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RIP -- SPORTS STAR TRIBUTES
#1
A thread to remember athletes, commentators, and sports celebrities passed...


So, I just saw that Flip Saunders passed away, MS. RIP. I liked the guy.

[Image: flip-saunders.jpg]

Flip Saunders, the longtime NBA coach who won more than 650 games in nearly two decades and was trying to rebuild the Minnesota Timberwolves as team president, coach and part owner, died Sunday, the team said. He was 60.

Saunders was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma in June and doctors called it "treatable and curable" when the Timberwolves made the diagnosis public in August. But he took a leave of absence from the team in September after complications arose during his recovery.

Saunders went 654-592 in 17 NBA seasons with the Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards.

Sam Mitchell has been named interim head coach of the Timberwolves and GM Milt Newton is heading the team's personnel department.

As team president, coach and a minority owner, Saunders grabbed a level of influence within his organization that was unmatched in the NBA. His fingerprints were on everything, from personnel decisions to in-game strategies, even down to the pregame entertainment.

Gregarious and outgoing, he endeared himself to a Twin Cities community that viewed him as a hometown boy done good, with his Gophers roots overshadowing his Cleveland upbringing. And Flip loved Minnesota right back. When he returned to the organization after 10 years away, he recounted a story about working for ESPN and being asked why he still lived in Minnesota so long after he was fired.

"And I'd say 'Well, you don't really understand unless you're from Minnesota. You really don't get it. Even when it snows on May 3rd you really don't get it,'" Saunders said. "And the loyalty and the passion that the people have here is what always drives me back."


Full story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/timb...3bb564427c
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#2
RIP Flip.

I don't think anyone (outside of Flip's inner circle) saw this coming.

He was diagnosed just over 4 months ago and he's dead, after the doctors said it was treatable/curable.

Sad day for MN hoops fans.
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#3
Meadowlark Lemon died yesterday in Arizona at age 83.

[Image: 56815365160000b300eb9998.jpeg]

My dad was a big fan of the Harlem Globetrotters and the Buccaneers. I used to love watching him play when I was little.

Though skilled enough to play professionally, Lemon instead wanted to entertain, his dream of playing for the Globetrotters hatched after watching a newsreel of the all-black team at a cinema house when he was 11.

Lemon played for the Globetrotters during the team's heyday from the mid-1950s to the late-1970s, delighting fans with his skills with a ball and a joke. What a hook shot.

Lemon played in over 100 countries and in front of popes and presidents, kings and queens. Known as the "Clown Prince of Basketball," he averaged 325 games per year during his prime, that luminous smile never dimming.

"Meadowlark was the most sensational, awesome, incredible basketball player I've ever seen," NBA great and former Globetrotter Wilt Chamberlain said shortly before his death in 1999. "People would say it would be Dr. J or even (Michael) Jordan. For me it would be Meadowlark Lemon."

RIP.

Story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mead...efe0d8ac6d
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#4
I remember watching him and Curley on the high school gym floor back in 76
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
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#5
RIP Dave Henderson.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-base...dead-at-54
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#6
I always enjoyed watching Dave Henderson play.

He was a little like my Kirby Puckett... before Kirby. Big smile on his face and seemingly always having fun.

In 1989 I was in Arlington, TX for an A's-Rangers game and got there early to watch BP.

I was in left field for: Canseco, McGwire, Ricky Henderson and Dave Henderson. Didn't get a ball but those guys put on a mashing clinic.
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#7
(12-28-2015, 03:07 PM)Maggot Wrote: I remember watching him and Curley on the high school gym floor back in 76

Curley was a great player and fun character too. How cool that you got to see them at the school.

I only saw them when their games were televised, and on their Saturday morning cartoon.



They were huge stars for a while, for sure.
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#8
(12-28-2015, 05:34 PM)HairOfTheDog Wrote:
(12-28-2015, 03:07 PM)Maggot Wrote: I remember watching him and Curley on the high school gym floor back in 76

Curley was a great player and fun character too. How cool that you got to see them at the school.

I only saw them when their games were televised, and on their Saturday morning cartoon.



They were huge stars for a while, for sure.
Aren't they still undefeated? hah
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#9
I think the current line-up may be undefeated, Gunnar, but the Globetrotters have lost some games in their history.

They're an exhibition team; their goal has always been to entertain people.

Anyway, I haven't watched them play in years, but it was really fun to see them pull off their specialties and put on a court show.
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#10
I saw them a few times in the 70's when they came to the Fort.
Curley was my favorite. My great niece and nephew are going to see them in January.
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#11
We saw them once in California as a school sponsored thing, but I liked seeing them on tv. Caught the later version with my kid but it wasn't the same. No Curley, no Meadowlark, no Goose.
Thank god I am oblivious to the opinions of others while caught in the blinding splendor of my own cleverness.
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#12
I forgot about Goose. I don't remember him and it wasn't a huge gym. They did quite a few games big and small. It just shows that they were there for fun mostly.
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
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#13
Arnold Palmer died today. I don't know much about pro-golf, but he seemed like a class act to me.

[Image: AAEAAQAAAAAAAAcIAAAAJDYxYjFmMTE5LThiYjEt...NjdiMQ.jpg][Image: GettyImages-111809259_1474851648298_4691...40_480.jpg]

Palmer was considered one of the best golfers of all time. Over his decades-long career, Palmer recorded 62 PGA tour victories and a treasure trove of major tournaments wins, including the U.S. Open, British Open and the Masters, which he won four times. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.

Palmer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004, and in 2012 was recognized with a Congressional Gold Medal for his work on and off the golf course.

His prowess and athleticism made him golf’s first true star, and he helped usher the sport into the mainstream.

I don't think Arnold Palmer's death today in Pittsburgh was completely unexpected; he'd been undergoing heart monitoring since Thursday. Arnold Palmer was 87. RIP.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/arno...0c?section=&
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#14
Arnold Palmer: What happens when your golf buddy strokes your balls.
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#15
Rumor has it Arnie was the Tour's first true Swordsman.
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#16
I don't know what to think of that. Joe DiMaggio comes to mind.
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
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#17
(09-26-2016, 08:50 PM)Maggot Wrote: I don't know what to think of that. Joe DiMaggio comes to mind.

Bingo
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#18
No love for Jose Fernandez? RIP Jose.
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#19


He's in the Death List thread. I didn't think to put him in here at the time.
[Image: Zy3rKpW.png]
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#20
(09-27-2016, 12:24 PM)Duchess Wrote:

He's in the Death List thread. I didn't think to put him in here at the time.
Very sad. He was an expecting father.
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