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

Three-Time World Heavyweight Champion Boxer & the “Greatest” of All Time Muhammad Ali Dies at Age 74

Muhammad Ali dead at age 74 …

The “Greatest” boxing icon of all-time, Muhammad Ali, has dies at the age of 74. The former 3-time heavy weight champion of the world died Friday at a Phoenix-area hospital, where he had spent the past few days being treated for respiratory complications. The once silver tongued boxer, who brought the art of the verbal jab and trash talking to his opponents inside and onside the ring has battled with Parkinson’s for the past three decades. As great as a boxer that Ali was in a time in which boxing was actually relevant, I can’t say that I agreed with all of his verbal tactics, but he was entertaining for the sport. Who could ever forget the “Thrilla in Manilla” with Ali and Smoking Joe Frazier.

Mohammed Ali, Rest in Peace.

Muhammad Ali, the silver-tongued boxer and civil rights champion who famously proclaimed himself “The Greatest” and then spent a lifetime living up to the billing, is dead.

Ali died Friday at a Phoenix-area hospital, where he had spent the past few days being treated for respiratory complications, a family spokesman confirmed to NBC News. He was 74.

“After a 32-year battle with Parkinson’s disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74. The three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer died this evening,” Bob Gunnell, a family spokesman, told NBC News.

Ali had suffered for three decades from Parkinson’s, a progressive neurological condition that slowly robbed him of both his verbal grace and his physical dexterity. A funeral service is planned in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

More on the Life of Mohammed Ali … “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”

He was b orn Cassius Marcellus Clay on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, to middle-class parents. He started boxing when he was 12, winning Golden Gloves titles before heading to the 1960 Olympics in Rome, where he won a gold medal as a light heavyweight. He would change his name to Muhammad Ali and the rest is history.

Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston from Lewiston, Maine

Preakness Stakes: Black Eye for Horse Racing … Death of Two Race Horses (Homeboykris & Pramedya) … Oh Yeah, Exaggerator Won

ON MARYLAND HORSE RACING’S BIGGEST DAY … TWO HORSES DEAD.

The 141st running of the Preakness States was overshadowed as two horses died and a jockey was injured at Pimlico Race Course during the first few races of a rainy Preakness Saturday in Baltimore, Maryland. In the first 4 races of the day, two horses were dead and one jockey injured. 9 year old Homeboykris collapsed while walking back to his barn after winning the first race on a dirt course at the Pimlico. 9 YEARS OLD AND STILL RACING? Later, 4 year old Pramedya fractured her left cannon bone while racing on a turf course. The horse was immediately euthanized on the track. In a bizarre irony, Pramedya’s owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, also owned the Kentucky Derby-winning horse Barbaro who shattered bones in his leg at the start of the Preakness in 2006. We all sadly remember Barbaro, and Barbaro’s struggle to survive only to be euthanized in 2007.

Racehorse Homeboykris collapsed while walking back to his barn after winning the first race on a dirt course at the Pimlico, according to Sal Sinatra, the president and general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club. The horse collapsed after his picture had been taken in the winner’s circle.

Later, racehorse Pramedya fractured her left cannon bone while racing on a turf course, according to Sinatra, and Pramedya’s Jockey, Daniel Centeno, fell and suffered a right clavicle fracture. Pramedya, 4, was euthanized on the track, according to The Associated Press.

Homeboykris’ owner, Jan Klein, said in a statement to ABC News, “We are all just heartbroken.”

“Kris had a small team who loved him and cared about him. His trainer, Fran Campitelli; his caretakers; and of course, me,” Klein said. “He loved what he did and we will all miss him. Such a wonderful competitor with a marvelous record.

“We all feel privileged to have been a part of his life,” she said.

There will be an autopsy for 9-year-old Homeboykris at the New Bolton veterinary care center in Pennsylvania, Sinatra said.

Pramedya’s owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, also owned the Kentucky Derby-winning horse Barbaro who shattered bones in his leg at the start of the Preakness in 2006. Barbaro developed laminitis and was euthanized in 2007, according to the AP.

Oh yeah, and in other news Exaggerator won the Preakness Stakes defeating Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist. There will be no Triple Crown winner this year and nor should there be. Triple Crown’s do not grow on trees and should never be a common occurrence, otherwise the one thing that draws non-horse racing fans to the support the sport would go away as well.

Exaggerator rained on Nyquist’s parade at the Preakness. And that’s no exaggeration at all.

The Kentucky Derby runner-up won the second leg of horse-racing’s Triple Crown Saturday in the rain and slop at Pimlico Race Course. Nyquist, the Derby winner, started fast but faded in the stretch, finishing third behind longshot Cherry Wine.

Kent Desormeaux, the winning jockey, said the secret to victory was staying close to the rail, shortening the distance Exaggerator had to run, while the other jockeys stayed wide.

New WAPO Poll Finds 90% of Native Americans ARE NOT Offended by Redskins Name

WELL IMAGINE THAT, 90% OF NATIVE AMERICANS ARE NOT OFFENDED BY REDSKINS, HMM, ISN’T THAT A MANDATE?

A WAPO poll finds that 90% of Native Americans say they ARE NOT offended by the Washington Redskins name. WOW, 90%! You can’t find 9 in 10 people top agree on anything these days. The poll asked only “Native Americans” the question if the professional football team in Washington calls itself the Washington Redskins. As a Native American, do you find that name offensive or doesn’t it bother you? An astounding 90% said they were not offended, 9% said they were and 1% had no opinion and could have cared less. So who exactly is so offended and insulted by the Redskin name? Once again we are witness to a group of 5 people who claim to speak for the other 99% This a Washington Post independent poll, not one conducted by Washington Redskins owner Daniel Schneider for his own self-serving reasons. Those on the offended by anything side will be hard pressed to condemn these poll results.

Nine in 10 Native Americans say they are not offended by the Washington Redskins name, according to a new Washington Post poll that shows how few ordinary Indians have been persuaded by a national movement to change the football team’s moniker.

The survey of 504 people across every state and the District reveals that the minds of Native Americans have remained unchanged since a 2004 poll by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found the same result. Responses to The Post’s questions about the issue were broadly consistent regardless of age, income, education, political party or proximity to reservations.

Among the Native Americans reached over a five-month period ending in April, more than 7 in 10 said they did not feel the word “Redskin” was disrespectful to Indians. An even higher number — 8 in 10 — said they would not be offended if a non-native called them that name.

Johnny Manziel Indicted by a Dallas County Grand Jury on a Misdemeanor Assault with Bodily Injury Charge

JOHNNY FOOTBALL INDICTED ….

CBS11 is reporting that Johnny Manziel has been indicted by a Dallas County Grand Jury on a misdemeanor assault with bodily injury charge. The indictment occurred even though a settlement has been reached between Manziel and Crowley. It would be a miracle if Manziel was aver picked up by another NFL team ever as he has just too much baggage and too little talent. You have to wonder what the hell the Cleveland Brown were thinking. Those at the Heisman might also want to take a moment of reflection and ponder what “integrity” means to them.

Sources in the Dallas County District Attorney’s office tell L.P. Phillips of KRLD-AM, Johnny Manziel has been indicted by a Dallas County Grand Jury on a misdemeanor assault with bodily injury charge.

The grand jury reviewed evidence in the assault case against former NFL quarterback Manziel, Thursday, April 21.

The 23-year-old quarterback is accused of hitting his ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley several times while driving from an uptown Dallas bar back to her home in Fort Worth.

According to police records, Crowley tried to jump out of the moving car and get to safety, but Manziel stopped, dragged her back into the car and hit her.

Crowley told the valet at Hotel Zaza, “Please don’t let him take me,” according to her police report, “I’m scared for my life!”

Grand jury indicts Johnny Manziel on misdemeanor assault charge.

Manziel was cut by the Browns in March after two tumultuous seasons marked by inconsistent play and off-the-field headlines about his partying and drinking, including one stint in rehab. His future in the NFL is uncertain and might be nonexistent without the second stint in treatment that two agents demanded before cutting ties with him.

In a statement to ESPN and other media Tuesday, Manziel said, “I’m hoping to take care of the issues in front of me right now, so I can focus on what I have to do if I want to play in 2016. I also continue to be thankful to those who really know me and support me.”

Manziel didn’t have much impact during the little time he spent on the field for the Browns the past two seasons. He passed for 1,675 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions in 14 games.