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.

Forgotten Superstars-Kenny Easley

Today's entry in the forgotten superstars' universe is a player who, in my opinion, is deserving of Hall of Fame induction despite a career shortened by injury.

Kenny Easley was the 4th overall pick in the 1981 draft by the Seahawks.
Easley was the first secondary player to be taken in the 1981 draft.
Think about that, Seattle took Easley over Ronnie Lott.
Easley and Lott had faced off for four years up to that point as Easley patrolled the safety areas for the UCLA Bruins, while Lott did the same for the crosstown USC Trojans.
Most would say Easley was at least as good as the Hall of Famer, and some have said his skills may have exceeded those of Lott.
That says more than I can write about Kenny Easley!

Read this on Easley from former Raider Todd Christensen comparing the two in 2002.
"It goes without saying what Ronnie did in his career," Christensen said. "But in all candor - and this is no knock on Ronnie - Kenny Easley was a better football player."

Easley was a combination of skills that saw his 6'3 frame hit like a truck while also allowing him to roam the field and return punts...
Few hard-hitting types at the NFL level can do the things that Kenny Easley did on the field.

Easley would play just seven years in the NFL, but his dominance cannot be questioned.
Defensive Rookie of the Year, AFC Defensive Player of the Year in 1983, and NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1984 were just a few of the accolades sent the way of Kenny Easley.
Easley led the league in interceptions in 1984 with 10 and took two of them for Seattle scores.
Easley was also named as a safety on the all-decade team for the 1980s while making the Pro Bowl five times.

All this, and Easley missed some of the 1986 season with a severe ankle injury.
The ankle healed, but it still ended the career of the hard-hitting safety.
How?
Easley began to take pain relievers, and after making the Pro Bowl again in 1987, he was traded to the Arizona Cardinals.
The Cardinals were looking for a high-impact star to help gain new fans in the team's arrival in Phoenix, and Easley was just the player to do so with his vicious hits and big-play ability.

However, Kenny Easley's career was over as he failed the physical due to massive kidney damage from the pain relievers and would need a new kidney, which he would receive two years later.
Easley and the Seahawks would settle out of court for a suit that blamed the team physicians for causing the damage and the end of his career.
Easley was estranged from the franchise for years before reconciling in 2002 to be inducted into the team's Ring of Honor and make his home in Virginia.

Kenny Easley, intimidator, playmaker, deserving Hall of Fame inductee, should be remembered as one of the best ever, and not just a forgotten superstar.


Bullpen Notes

The Pirates are talking to Derrick "Tighten Bolts" Turnbow about adding him to the pen for 2009.
I am skeptical about Turnbow due to his wildness over the last two seasons, but let's see the price first before speaking.
Turnbow could be a valuable reclamation project for new pitching coach Joe Kerrigan, but I wouldn't bank a large contract on it.........

The Post-Gazette also reports that Jack Wilson has drawn interest from the Dodgers, and light-hitting shortstop Chin-Lung Hu and 4A outfielder Delwyn Young are the apples of the Bucs' eye.
Must be some wormy apples out there.
I think I would pass on that offer...

Welcome, a new member of the links page in Buccos Forum.

Don Banks at SI has the Romeo Crennel pink slip potential at 90 percent (too low), Bill Cowher as the guy that everyone wants, and says that Marty Schottenheimer badly wants to return to coaching, and the Browns are his first choice.
I would be fine with Marty.

The New Jersey Devils travel to Philadelphia tonight for a game against the Flyers.
The Devils demoted Anssi Salmela to Lowell, recalled Jay Leach, and sent Petr Vrana to Lowell on a two-week conditioning assignment.
Vrana could use the work and must return to the parent club at the end of the two weeks.
This is surprising to me as I thought Salmela had been playing quite well, but the Devils thought the more physical Leach would match up better against the Flyers.
Brian Rolston and John Madden are expected to return to the Devils in the contest.....

Until next time!

Photo Credits
Easley:CNN SI