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He did so at the same time scoring 19 pts to help his team defeat the San Antonio Spurs. From AP-
After his history-making swipe, Chris Paul helped the Hornets steal a victory from the San Antonio Spurs.
Paul set an NBA record with a steal in his 106th straight regular-season game and had 19 points and 12 assists to lead New Orleans to a 90-83 comeback victory Wednesday night.
Paul broke Alvin Robertson’s NBA mark — which stood since 1986 — when he deflected and quickly corralled an attempted pass by Tony Parker late in the second quarter.
Congratulations Chris Paul and way to go.
Considered the best all around NFL player of his time he coached for three years in the old AFL. RIP Sammy.
Slingin’ Sammy Baugh, the ultimate three-way threat who revolutionized the use of the forward pass as a Hall of Fame quarterback for the Washington Redskins, died Wednesday night. He was 94.
Baugh, who had numerous health issues, died at Fisher County Hospital in Rotan, according to his son, David Baugh. He said his father had battled Alzheimer’s disease and dementia for several years and recently had been ill with kidney problems, low blood pressure and double pneumonia.
“It wasn’t the same Sam we all knew,” his son told The Associated Press. “He just finally wore out.”
Sammy Baugh was the last surviving member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s inaugural class.
After starring at TCU, “Slingin’ Sammy” played with the Redskins from 1937 to 1952, leading them to the NFL title in his rookie season and again in 1942.
Baugh was the best all-around player in an era when such versatility was essential. In 1943, he led the league in passing, punting and defensive interceptions. In one game, he threw four touchdown passes and intercepted four as well. He threw six touchdowns passes in a game twice. His 51.4-yard punting average in 1940 is still the NFL record.
“There’s nobody any better than Sam Baugh was in pro football,” Don Maynard, a fellow West Texas Hall of Famer who played for Baugh, said in a 2002 interview. “When I see somebody picking the greatest player around, to me, if they didn’t go both ways, they don’t really deserve to be nominated. I always ask, ‘Well, how’d he do on defense? How was his punting?’”
When Baugh entered the NFL, the forward pass was so rare that it was unveiled mostly in desperate situations. But Baugh turn the pass into a regular feature of the offensive game plan.
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Sammy Baugh
Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images
Sammy Baugh was a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s inaugural class.
As a rookie in 1937, he completed a record 81 passes (about seven a game) and led the league with 1,127 yards. By contrast, only six quarterbacks averaged three completions a game that year. He went on to lead the league in passing six times.
Baugh still holds Redskins records for career touchdown passes (187) and completion percentage in a season (70.3). His 31 interceptions on defense are third on the team’s career list.
“He was amazing, just tremendously accurate,” Eddie LeBaron, who took over as Washington’s quarterback in Baugh’s last season, said in a 2002 interview. “He could always find a way to throw it off balance. I’ve seen him throw the ball overarm, sidearm and underarm and complete them.”
Baugh guided the Redskins to five title games and two championships, playing his entire career without a face mask. His No. 33 is the only jersey Washington has retired.
“Sammy Baugh embodied all we aspire to at the Washington Redskins,” Redskins owner Dan Snyder said. “He was a competitor in everything he did and a winner. He was one of the greatest to ever play the game of football, and one of the greatest the Redskins ever had. My thoughts and prayers are with his family tonight.”
Baugh’s reputation blossomed as a star high school football, baseball and basketball player in Sweetwater. It began to grow during his college days at TCU.
It was there that he picked up the nickname “Slingin’ Sammy” — but it wasn’t for his passing. It was for the rockets he fired to first base as a shortstop and third baseman.
“Everybody thought I was a better baseball player growing up,” he said in 2002. “I thought I was going to be a big league baseball player.”
As an All-American football player, he led TCU to a 29-7-3 mark, including Sugar Bowl and Cotton Bowl victories. He masterfully executed an early ancestor of the West Coast offense at TCU, and he credits Horned Frogs coach Dutch Meyer with his NFL success.
“Sam Baugh will always remain an integral part of TCU,” athletic director Danny Morrison said in a statement. “His accomplishments have left an undeniable impact on our football program and the sport in general. TCU is extremely fortunate and honored to call Sam Baugh one of its own.”
Baugh was known to make blunt, witty remarks.
After the Redskins’ 73-0 loss to the Chicago Bears in the 1940 championship, a writer asked if the outcome would have been different had an end not dropped an early touchdown pass.
“Yeah,” drawled Baugh. “It would have been 73-7.”
Baugh was known for his reclusiveness.
After his NFL career, Baugh retreated to his 7,600-acre West Texas ranch about 95 miles southeast of Lubbock. The Hall of Fame and the Redskins have tried to lure him east for ceremonies over the years, and he always turned them down.
For years he drove to Snyder three or four times a week for golf, until sore knees, searing heat and the 100-mile round trip made those outings too tough.
But he always enjoyed football season.
“I’ll watch it all damn day long,” Baugh, who often sprinkled his conversation with mild obscenities, told The Associated Press in a 2002 interview. “I like the football they play. They got bigger boys, and they’ve also got these damn speed merchants that we didn’t have in those days. I’d love to be quarterback this day and time.”
David Baugh sees talent comparable to his father’s in today’s NFL players, citing Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning in particular.
“He’s great, but he doesn’t punt and he doesn’t play safety on defense,” David Baugh said. “In that regard, Sammy was pretty darned great.”
Sammy Baugh bought the Double Mountain Ranch, named for two hills that jut out of the flat earth north of his house, in 1941. He and his wife, Edmonia, who died in 1990, raised five children on the arid expanse covered with mesquite trees, prickly pear cactus and about 500 cows.
He came to the ranch full time in the mid-1960s, after several two years coaching the New York Titans and a year with the Houston Oilers.
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She claims a beating she received from the MLB caused her to lose a baby. From the San Diego Union-Tribune-
Padres outfielder Brian Giles is being sued for more than $10 million by a former girlfriend who alleges he battered her while she was pregnant and caused her to suffer a miscarriage.
Giles, 37, has been advised by his agent, Joe Bick, not to comment on the matter.
“I have absolutely no comment,†Bick said.
Padres spokesman Warren Miller said the team was aware of the suit and declined further comment.
Plaintiff Cheri Olvera alleges in her complaint that she and Giles lived together since 2002 and became engaged around December 2005. However, the marriage never took place due to Giles’ violence toward her, the suit states.
A PDF file with the actual lawsuit can be read here. In it Ms. Olivera claims there are witnesses to four separate incidents.
If true, Giles is a low-life who deserves to be taken to the cleaners. There is nothing worse for a mother than to lose her child. I know, because my wife and I have our own personal losses.
Cortland Finnegan was just named to his first Pro Bowl which is played annually in Honolulu. From AP-
Tennessee Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan is going to his first Pro Bowl. He just doesn’t know how he’ll get to Hawaii.
Problem is, he’s afraid of flying.
Finnegan says he’s thinking of taking a tranquilizer or something to help him through the flight. He says he’s really scared and actually has thought of traveling to Hawaii on a cruise ship.
How does this player get to Tennessee Titan home games? I suppose Finnegan could drive, and the 2008 Titan schedule would make that possible. The Titans played no west coast games this year, and their furthest road trips were to Kansas City and Baltimore.
Note- I do understand some people are afraid of flying. Finnegan’s case is just unusual.
No I’m not talking about some middle aged man propelling a ball at some objects at the end of a lane, but the games that climax every college football season. Bowl season officially starts this Saturday, here are the matchups for all the college football fanatics out there.
Dec 20
Eaglebank Bowl- Wake Forest vs Navy
New Mexico Bowl- Colorado State vs Fresno St
MAGICJACK ST. PETERSBURG BOWL- Memphis vs. South Florida
PIONEER LAS VEGAS BOWL- Brigham Young vs Arizona
Dec 21
R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL- Southern Miss vs. Troy
Dec 23
SAN DIEGO COUNTY CREDIT UNION POINSETTIA BOWL- Boise St vs TCU
Dec 24
SHERATON HAWAII BOWL- Hawaii vs Notre Dame
Dec 26
MOTOR CITY BOWL- Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan
Saturday, December 27
MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL- West Virginia vs. North Carolina
Champs Sports Bowl- Wisconsin vs. Florida State
Emerald Bowl- Miami (FL) vs. California
December 28
Independence Bowl- Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech
PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL- North Carolina State vs. Rutgers
Valero Alamo Bowl- Missouri vs. No. 23 Northwestern
Tuesday, December 30
ROADY’S HUMANITARIAN BOWL- Maryland vs. Nevada
PACIFIC LIFE HOLIDAY BOWL- Oklahoma State vs. No. 17 Oregon
Texas Bowl- Western Michigan vs. Rice
Wednesday, December 31
BELL HELICOPTER ARMED FORCES BOWL- Houston vs. Air Force
Sun Bowl- Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh
GAYLORD HOTELS MUSIC CITY BOWL- Boston College vs. Vanderbilt
Insight Bowl- Kansas vs. Minnesota
CHICK-FIL-A BOWL- LSU vs. Georgia Tech
Thursday, January 1
OUTBACK BOWL- South Carolina vs. Iowa
CAPITAL ONE BOWL- Georgia vs. Michigan State
Gator Bowl- Nebraska vs. Clemson
Rose Bowl- Penn State vs. USC
Fedex Orange Bowl- Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
Friday, January 2
Cotton Bowl- Mississippi vs. Texas Tech
AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL- Kentucky vs. East Carolina
ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL- Utah vs. Alabama
January 3
INTERNATIONAL BOWL- Buffalo vs. Connecticut
January 5
TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL- Ohio State vs. Texas
January 6
GMAC Bowl- Ball State vs. Tulsa*
January 8
FEDEX BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME- Florida vs. Oklahoma
That’s 34 games, 68 schools spread over a period of 20 days for those of you keeping score at home. An ample supply of college football for any fanatics out there.
A few notes
*- There are a few bowl games remaining without corporate names in their title. Gator, Sun, Texas, Independence. Were these games unable to find sponsors?
*- Will Oklahoma St. and Oregon combine for 70 pts or more in the Holiday Bowl? This annually has been of the most high scoring affairs.
*- Oh how has the Orange Bowl dropped. A game that featured early triumphs of Joe Paterno led Penn State, Nebraska and Oklahoma in their glory days, the first major bowl appearance of Florida State, and the all time classic 84 battle between Nebraska and Miami, has Cincinnati and Virginia Tech playing this year. I’m sure they are talented football teams, but how many people are drooling to see them play in a prime-time network slot?
*- Arizona and BYU meet in a bowl 30 years after the former left the WAC conference for the higher profile Pac Eight(Now Ten, Arizona State joined also)
*- Vanderbilt makes a rare bowl appearance. Congratulations to Commodore fans, but this is a sign of how bowls are grown way out of proportion. 6-6 college teams get bids. When I was growing up I could remember Florida State going without a bowl in 1978 even though they finished the season 8-3.
It is my humble opinion that bowl season has gotten out of hand. Someone may say what’s the big deal? If someone wants to start a bowl game and there are two schools willing to play in it, does their records matter. A good football isn’t only a contest between stars at big name schools.
All true, but how much public money is spent on these affairs? Many of the teams are state universities who get funded by taxpayers. Then there is the game itself where police have to be taken from other tasks to work the day or night of the game or paid over-time.
With the economic downturn right now, you have to wonder if there will be less bowls in the near future. That would depend on how long a deal a corporate sponsor signed on for. I wonder how many fans of some schools plan to make a bowl trip. Are there 1,000 or more FAU Owls willing to journey from Florida to Michigan in December to watch the team play? Even if I were a Owl fan and had money, I’d stay home.
Enjoy the games.
The coach who will turn 82 later this month, has led the Nittany Lions since 1966. From AP-
Penn State coach Joe Paterno has a new three-year contract extension to go along with his new hip.
The Hall of Famer and winningest coach in major college football history has agreed to a new deal with the university, the athletic department said Tuesday in a statement.
The agreement will provide “for the opportunity of Coach Joe Paterno leading the football program through the 2011 season,” the statement said. JoePa turns 82 on Sunday.
“It was also agreed that the parties might re-evaluate their circumstances and alter the arrangement by either shortening or extending its length as necessary,” the statement said.
The agreement ends months of speculation about Paterno’s future since his current deal had expired following this season. University president Graham Spanier and Paterno had announced in the spring that Paterno didn’t need something in writing to stay on a job he’s had a record 43 years.
Does anyone honestly think Paterno will be still coaching in 2011 when he’ll turn 85?
Florida will play Oklahoma for the National Championship. From ESPN-
Florida football coach Urban Meyer said Tuesday that offensive coordinator Dan Mullen will stay on to coach in the Bowl Championship Series title game Jan. 8 against Oklahoma, despite taking the head coaching job at Mississippi State last week.
“The goal is to win the game, and I think right now, unless something changes, it looks like that’s going to happen,” Meyer said. “Is that the best chance of us winning that game, with the mechanics of the game the way we do them? Probably yes. So right now I’d say the plan is he’ll be up in the press box.”
At the Heisman Trophy ceremony Saturday night, Gators quarterback Tim Tebow said it was unlikely Mullen would call the offensive plays against the Sooners. Tebow suggested that Florida could go with a play-calling-by-committee approach in the title game.
Mullen was still in Mississippi and not planning to return to Gainesville until after Christmas, Meyer said. The Gators held their first bowl practice Tuesday, but with final exams scheduled all week, it was mostly conditioning drills. Meyer said detailed game-plan preparations for No. 2 Oklahoma won’t begin until after Christmas.
I never understood Tebow’s Saturday statement from the beginning. The only reason not to let Mullen play call, is because if players and coaches didn’t trust him. If that was true, why wouldn’t Florida tell Mullen his services weren’t needed for the BCS Championship game?
It stemmed from an incident in a game played last Saturday. From AP-
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah has suspended guard Luka Drca for two games for an intentional foul committed in a loss to No. 4 Oklahoma.
Drca tripped Blake Griffin as the Sooners were on a fast break with a 14-point lead early in the second half of Saturday’s game. Oklahoma’s Willie Warren was called for a technical for jawing with Drca, who was whistled for an intentional foul.
Utah coach Jim Boylen said in a release Monday that he was suspending Drca for two games.
Boylen says he wasn’t required to suspend Drca, but felt the trip was unacceptable behavior. The junior from Serbia will sit out Saturday’s home game against Weber State and the Utes’ road game against Utah State next Monday.
Drca suspends every bit of the suspension. That kind of behavior he portrayed on Saturday doesn’t belong on a basketball court.
He’s coached the Bulldogs for 10 years and taken them to one SEC tournament title. From ESPN-
Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury was admitted Sunday night to Oktibbeha County Hospital with migraines and then went to Northeast Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo on Monday for more testing.
Assistant Robert Kirby told ESPN.com on Monday that he spoke with Stansbury and he fully expected him to coach the Bulldogs in Thursday night’s SEC/Big East Challenge against Cincinnati at U.S. Bank Arena.
Kirby said Stansbury had never experienced migraines before and wanted to get them checked when his condition did not improve. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if Stansbury attended practice Monday.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 19-point win over South Alabama after a loss at home to Charlotte in which the Bulldogs were “out-toughed,” according to Kirby. He said the Bulldogs went to a smaller lineup around shot-blocker Jarvis Varnado but are still looking for more on-court leadership moving forward.
I hope it is nothing serious. Get well coach.
Another one bites the dust.
Two days after a heavy home loss to the New York Knicks, Reggie Theus was fired Monday as coach of the Sacramento Kings.
Assistant coach Kenny Natt has been elevated to interim coach. Natt is Sacramento’s fourth coach in less than three years, following Theus, Eric Musselman and Rick Adelman, who left the club after the 2005-06 season.
Theus is the sixth NBA coach to be fired before Christmas this season, joining Philadelphia’s Maurice Cheeks, Minnesota’s Randy Wittman, Toronto’s Sam Mitchell, Washington’s Eddie Jordan and Oklahoma City’s P.J. Carlesimo. The previous NBA record for pre-Christmas firings was three.
Theus, who coached at New Mexico State before coming to Sacramento, has a three year deal. How nice must it be to get paid for nothing for a year and a half when sports franchises fire coaches with time remaining on the contract
All sarcasm aside, Sacramento was 6-18 this year. The Kings ownership does have more than enough justification for the firing on that basis alone.
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