a common basis. Honestly, other than doing late night comedy shows, filling out the brackets may have been the only thing that Obama seemed qualified to do as president. Obviously, we now have a serious individual in the White House who is looking to solve the problems of America’s economy and dealing with our enemies. The time for fun and games are over, that was the Obama administration, now we have real things to deal with and it’s adult, serious time in the White House.

After all, this would be the perfect thing for Obama, it only requires a pen …

It appears that President Trump is passing on March Madness. He will not continue his predecessor’s annual tradition of filling out an NCAA tournament bracket on ESPN.

The network reached out to Trump’s staff and invited the president to fill out a bracket on-camera, just as President Barack Obama had the past several years. The network recently received word that Trump has passed. An ESPN spokesman said in a statement: “We expressed our interest to the White House in continuing the presidential bracket. They have respectfully declined.”

White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in an email to The Washington Post: “We look forward to working with ESPN on another opportunity in the near future.” Neither the White House nor ESPN had any details on what other opportunities might lie down the road.

The news didn’t exactly come as a surprise to ESPN executives. They knew with a change of president, the annual feature might not continue. Obama hosted an ESPN crew each March and filled out brackets for both the men’s and women’s tournaments. Two of those brackets are now property of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Legendary Tennessee Lady Vols Coach Pat Summitt Dies at age 64, Rest in Peace

A sad day for basketball … the one and only Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt has died at age 64.

Pat Summitt – Rest in Peace

I awoke this morning to the sad but not unexpected news that the legendary Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt had passed away. Summitt was truly an original and one in a million as she won eight NCAA titles and went 1,098-208 in 38 seasons as coach at Tennessee. She began coaching at the age of 22 and single-highhandedly brought woman’s college basketball to the forefront. Sadly had to step down down in 2012 due to early onset dementia and Alzheimer’s. Pat Summitt is probably the greatest woman’s basketball coach ever. This is high praise from me, one who has been a lifetime UCONN woman’s basketball fan. However, without Pat, there would never have been a Geno. What I will miss most about Pat Summitt is the glare. The woman could pierce a hole through you with that stare and she never had to apologize in this ridiculous PC world we live in for getting on her players with fiery half-time and time out speeches to get the best out of her players that she knew they had in them.

On a personal note, I can remember being at Rocky Top in Knoxville, Tennessee in the late 90′s attending a Vols football game. Prior to the game some friends and I went into the Thompson–Boling Arena and noticed that the Lady Vols were practicing. To my surprise they Lady Vols were practicing against guys and schooling them. Pat Summitt was coaching the practice like she coached a game with the same intensity. I just sat and watched in amazement as Pat lit into those girls like I had only seen a coach previously rip guys. You could tell she was a master motivator as she would then praise them when they did something amazing and trust me it was. The funny was that as my friends left to go to the UT game, I stayed. I sat in the stands and kept creeping farther down to get a better view. Anyone can attend a UT football game, I was witnessing greatness. Little did I realize how great, I was watching the preseason practice of the 1997-1998 Lady Vols, what is considered to be one of the greatest teams in the history of U.S. women’s college basketball, who went on to go 39-0.

God bless you Pat Summitt, may you now rest in eternal peace.

Former Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt has died, her son and her website said on Tuesday morning — shortly after her family publicly asked for prayers and acknowledged her health had taken a bad turn.

She was 64 years old.

Summitt announced in August 2011 that she had been diagnosed with early onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer retired at the conclusion of the 2011-12 season after coaching at Tennessee for 38 years. She won 1,098 games and eight national championships. The court at Thompson-Boling Arena — “The Summitt” — is named in her honor.

Summitt had been living in a retirement center since January. Around 20 former Lady Vols — including WNBA stars Candace Parker and Tamika Catchings — reportedly flew to Knoxville over the weekend to see Summitt one last time. Former Tennessee assistant Mickie DeMos was also reportedly in Knoxville.

Pat Summitt Gives Half-time speech to Lady Vols

ESPN: There will never be anyone like Tennessee legend Pat Summitt.

She was born on Flag Day, June 14, 1952, and personified the American Dream. Like most iconic figures, she inspired an almost mythical kind of devotion. But how could someone be so larger-than-life magnificent and yet so humbly warm and real?

That was the essence of Pat Summitt, the longtime Tennessee women’s basketball coach who died Tuesday morning at age 64, nearly five years after making public her diagnosis of early-onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type.

To say there will never be anyone else like Summitt is not hyperbole. On the contrary, it seems inadequate. She won eight NCAA titles and went 1,098-208 in 38 seasons as coach at Tennessee. She was one of the most accomplished and influential figures in the history of women’s sports, but also was universally respected and beloved.

A Tribute to Pat Summitt