Cleaning out the Inbox: Non-Sports Edition

    I continue catching up with tributes to those who have recently left us with this edition from the non-sports world.

Goodbye to Anthony Head at the age of 72. 

Head was famous for his acting and singing in the United Kingdom, but his two most memorable roles for me were his recent role as West Ham owner "Rupert Mannion" in the Apple series "Ted Lasso", and of course as "Rupert Giles", the "watcher" in "Buffy The Vampire Slayer".

He also had many roles in voice work, including narrating documentaries and voice work for audiobooks, video games, and animation.

Goodbye to Charles Cioffi at the age of 90.

The long-time character actor was known as the police lieutenant in the 1971 film "Shaft" and appeared in more television series and movies than I can note.

Cioffi also had supporting roles in two of my favorite 80s films as Tom Cruise's father in "All the Right Moves" and as the lead villain (George Grove) in "Remo Williams".

Goodbye to Donald Gibb at the age of  71.

The hulking Gibb was usually cast in roles that made effective use of his size, such as bouncers, bikers, and athletes.

Gibb's most recognized role was as "Ogre" in the Revenge of the Nerds movie series, but he also played linebacker "Dr.Death for all seven seasons of the HBO series "First and Ten".

Goodbye to Joe Negri at the age of 99.

A long-time music teacher at various universities in the Pittsburgh area, Negri's claim to fame was in his recurring role in Mister Rogers ' Neighborhood as "Handyman Negri" in the program's "Land of Make-Believe".

Negri appeared on the program first in 1968 and was a regular until the show's final episode in 2000.

Goodbye to Claudine Longet at the age of 84.

Longet was a singer and actress who appeared on many network television shows in the sixties and seventies, and was a singer who had two top forty hits.

Longet was married to singer and television host Andy Williams before a 1970 divorce and a controversial role in the death of Olympic skier Spider Sabich in 1976.

Longet was convicted of negligent homicide but would only serve thirty days and pay a small fine. 

Cleaning out the Inbox

      We clean out the inbox with some interesting articles from around the world.

We begin with the Athletic's piece on former ABA players who are still trying to receive some pension payments from the NBA, fifty years after the NBA absorbed four ABA franchises.

The current list of twenty-three former ABA players who don't qualify for the "recognition payments" that ABA players agreed to four years ago includes Artis Gilmore, Julius Erving, Rick Barry, and Dan Issel, and they won't get the extra payments because the NBA says they already receive an NBA pension.

The four players I mentioned likely don't need the money, but I'd bet some of the others could certainly use the supplemental help.

The Smithsonian writes of an attempt to help the Eastern Box Turtle by radio telemetry.

The strategy is to track, capture, and release turtles to see how far they travel, and what are some of the issues they face in the wild, to try to figure out a strategy to stop the population decline.

I remember as a child seeing box turtles all the time, but I haven't seen one in the wild for years.

My favorite potato chips in the world used to be Jones Potato Chips, located in Mansfield, Ohio, but a 2017 regulation change forced the company to stop using partially hydrogenated oil, and it changed the flavor.

When I visited Ohio after the change, the chip that catered to Jones's fans was Ballreich's, but in recent years, Ballreich's disappeared from the shelves when I visited and was replaced by Conn's from Zanesville, Ohio, which I thought was even closer to the old Jones flavor.

I buy plenty of Conn's to bring home (Original Wavy for the Boss, Salt and Vinegar for me) on trips, but a Facebook post about an article from the Richland Source grabbed my interest.

Commenters on the article said the old taste was back with Jones (as referenced in the article), and I'm anxious to buy some to see if the former champion has a chance of reclaiming their crown as the best chip in the world!

Our next note comes from the Athletic, which discusses the future of the Seattle Kraken as the NBA expands to the Emerald City in the coming years.

The Kraken have missed the playoffs in four of their five seasons and haven't managed a foothold as an organization, as the Las Vegas Golden Knights have done in their existence.

Seattle is a basketball city first, and the Kraken's best chance was to grab success before the NBA returned.

Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

     We've fallen behind on our tributes due to personal issues, so I'm working on another post to catch up.

Goodbye to Bob Horner at the age of 68.

The power-hitting infielder was the first overall pick in the 1978 draft by the Atlanta Braves from Arizona State and was moved directly to the majors without playing in the minors.

Horner not only avoided struggling, but he was also named National League Rookie of the Year, hitting twenty-three homers in eighty-nine games.

Horner would hit 218 homers in nine years with the Braves before a contract dispute saw Horner sign with the Yakult Swallows for one season before returning with the St.Louis Cardinals. Still, shoulder injuries held him to only sixty games in the final year of his career.

Goodbye to Dave McGinnis at the age of 74.

McGinnis was a long-time assistant coach before taking the head job with the Arizona Cardinals midway through the 2000 season.

Despite an overall record of 17-40, McGinnis was popular with players and fans with his exuberance and energy. McGinnis was fired following a 4-12 season in 2003.

McGinnis would be an assistant with the Titans and Rams from 2004-2016 before moving into the color analyst position on the Titans radio network.

Goodbye to Charle Young at the age of 75.

Young made the Pro Bowl in his first three seasons after the Eagles took him in the first round of the 1973 draft from USC, and was named either first or second team All-Pro in those years.

Young's receptions were never the same after the Eagles traded him to the Rams before the 1977 season for Ron Jaworski, but he was a solid player for the Rams, 49ers, and Seahawks in the final ten seasons of his career, winning a Super Bowl with the 1981 49ers.

Goodbye to Tony Davis at the age of 73.

Davis left Nebraska in 1976 as the school's all-time leading rusher and in 1973 became the first 1,000-yard rusher under Tom Osborne.

Davis was taken by the Bengals in round four of the 1976 draft and spent three seasons with the Bengals, three with the Buccaneers, and one with the USFL's Boston Breakers.

Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

  It's time for another series of tributes, and we start with an underrated all-time great in his field.

Goodbye to Dennis Condrey at the age of 74.

"Loverboy" Dennis Condrey was part of the greatest tag team in the history of professional wrestling (my opinion) with partner "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton and manager Jim Cornette to comprise the Midnight Express.

Condrey was a veteran of the three Tennessee territories before getting his big break in 1983 with Mid-South Wrestling, with Eaton and Cornette using the name "Midnight Express" for their team, which Condrey and Randy Rose had used before the move to Mid-South.

Condrey and Eaton would win and lose the NWA world tag team titles against the Rock N Roll Express before Condrey's famous 1987 disappearance, which would lead to Stan Lane as Condrey's replacement in the Midnight Express.

Condrey returned to wrestling with Randy Rose in the AWA, winning the dying federation's tag team titles as the original Midnight Express before moving to the NWA with their famous studio attack on the Jim Cornette version of the Express.

Goodbye to Miguel Canto at the age of 78.

The long-time holder of the WBC flyweight title in the 1970s, Canto defended his title fourteen times from 1975 to 1979.

Known for his silky smooth boxing, Canto lacked any type of power and scored only fifteen knockouts in his sixty-one victories.

Canto lost his title in South Korea to Chan-Hee Park in 1979 but nearly regained it in the rematch, also in South Korea, drawing with Park in a controversial decision.

Goodbye to Claude Lemieux at the age of 60.

The scrappy and controversial Lemieux was known for his ability to get under his opponents' skin and for his excellent play in the postseason.

Lemieux won four Stanley Cups, two with New Jersey and one each with Colorado and Montreal, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP for the 1995 champion Devils.

Lemieux was an underrated scorer, scoring 25 goals or more nine times in his career, with a high of 41 in 1991-92 with New Jersey.

Lemieux scored 379 goals in his career, with eighty more in postseason play.

Goodbye to John Garrett at the age of 74.

Garrett played for four teams in the WHA and three others after the merger with the NHL and finished his WHA career with a record of 148-151, the most losses for a goaltender in league history.

Garrett became an analyst after his retirement with the Vancouver Canucks. In recent years, Garrett covered other teams for Rogers Sportsnet.

Goodbye to Stacey King at the age of 59.

An All-American at Oklahoma, where he led the Sooners to the National title game. King was a firsr round draft choice by the Chicago Bulls in 1989.

King would play for three championship teams with the Bulls and would play for four other teams before retiring in 1999.

King has spent the last twenty years in various roles with the Bulls local broadcast team as a beloved figure in the Chicago area.

Cleaning out the Inbox: Non-Sports Passings

    We lead off an edition of Non-Sports tributes with a passing from the music world.

Goodbye to Neil Sedaka at the age of 86.

Battlin' Bob's longtime favorite crooner, Sedaka, first hit it big in 1958, but truly became a star in 1961 and 62 with several top ten hits ( Oh Carol, Next Door to an Angel, Calendar Girl, and Stairway to Heaven) and his only number one of the decade, "Breaking Up is Hard to Do".

Sedaka was one of the first performers to embrace music videos, as shown above with Calendar Girl, but his career slid sharply after the British Invasion.

Sedaka wrote several hits for other performers, notably the Captain and Tennille, penning their 1975 hit "Love Will Keep Us Together", which finished as the top song of the year.

Sedaka returned to the top of the charts in the seventies with number one hits "Laughter in the Rain" and "Bad Blood" in 1975.

Goodbye to Jennifer Runyon at the age of 65.

Runyon was best known for a series of smaller roles in the eighties that included mega-hit Ghostbusters, replacing Susan Olsen as "Cindy Brady" in a Brady Bunch reunion film, and the love interest of Scott Baio in the initial season of "Charles in Charge".

Runyon was also featured in the pilot episode of "Quantum Leap."

Goodbye to Corey Parker at the age of 60.

Parker was a staple of 1980s teen movies, such as "How I Got into College", but also starred in a television series in the infant stages of Fox, "Flying Blind", which was the breakout role for a young Tea Leoni.

Parker also had a supporting role in the Neil Simon film that starred Matthew Broderick, "Biloxi Blues," and a recurring role on "Will and Grace".

Goodbye to Nicholas Brendon at the age of 54.

Brendon portrayed "Zander Harris" during the seven-season run of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," in his biggest role, but had another run as a supporting player on "Criminal Minds" as an FBI analyst and boyfriend to one of the female characters.

Brendon had been in ill health in recent years, as well as fighting several legal issues.

Goodbye to Darrell Sheets at the age of 67.

One of the stars of the "reality" show "Storage Wars", Sheets was an original member of the cast for years until a 2019  heart attack caused him to appear on a less frequent basis.

Known as "The Gambler," Sheets was likely the most "real" person of the cast and didn't seem to need as much coaching from the showrunners on how to speak.

Credit to Denise Nicarry for the assist.

Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

     The tributes begin with the passing of the man who produced one of the top baseball memories in history, and certainly number one in the hearts of fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Goodbye to Bill Mazeroski at the age of 89. 

A controversial inductee in the Hall of Fame in 2001, Mazeroski was named to seven All-Star teams, won eight Gold Gloves, and won two World Series (1960, 1971) before the team retired his number nine after his retirement.

Mazeroski was the best glove man of his era, but some hold his average bat (career average of .260 and OPS of .667) against him as proof that he shouldn't be in Cooperstown.

Mazeroski is best remembered, of course, for his ninth-inning walk-off homer in game seven of the 1960 World Series to give the undermanned Buccos a 10-9 win and the world championship over the powerful New York Yankees.

Mazeroski was given a statue commemorating the homer at the Pirates' current home, PNC Park.

Goodbye to Wayne Granger at the age of 81.

A durable reliever, Granger led the National League in saves for the 1970 National League champion Cincinnati Reds with thirty-five.

Granger finished his nine-season career with 108 saves and an ERA of 3.14 and was the National League's Fireman of the Year in both 1969 and 1970 for Cincinnati.

Granger was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 1982.

Goodbye to Matt Snell at the age of 84.

Snell played both defensive end and fullback at Ohio State before choosing the AFL's New York Jets over the NFL's New York Giants in 1964.

Snell won the AFL's Rookie of the Year award in 1964 but is best remembered for his game in the Jets' upset over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

Snell scored the Jets' only touchdown in their 16-7 win, finishing with 121 yards on the ground, and in my opinion, deserved the MVP over Joe Namath.

Goodbye to Gerald Paddio at the age of 60.

Paddio was a star on UNLV's 1987 Final Four team, averaging thirteen points and nineteen points in his second and final season with the Runnin' Rebels before being drafted by Boston in the third round of the 1988 NBA draft.

Paddio played two seasons in the CBA before joining the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1990 as a reserve, averaging seven points per game in his only season in Cleveland.

Paddio would make brief cameos for four other NBA teams, spending most of his time in the CBA and Europe.

Cleaning out the Inbox

     It's time for an inbox cleaning, and we start with a presenter who is about to pull a rare doubleheader in 2026.

Richard Deitsch (who does an excellent podcast) writes for Sports Business Journal about the excellent Premier League host, Rebecca Lowe.

Lowe, who covers the Premier League for NBC Sports, will also be working their Olympic coverage, but the special part comes with Lowe being loaned to Fox Sports for Fox's World Cup broadcasts.

The article covers Lowe's entire career and how she was months away from leaving the profession before being hired by NBC.

Your Mileage May Vary writes of the continuing drop-off in business for the South Carolina tourist attraction, South of the Border.

South of the Border is selling a portion of the facility, so if you have a spare 2.85 million lying around (and if you do, why haven't you offered some to us to go mainstream), you can help revive South of the Border!

MSN.com writes of an unexpected problem at the Winter Olympics- the medals are breaking!

Not the actual medal itself, but the small connector to the medal that allows fabric to go through a loop, allowing it to be worn.

The company that manufactured the medals for the games has offered to fix all medals with this issue.

The legend of Elvis Presley continues to survive, even almost forty-nine years after his death.

The recent release of "Epic- Elvis Presley in Concert" showcases fifty-nine new hours of live footage found stored in a Kansas salt mine.

The article digs deep into Elvis's past, especially how his image has consistently evolved with the times.

The recent ABA documentary on Amazon Prime (which I haven't seen yet) has returned the league to public attention, but what about the small Indiana company that sells the ABA ball?

Lana Sports is a father/son-owned business, and the documentary has caused the sales of the ABA ball to boom.

A percentage of the sales goes to the Dropping Dimes foundation, an organization that helps former ABA players who don't qualify for an NBA pension.

And yes, I own one of these- a mini ball that I won in a Twitter contest from Lana Sports! 

Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

    The tributes never seem to stop, and this edition brings a top-class offering with one particularly sad story.

Goodbye to Doug Moe at the age of 87. 

Moe was an All-American at North Carolina when he was involved in a point shaving scandal, which he was later cleared of involvement, but he would never play in the NBA, although he would later receive a financial settlement.

Moe would play in the ABA for five seasons for the New Orleans Buccaneers, the 1968-69 champion Oakland Oaks, the Carolina Cougars, and the Virginia Squires before bad knees forced him from the game at thirty-three.

Moe played in three ABA All-Star games as a player before transitioning to coach as an assistant with boyhood friend Larry Brown with both Carolina and Denver before receiving his first head coaching position in 1976 with the San Antonio Spurs, where he would win two division titles in four years.

Moe would move to Denver in 1980, where he would make the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons, win two division titles, and win coach of the year in 1988.

Known for his high-scoring teams, Moe's teams often were rapped for lack of defense, and his final head coaching stop in Philadelphia in 1992 ended with a 19-37 record before he was fired.

Goodbye to Bo Lamar at the age of 74.

The leading scorer in NCAA basketball for Louisiana-Lafayette in the 1971-72 season and two-time first team All-American, Lamar averaged over thirty-one points per game for the Ragin Cajuns, and finished with 3,493 points for his career.

Lamar would be drafted with the first pick of the 1973 ABA draft by the San Diego Conquistadors and was named to the All-ABA team after averaging twenty points per game, which he would repeat in his second season with San Diego.

Lamar would play for Indiana in the ABA's final season after San Diego folded and for the Lakers in the first season after the NBA-ABA merger.

Lamar would be the radio analyst for Louisiana-Lafayette after his playing career.

Goodbye to Rondale Moore at the age of  25.

A second-round draft pick by the Cardinals from Purdue in the 2021 draft, Moore struggled with injuries in his three seasons in Arizona, but still caught 135 passes in those three years.

Moore was on the roster of Atlanta in 2024 and Minnesota in 2025, but didn't appear in a game due to injury.

Moore was a standout at Purdue in 2018 as a sophomore, catching 114 passes for over twelve hundred yards and twelve touchdowns, but would play in only seven games in his only two seasons with the Boilermakers. 

Moore was the key player in Purdue's famous 2018 upset of second-ranked Ohio State, catching twelve passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns in Purdue's 49-20 stunner.

Goodbye to Bobby Douglas at the age of 83.

An Olympic freestyle wrestler for the United States in 1964 and 1968, Douglas handed Dan Gable an 11-1 loss in the 1968 Olympic trials.

Douglas would later become the head coach at Iowa State, where he coached Cael Sanderson, and at Arizona State, where he would win his only national title as a coach in 1988.

Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

   It's time for us to pay our respects to a few people of note who have recently passed away.

Goodbye to Mickey Lolich at the age of 85.

The portly lefthander won three games in the 1968 World Series for the Detroit Tigers' upset win over the St.Louis Cardinals, winning the Series MVP for his efforts.

Lolich led the American League in wins (25) and strikeouts in 1971, made three All-Star teams, and won fourteen games or more every season from 1964 through 1974.

Lolich finished his career with 217 wins and a 3.44 ERA after he played his final three seasons with the Mets and Padres.

Goodbye to Sonny Jurgensen at the age of 91.

A fourth-round draft pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1957, Jurgensen would win an NFL title ring as Norm Van Brocklin's backup in 1960.

After being traded to Washington in 1964 for Norm Snead, Jurgensen would hit his prime, leading the league in passing yards three times (he led the league twice as an Eagle) and throwing 179 touchdown passes in his years in Washington.

Jurgensen was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1983 and is a member of both Washington and Philadelphia's team Halls.

Jurgensen was a longtime member of Washington's radio crew and worked in Washington media for decades.

Goodbye to Barry Wilburn at the age of 62.

Wilburn is one of only ten (as of 2025) players to have won a Super Bowl (Washington) and a Grey Cup (Saskatchewan) in a career spanning 1985-99.

Wilburn led the NFL in interceptions in 1987, picking off nine passes and being named All-Pro.

Wilburn also holds the Washington team record for longest interception return when he intercepted a Minnesota pass in 1987 and returned it 100 yards for a score.

Goodbye to King T.Leatherbury at the age of 92.

One of the "Big Four" in Maryland horse racing in the 1960s and 70s, Leatherbury is fifth all-time in victories in American racing.

With Richard Dutrow, Bud Delp, and John Tammaro, Leatherbury dominated Maryland racing through "claiming" (buying horses in special races) ,,earning him the title "King of the Claimers".

Leatherbury was named to the Racing Hall of Fame in 2015.

Goodbye to Elroy Face at the age of 97.

The "fireman" for the 1960 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates, Face led the National League in saves three times and finished second on three more.

In 1959,  Face finished 18-1 with all decisions in relief, and to this day, Face s the all-time Pirates leader in appearances and saves.

Face saved three of the four Pirate wins over the New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series, except for the famous Bill Mazeroski walk-off home run in game seven.

Face spent all but a year and a half of his sixteen-year career with Pittsburgh, moving to Detroit and expansion Montreal in 1968 and 69 to finish his career. 

Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

  The time has arrived for another batch of tributes to those who have recently left us.

Goodbye to Wilbur Wood at the age of 84.

Wood was a journeyman pitcher for the Red Sox and Pirates until being acquired by the Chicago White Sox in 1967, where he fine-tuned a seldom-used knuckleball with the help of future Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm, who was on the Chicago staff.

The rarest of rare as a lefthander knuckleballer, Wood would win the Fireman of the Year award for relievers in 1968, but would truly flourish as a workhorse after being moved to the starting rotation in 1971.

Wood would win 20 games or more in each of the seasons from 1971 to 1974, led the American League in victories twice, made the All-Star team three times, and started over 40 games in each of those seasons, as well as in 1975.

Wood was off to a strong start in 1976 when he was line-driven by Detroit's Ron LeFlore, who broke his kneecap. As a result, Wood never regained his previous caliber upon his return in 1977 and 1978.

Goodbye to Bobby Duncum at the age of 81.

Duncum was drafted by the then-St. Louis Cardinals as a linebacker from West Texas A&M in 1967 and would play in four games for the football Redbirds in 1968, but would earn more fame in the wrestling ring as a heel cowboy.

Duncum would receive title chances against both Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund for the WWWF crown, would hold titles in Florida, Georgia, and the AWA, and as part of the "Black and Blue Express, with Ken Patera, who were one of the more underrated teams of their era.

Duncum's son, the late Bobby Duncum Jr, was a wrestler with WCW as part of the "West Texas Rednecks" faction.

Goodbye to John Brodie at the age of 90

The 1970 MVP, Brodie, was the third overall pick in the 1957 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers from Stanford, and would spend his entire seventeen-year career in the Bay Area.

Brodie was one of the better NFL announcers after his retirement with NBC Sports, forming a great duo with Don Criqui, and was an excellent golfer.

Brodie was on the Senior PGA Tour for thirteen years and won one tournament, the 1991 Pacific Senior Classic.

Brodie was one of the players credited with getting the AFL-NFL merger talks rolling when he signed a huge future contract with the AFL's Houston Oilers.

Those contracts forced the NFL to negotiate the truce, which would lead to the two leagues becoming one.

Goodbye to Floyd Vivino at the age of 74.

Known professionally as "Uncle Floyd, Vivino was the star of the "Uncle Floyd Show" from 1974-1998, a parody of children's shows which was aimed at adults.

Mostly seen in the New York City/New Jersey market, The Uncle Floyd Show did have a period where it was syndicated in other East Coast markets, which is where I saw it following SCTV on Saturday late nights in the early 1980s.

Vivino often appeared in programs filmed in the NYC area and worked as a comic, musician, and radio host after the demise of his show.

Vivino set a Guinness World Record in 1999, when he played a piano continuously for over 24 hours and ran twice as a write-in candidate for Governor of New Jersey in a campaign parody.

Goodbye to Scott Laidlaw at the age of 72.

A fourteenth-round draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1975 NFL Draft, in one of the best drafts ever by one team (twelve players made the team, including five future Pro Bowlers, and Randy White in the Hall of Fame), Laidlaw was the backup fullback to Robert Newhouse and a standout on special teams.

Laidlaw played in three Super Bowls, winning one, for the Cowboys, and in 1978, Laidlaw replaced an injured Newhouse on Thanksgiving Day for their game against Washington, with Laidlaw rushing for 122 yards and two touchdowns to defeat Washington.

Cleaning out the Inbox

  The inbox is overdue for a cleaning, so I'll do so here!

Apparently, whether you want to blame it on climate change or a natural coincidence, the range for animals continues to stretch, and when that happens, new breeds can intermix with each other.

Weather.com writes of the new hybrid species, the "Grue Jay," which is a breed comprised of a Blue Jay and a Green Jay.

The Green Jay, a warm-weather bird, has moved a few hundred miles north from its previous northern border along the Texas/Mexico border.

The Blue Jay has extended its range westward, and now the two have started interbreeding, producing birds with mixed characteristics.

NHL.com shares the inspirational story of Seattle Kraken reporter Piper Shaw, who has overcome a challenging childhood to achieve her goal of working in media. 

Shaw's story has to be read to be believed that she survived such awful treatment, and I'd recommend that you do so!

The Athletic offers "Trouble with the Snap, which discusses the tenth anniversary of the Michigan-Michigan State game that saw the Spartans win on the final play of the game when Michigan's punter fumbled the snap, and Michigan State recovered and scored for the victory.

The article also digs into the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry, which is often overshadowed by the Ohio State-Michigan wars but is almost as heated between the two schools.

Cleveland Magazine writes about the retro Pizza Hut restaurants that pop up around the country, yet the chain doesn't actually acknowledge they exist.

The Pizza Huts are decorated and designed exactly as they looked in the 1980s!!

The redesigns were offered for a limited time and aren't available after a change in management.

Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings: Non-Sports Edition

      It's the non-sports edition of tributes from a few notable people who have recently left our world.

Goodbye to Ace Frehley at the age of 74.

The long-time guitarist for KISS, Frehley, was with the band from 1972-1982 before going on his own. 

Frehley returned to the band from 1996-2002, but eventually left on bad terms with band members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.

When KISS's four members released solo albums in 1978 under the KISS banner, it was Frehley who had the only hit with "New York Groove," which reached the top twenty.

Goodbye to Sonny Curtis at the age of 88.

Curtis played guitar with Buddy Holly and the Crickets and, after Holly's death, moved into the lead vocals position with the group.

Curtis was more famous as a songwriter, penning such songs as "I Fought The Law", "Walk Right Back", "More Than I Can Say", and the theme song of the "Mary Tyler Moore Show", "Love Is All Around.

" Love Is All Around" was a hit ten years apart for Curtis, with the theme hitting in 1970 (sung by Curtis) and again in 1980 with a slower, country-style ballad by Curtis.

Goodbye to Steve Cropper at the age of 84.

"The Colonel" was the guitarist in the 1979 film classic "The Blues Brothers" for the band, but was also a key part of the "Mar-Keys", who scored a hit with the instrumental "Last Night" in 1961.

"Last Night" is fondly remembered by me from my childhood, thanks to its use in the opening introductions of NBA broadcasts by CBS, with Brent Musberger breathlessly adding his comments.

Cropper was also a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame from his membership with "Booker T and the MG's" and was a noted songwriter with credits from co-writing hits such as "Knock On Wood", "In the Midnight Hour", and "Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay".

Goodbye to Adam the Woo at the age of 51.

I'm not really the target audience for YouTube influencers, but I did enjoy watching videos made by "The Woo," as he was actively in the travel community.

Woo also traveled to abandoned places and into places behind the scenes, which he often didn't have permission to visit, which caused him to be banned from the Disney parks.

I didn't watch every one of his videos because, after a while, there are only so many amusement park videos that I can watch, but he seemed like a nice guy who found a niche that touched many people.

Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

 The tributes never stop at TRS, and this edition features two big ones for us.

Goodbye to Kenny Easley at the age of 66.

The best defender in the history of the Seattle Seahawks, Easley was an All-Pro five times and made five Pro Bowls in his seven seasons before he was forced to retire due to severe kidney damage.

Seattle's first round selection (4th overall) in 1981 from UCLA, Easley was a fierce and physical tackler, combined with top-notch ball skills, and was named the Defensive Player of the Year in 1984 when he intercepted ten passes.

Easley finally received an overdue induction to the Hall of Fame in 2017 and was a long-ago entry in our Forgotten Superstars series.

Goodbye to Lenny Wilkens at the age of 88.

Wilkens was inducted into the basketball hall of fame three times, as a player, coach, and for his part in the 1992 Olympic "Dream Team." 

Wilkens was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams for his playing career (St.Louis, Cleveland, Portland, and Seattle) and was named as one of the league's fifteen best coaches ever.

Wilkens ranks third in league history in victories and led the Seattle Supersonics to the 1979 NBA Title.

Look for a longer feature on Lenny Wilkens in the future.

Goodbye to Bob Caudle at the age of 95.

Caudle, who worked for North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms as a legislative assistant from 1980-1996, was the long-time voice of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling from the 1960s until the promotion was sold to Turner Broadcasting in 1988.

Caudle worked for the promotion through 1991 and was the lead commentator for Smoky Mountain Wrestling during its existence from 1992 through 1995.

Goodbye to Micheal Ray Richardson at the age of 70.

The fourth overall pick in the 1979 NBA draft by the New York Knicks, and a four-time All-Star, Richardson might be better remembered for his several suspensions for illegal substances, which resulted in Richardson being the first player ever to be banned for life.

Richardson was reinstated after two missed seasons but never played in the NBA again. deciding to finish his career in Europe.

Known for his fierce defending, Richardson was named to the All-Defensive team twice and led the league in steals three times.

Goodbye to Randy Jones at the age of 75.

Jones won the 1976 National League Cy Young award and finished second in the voting in 1975 for the sad-sack San Diego Padres, winning twenty and twenty-two games, and was the first pitcher in team history to hit that mark.

Jones injured his arm in his final start of 1976 and was never the same pitcher after that, finishing his career with a record of 100-123.

Jones's number 35 is retired by the team, and Jones is the only player in baseball to win a Cy Young and finish with a career losing record.

Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

    Back for more tributes to a few people who have recently left us.

Goodbye to Mike Greenwell at the age of 62. 

Greenwell was the left fielder in the Boston Red Sox lineage behind Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, and Jim Rice, and after finishing second in the voting for the 1988 American League MVP, hitting .325 with 22 homers and over 100 RBI, he appeared to be the next great addition in the line.

Greenwell continued to hit well for average ( a career .303 hitter), but never hit more than fifteen homers in a season again and finished his career as a good, not great player.

Goodbye to Warren McVea at the age of 79.

McVea was the first African-American to play for the Houston Cougars and was named All-American in 1967.

McVea spent one season with the Cincinnati Bengals after being drafted in the fourth round in 1968, before being traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, where he was a key part of their offense in their World Championship season of 1969.

McVea would play four seasons with the Chiefs before finishing his career with the World Football League's Detroit Wheels and Houston Texans in 1974.

Goodbye to Nick Mangold at the age of 41.

The New York Jets' first-round draft choice in 2006 from Ohio State was named an All-Pro three times and played in seven Pro Bowls.

Mangold was an All-American for Ohio State in 2005 and was a reserve center for the 2002 National Championship-winning Buckeyes.

Mangold suffered from a genetic kidney problem and had appealed for a transplant in recent months.

Goodbye to Bob Trumpy at the age of 80.

An excellent receiving tight end during an age when tight ends were used more as a blocker, Trumpy was the tight end for the Cincinnati Bengals when Bengals assistant Bill Walsh began to develop the West Coast offense.

Trumpy caught 298 passes in his ten years with the Bengals, thirty-five for touchdowns, and made the All-Star/Pro Bowl four times (two each in the AFL and NFL), but might be better known as a long-time color analyst for NBC Sports, working with several partners, including Don Criqui, Bob Costas, and Dick Enberg.

Goodbye to Richie Adubato at the age of 87.

Adubato was head coach for three NBA teams (Detroit, Dallas, and Orlando), but only one (Dallas) used him as the permanent head man.

The Mavericks gave Adubato four seasons before firing him midway through the fourth season (1992-93) with Dallas's record 2-27.

Adubato would coach for nine seasons in the WNBA with the New York Liberty and Washington Mystics and led the Liberty to three appearances in the WNBA finals, losing all three.

Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

     We return with more sad goodbyes from the sports world and pay tribute to those who have passed away.

Goodbye to Ricky Hatton at the age of 46. 

Britain's version of "The Hitman" won the junior welterweight titles (twice) and the WBA welterweight belt in a career that stamped him as the most popular British boxer of his generation.

Hatton's biggest win was his surprising win over Kostya Tsyzu to win the junior welterweight title for the first time, but he also notched a stunning body shot that broke four ribs of Jose Luis Castillo and stopped Castillo in round four.

Hatton also fought Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, bringing so many fans from Great Britain that they famously drank some hotels out of beer!

Mayweather stopped Hatton in the tenth round, suffering his first loss.

Hatton was elected to the boxing hall of fame in 2024.

Goodbye to Bernie Parent at the age of 80.

Parent won two Stanley Cups with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1974 and 1975, the only two in franchise history, and won the Vezina (Top Goaltender) and Conn Smythe (Postseason MVP) in both seasons.

Parent played for the Bruins, Maple Leafs, and the WHA Philadelphia Blazers before coming into his prime with the Flyers, but was forced from the game at only thirty-four after suffering an eye injury in 1979 when a high stick caught him in his right eye.

Parent regained his vision but never played again.

Goodbye to Rudi Johnson at the age of 45.

Johnson, a collegiate standout at Auburn, where he won the 2000 SEC Player of the Year award, was the Cincinnati Bengals' fourth-round pick in the 2001 NFL Draft. He would rush for over 1,300 yards three times for the Bengals.

Johnson holds the top two slots in team history for yards in a season and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2004.

Goodbye to Gary Gray at the age of 72.

Gary was a minor league power hitter who never received a full chance in the majors with the Rangers, Indians, and Mariners.

Gary never played in more than eighty games in a season, but hit thirteen homers in sixty-nine games for Seattle in 1981.

Goodbye to Sandy Alomar Sr at the age of 81.

The father of Sandy Alomar Jr and Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, Sandy Sr, played for fifteen years in the majors for six teams.

Alomar made the All-Star team in 1970 for the Angels, where he spent six seasons.

Alomar finished his career with 227 stolen bases and would be a long-time coach for several major league teams.

Cleaning out the Inbox

      The inbox cleaning begins with a sad 50th anniversary of a tragedy.

The 1975 Match Race between Ruffian and Foolish Pleasure was ballyhooed as the "Battle of the Sexes" as the unbeaten filly Ruffian battled Kentucky Derby-winning colt Foolish Pleasure on national television from Belmont Park by CBS.

Ruffian had never trailed at any point in her racing career, and when you watch the race (warning), it appeared that she was beginning to move away from Foolish Pleasure when she broke down.

Ruffian was buried in the Belmont Park infield until recently, when her remains were transferred to her birthplace, Claiborne Farms in Kentucky, due to the renovations at Belmont.

The Athletic writes about Grimsby Town, the English League Two (fourth tier) squad, who stunned Manchester United in the Carabao Cup at home recently.

The fishing town in England's northeast has been through hard times of late, and their Mariners' upset on penalty kicks of Manchester United ranks pretty high on the list of upsets.

What I like about the two English in-season tournaments is that you see those small teams get their chance at the big-time squads, and if the draw falls right, as it did here, the major team may have to go to the small-time environment, which is a major deal to the people in that town.

It's what makes the English cup tournaments special, and it's what the NBA can never replicate with their attempt at an in-season event.

The Athletic also writes of the current whereabouts of former Cleveland Indians slugger Albert Belle.

Belle didn't attend the thirtyish anniversary of the Indians' 1995 American League championship and is happily living in Arizona.

The mercurial Belle was never the happiest player or a media darling, which cost him the 1995 MVP in a 144-game season that saw Belle become the first player ever to hit fifty homers and fifty doubles in a season.

Belle's career ended at thirty-three in 2000 with a damaged hip condition, and he was on his way to the Hall of Fame until the injury.

One more from the Athletic as they reflect on the nostalgia version of the NFL Today for the program's 50th anniversary.

Brent Musberger (the only living member of the original cast) will be in the studio, and the hosts will be dressed in nostalgia wardrobes, accompanied by the iconic theme song and retro graphics.

 I'm looking forward to this as much as any sports program of its type in years, and they should have never stopped using the theme song!

The Athletic discusses the city of Quebec City and its waning hopes of having a team return to its city.

While the NHL had legitimate reasons for allowing the Nordiques to move to Denver in 1995 (an aging arena and poor ownership), the league hasn't been fair to Quebec City since, telling them that if they built a new arena, they would be likely to land a team, which the city did.

Instead, they passed them over when Las Vegas was given a team and was placed on the back burner while Seattle got its house ready for their bid.

I know it's a business, but the league should not have strung them along for the last fifteen years and saved the city and its residents the cost of a new arena.

Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

        It's been a sad run of recent passings from the sports world, and our tributes never stop/

Goodbye to Davey Johnson at the age of 82 

Johnson is a person who had an excellent career as both a player and a manager, yet both fall just short of induction into the Hall of Fame.

Johnson won two World Series as a player with Baltimore (1966 and 1970), made three All-Star teams (1968, 69, and 70), and won three Gold Gloves (1969, 70, and 71) for the Orioles.

After Johnson was traded to Atlanta in 1973 to make room for Bobby Grich, Johnson hit forty-three homers for the Braves in his first season, making his final All-Star team.

Johnson would play for the Yomiuri Giants in 1975 and 1976 before returning for his final seasons in 1977 and 1978 with the Phillies and Cubs.

Johnson is very deserving of Cooperstown consideration for his managerial career, which saw him win the 1986 World Series with the Mets, win division titles with the Reds, Orioles, and Nationals.

Johnson won 1,373 games in his career with a winning percentage of. 562.

Goodbye to Ken Dryden at the age of 78.

Dryden was the standout netminder of the 1970s for the Montreal Canadiens, leading them to six Stanley Cups, and won five Vezina Trophies as the NHL's top goalie.

Dryden played for only six games in 1971 before winning the Stanley Cup in net for the playoffs, and would win the Calder Trophy the following season as the league's top rookie.

Dryden played just seven seasons (eight if you count the six games and playoffs in 1971) in his career, sat out the 1973-74 season when he thought the Canadiens were undercutting his salary, and was voted to the Hockey Hall of Fame with a winning percentage of an astonishing seventy-four percent.

After retirement, Dryden wrote several books, including The Game, which might be the best hockey book ever, and worked as a commentator for ABC for three Winter Olympics, including the Miracle on Ice, and would be an elected official in the Canadian House of Commons.

Goodbye to Ed Giacomin at the age of 86.

Giacomin made six All-Star teams in a thirteen-year career, spent mostly with the New York Rangers from 1965 to 1977, and won the Vezina Trophy for the 1970-71 season.

Giacomin played his final three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings after being waived to make room for John Davidson, with a memorable return to Madison Square Garden with the Red Wings when the Ranger fans cheered for Giacomin and booed their team with every shot on goal in a Detroit win.

Giacomin was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987, and his number was the second to be retired by the Rangers.

Goodbye to D.D. Lewis, at the age of 79

Lewis played thirteen years for the Dallas Cowboys, and his twenty-seven postseason games are the most in Cowboys history and rank behind only Tom Brady and Jerry Rice among non-kickers.

That number is remarkable when you consider how limited playoff games were during Lewis's career (1968-1981).

Drafted in the sixth round in 1968 from Mississippi State, Lewis never made All-Pro or a Pro Bowl, but started 132 of a possible 134 games from 1973 to 1981 for a team that won a Super Bowl and lost two others during that time, which is indicative of a solid career.

Goodbye to Jim Fahnhorst at the age of 66.

A fourth-round pick by the Vikings in 1982, Fahnhorst signed instead with the USFL in 1983 and played two years with the Chicago Blitz and Arizona Wranglers before moving to the NFL.

Fahnhorst joined his brother, Keith, with the San Francisco 49ers after the 1984 USFL spring season and would win Super Bowls in three of his six seasons in the NFL, all of them spent with San Francisco.

Cleaning Out the Inbox- Non-Sports Passings

    It's time for our tributes series, this one fully devoted to the non-sports world.

Goodbye to Loni Anderson at the age of 79.

The actress was best remembered for her role as "Jennifer Marlowe" on "WKRP in Cincinnati," but was also a television and movie staple for many years.

Anderson didn't want to play Jennifer as the typical dumb blonde, and the character was written as the smartest employee of the radio station.

Her marriage to Burt Reynolds was a tabloid sensation, and the two starred in "Stroker Ace", a film that was a commercial flop but has always been a cult classic that consistently makes me laugh.

Reynolds owned a small stake in the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits, and one of the promotions used by the Bandits was a poster giveaway of Anderson in Bandits gear.

Goodbye to Bill Moyers at the age of 91.

Moyers came to public prominence in various positions within the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, including chief of staff (unofficially), press secretary, and through his significant involvement in the creation of Public Broadcasting (PBS) and the Peace Corps.

Moyers would remain a regular staple on PBS throughout the years, hosting various programs, winning multiple awards, and being inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.

Moyers was the final surviving person in the famous airplane photo at the Dallas airport, with Lyndon Johnson taking the oath of office inside Air Force One.

Goodbye to Jim Lovell at the age of 97.

The Gemini and Apollo veteran may have (arguably) the most remembered astronaut outside of Neil Armstrong, and was the first person to fly into space four times.

Lovell flew into space on Gemini 7 (1965), Gemini 12 (1966), Apollo 8 (1968), and Apollo 13 (1970)

Of the twenty-four astronauts to have orbited the moon, Lovell was the first ( John Young and Gene Cernan were the others) to make a return trip, but due to mechanical issues on Apollo 13, he was the only returnee not to land on the moon.

Only five Apollo astronauts who traveled to the moon remain living. Buzz Aldrin, Charlie Duke, Dave Scott, and Jack Schmidt walked on the moon while Fred Haise orbited with Lovell on Apollo 13.

Goodbye to Polly Holliday at the age of 88.

A veteran actor, Holliday received her breakout role in the 1970s CBS comedy "Alice," with her character "Flo" becoming more popular than the lead, Linda Lavin.

Flo was spun off into its own series after four seasons on "Alice" but was canceled after two seasons.

Holliday's Flo introduced the phrase "Kiss My Grits" into the American vernacular, which carries on to a degree even today.

Goodbye to Bobby Hart at the age of 86.

Bobby Hart may have been more influential as a songwriter than as a performer, but if you grew up loving 1960s situation comedies (and I did), you knew Hart and his partner Tommy Boyce from their appearances on shows like I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched.

To my generation (after their first run but before the explosion of cable), appearing on those shows might have been more important in keeping their name alive than having actual hits.

Boyce and Hart's biggest hit was "I wonder what she's doing tonight," which reached as high as eighth on the charts in 1967, but as songwriters, they wrote several of the Monkees' hits, including "Last Train to Clarksville" and Hart co-wrote "Hurt So Bad", a huge hit for Little Anthony and the Imperials.

Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

       The tributes never stop, and we start with the jockey who rode arguably (because I don't agree) the greatest racehorse of all time.

Goodbye to Ron Turcotte at the age of 84.

Turcotte rode Secretariat to the 1973 Triple Crown, one year after guiding Riva Ridge to wins in the 1972 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.

Turcotte was the nation's leading rider in those two seasons and won over three thousand races in his career.

Turcotte's career ended tragically in 1978 when his horse broke down in a Belmont Park race, which resulted in injuries to Turcotte that left him a paraplegic.

Goodbye to Allan Hornyak at the age of 74.

Known as "The Bellaire Bomber", Hornyak was named All-Big Ten in each of his three varsity seasons for Ohio State (1971-73) and averaged twenty-two points per game during his Buckeye career.

Hornyak was drafted in 1973 by the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round and the ABA's Indiana Pacers in the third round (separate drafts, of course), but Hornyak signed with neither club, deciding not to play professional basketball.

Goodbye to Lee Roy Jordan at the age of 84.

The sixth overall pick by Dallas in the 1963 NFL Draft, Jordan would play his entire fourteen-year career with the Cowboys as the middle linebacker that made Tom Landry's "Flex" defense roll.

Jordan is currently second in team history in tackles, almost fifty years after his retirement, and he is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame for his career with Alabama.

Jordan made the Pro Bowl five times and won a Super Bowl with the 1971 Cowboys.

Goodbye to Joe Bugner at the age of 75.

Bugner challenged Muhammad Ali for the world heavyweight title in 1975, losing a lopsided unanimous decision in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but fought many top contenders in the seventies and eighties.

Bugner fought Joe Frazier in an excellent fight, which Frazier won by split decision, fought Ali twice (once before Ali won the title for a second time), and held wins over one-time champions Jimmy Ellis, Greg Page, and Bonecrusher Smith in a long career that saw several retirements and eventual returns to the ring. 

Cleaning out the inbox-Passings

   The latest in our tributes series to those who have recently left us.

Goodbye to Luis Sharpe at the age of 65.

Sharpe spent thirteen seasons with the Cardinals in St.Louis and Arizona after the Cardinals drafted him sixteenth overall in the 1982 draft from UCLA.

An offensive tackle, Sharpe made three Pro Bowls from 1987 to 89, but as good as his career was, it could have been even better without one career decision.

Sharpe played out his contract with the then-St. Louis Cardinals following the 1984 season, signing with the USFL's Memphis Showboats for the 1985 season.

Since the USFL played in the spring, Sharpe moved from the Cardinals to the Showboats without a break and played eighteen games with Memphis.

The USFL ceased operations after the 1985 season, and Sharpe was free to return to the Cardinals for the 1985 fall season.

Sharpe essentially played over three seasons of football without a rest, and even though he was still an excellent tackle, I believe that he would have been a Hall of Fame-level player without the grueling schedule.

Goodbye to Rahaman Ali at the age of 82. 

The younger brother of Muhammad Ali, Rahaman, never reached heavyweight contention as a professional, finishing with a record of 14-3-1 in eighteen bouts.

Ali turned professional on the same evening ( as Rudolph Clay) that his older brother defeated Sonny Liston for the heavyweight title and lost for the first time on the undercard of Ali-Frazier I in 1971 by decision to Danny McAlinden.

Ali lost his final fight in 1972 by knockout to Jack O'Halloran, who would eventually become an actor, best known as one of the three Kryptonian villains in the 1980 film Superman II.

Goodbye to Lionel Taylor at the age of 89.

Taylor was one of the top receivers in the American Football League's history, playing mostly for the Denver Broncos.

Taylor was the first receiver to catch one hundred passes in a season (fourteen-game seasons then), accomplishing the feat in 1961, and finished with over one thousand receiving yards four times.

Taylor was named to the All-AFL first team four times and spent many years in coaching as an NFL assistant with Pittsburgh and the Los Angeles Rams, and was a head coach in college with Texas Southern and in the WLAF with the London Monarchs.

Goodbye to Clyde Austin at the age of 67.

The original "Clyde The Glide" Austin was a highly touted recruit with N.C. State in 1976 and played four seasons for the Wolfpack, averaging twelve points per game for his career.

Austin was drafted in the second round of the 1980 draft by Philadelphia, but failed to make the team.

Austin spent eight years playing with the Harlem Globetrotters to conclude his professional career.