Legends Lost
This past week the sports world lost two icons of the 20th century. Rest in peace Bill Russell and Vin Scully.
Bill Russell
Born in 1934 in Monroe, Louisianna. Bill Russell was one of the most impactful athletes in American history. The captain of the Boston Celtics, Russell is the most successful team sport athlete in American history, winning 11 championships in 13 seasons. He was 10-0 in playoff game 7s and a player-coach in his final two titles after Red Auerbach decided to step down knowing that Russell could handle it; becoming the first African-American coach in professional sports in 1966.
Off the court, Russell was much more than just a basketball player. He played a focal role as a civil rights activist in the 1960s movement. He marched with MLK Jr, spoke out against segregation in Boston public schools, and backed Mohammed Ali in his opposition to the Vietnam War. For his heroism, Bill Russell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.
Vin Scully
Born in the Bronx in 1927, Vin Scully is considered by many to be the greatest baseball broadcaster of all time. He started calling Dodger games in 1950 when they were still in Brooklyn and 67 years later retired with them out in LA. Scully was the voice for the majority of Jackie Robinson’s career, Don Larson’s 1956 World Series Perfect Game, Hank Aaron’s record-breaking 715th career homerun, and the last time the Mets won the World Series (Buckner game). You don’t even have to even be a fan of the sport to just automatically associate his voice with baseball, it was that distinct.
MLB Imports & Exports
NFL Suspensions
New Cleveland Brown QB, Deshaun Watson, was suspended for 6 games by an independent arbitrator (Sue Robinson) after 24 women accused Watson of sexual harassment. In response, the NFL has appealed that he should be suspended indefinitely. The appeal will be handled by another independent arbitrator.
Dolphins’ owner, Stephen Ross, was suspended through October 17 and fined $1.5 million after the NFL found he tampered with Tom Brady and former Saints’ head coach Sean Payton while they were under contract in 2019 with their respective former teams. The Dolphins will also be stripped of their 2023 first-round pick.
Tinfoil Hat: Roger Goodell has no idea how to handle the Watson situation so they are putting it off to independent arbitrators. As much as the owners want Watson to be punished for the sexual harassment accusations, they equally are agitated at the way Watson handled his trade demands last year and do not want to lose leverage with players a la the way the NBA has with the player empowerment movement. The Stephen Ross tampering happens behind the scenes much more often than we as fans think and they were trying to shift the narrative off the Watson headlines.
Hall of Fame Game
Medium Dive: The Captain Ep. 5+6
‘04
…Thankfully there was no social media in these days…
‘05-’08
From 2005 to 2007, the Yankees were a perennial 94+ win team with juggernaut offense and underwhelming starting pitching. They would be bounced out of the Divisional Round of the playoffs 3 years in a row, leading to the Yankees letting Joe Torre go as manager.
Torre would be replaced by Joe Girardi in 2008, who failed to manage the team to the playoffs for the first time since 1994. Unfortunately, winning in 2008 felt secondary. It was the final season in the Old Yankee Stadium. It was the site for the 2008 All-Star Game (a 15-inning marathon) and the Captain closed out the old stadium with a farewell speech.
‘09
The 2009 Yankees were mandated to win a World Series in the inaugural season at the new stadium. Ownership threw loads of cash at free agents CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and Mark Teixeira. The combination of Jeter, ARod, Cano, and Tex is one of the best infields ever assembled. This team had a remarkable 17 walk-offs.
‘11
Youtube Rabbithole
Woah.