DubCoffman62
Lazy Slob
I remember when he was at Oklahoma back in their glory days. Those were some good teams. Billy Tubbs, Mookie Blaylock, Harvey Grant.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Ex-MLB pitcher Tommy John, namesake of pioneering surgery, dies
At age 31, Dodgers pitcher Tommy John underwent revolutionary elbow ligament reconstruction surgery -- later called Tommy John surgery -- in 1974. He returned and pitched 14 more seasons for the Dodgers, Yankees (twice) and Angels, winning 164 more games.
Former major league pitcher Tommy John, a four-time All-Star who won 288 career games and was the namesake behind the pioneering elbow surgery that prolonged his career for 14 more years, died Saturday at the age of 83.
John died at his home in Bradenton, Florida, the New York Yankees said in a statement Sunday. A cause of death was not given, but he had been in hospice and had been diagnosed with bladder cancer and other ailments in recent years.
"The New York Yankees mourn the passing of Tommy John, who was a bedrock of our rotation during his time in pinstripes and a longtime favorite of Yankees fans," the team said in its statement. "While his incredible longevity and post-surgery achievements changed the fortunes and trajectory of countless athletes around the world, it also overshadowed his excellence as a pitcher, which included consecutive 20 win seasons with the Yankees.
R.I.P.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Bill Rasmussen, sports TV visionary and co-founder of ESPN, dies at 93
Bill Rasmussen, whose vision and ambition fueled the 1979 launch of ESPN as the world's first 24-hour television network, died Tuesday. He was 93.
Rasmussen died at his Florida home from the effects of Parkinson's disease.
With son Scott, Rasmussen conceived of the initial idea of ESPN -- first, as solely a Connecticut venture, and then as a 24-hour national sports network.
It was a moment for risk-taking. In the late 1970s, not many people thought an around-the-clock cable sports network had any chance. Bill Rasmussen, who had just been fired as communications director of the New England Whalers, was one of them. He maxed out his credit card, and with his $9,000 advance, acquired valuable space on a communications satellite.
"Bill was a remarkable man -- a visionary and an innovator who conceived the idea of a network entirely devoted to sports," ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. "Quite simply, none of us would be here today if it wasn't for Bill's passion and all the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit he put into building ESPN in the late 1970s -- key aspects of our company culture that still carry on to this day."
Rasmussen knocked on doors, talking to all the major sports leagues, the top cable operators and an array of investors. He gained backing, and on Sept. 7, 1979, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network was born. Bill and Scott Rasmussen co-founded ESPN, with Bill serving as ESPN's first president and CEO.
Though Rasmussen left ESPN after a few years, he laid the groundwork for future growth. A meeting with the NFL did not bring immediate results, but a door was opened to what would eventually become "Monday Night Football" on ESPN.
"Bill was our George Washington and a good friend," said veteran anchor Chris Berman, who joined ESPN three weeks after the original network launch in 1979. "He was such a grateful person and every sports fan can be grateful for Bill. He wasn't a glass half-full guy; his glass was always overflowing with optimism. He greeted everyone with a smile and we can all smile knowing Bill's legacy."
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R.I.P.
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