For the Record
Joined
The Dolphins on Monday, running back Ricky Williams, who was reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last week after a 1 1/2-year suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy. Williams, 30, tested positive for marijuana four times after joining the Dolphins in 2002 and has played only 12 NFL games since the start of the '04 season. He underwent therapy as part of the league's drug program for the past 5 1/2 months after playing a season with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL. "I don't know if I had a daughter if I'd want her to date him," linebacker Channing Crowder said, "but as a football player, as a teammate, I love him."
Retired
After 13 seasons as Michigan coach, Lloyd Carr (below). Under Carr, the Wolverines have gone 121--40 and won five Big Ten championships and a share of the 1997 national title. But in Ann Arbor the Carr era will be remembered for his futility against archrival Ohio State. Michigan's loss last Saturday was its fourth straight in the series and sixth in seven years. Athletic director Bill Martin said he had 20 candidates in mind to replace Carr, 62. LSU coach Les Miles, a former Michigan player and assistant, is a likely choice.
Died
At age 75, former Packers center and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Ringo. The 10-time Pro Bowler was drafted by Green Bay out of Syracuse in 1953. He was thought to be undersized at 6'2" and 235 pounds, but his mobility made him an ideal blocker for the power sweep that became a Packers trademark under Vince Lombardi. Running back Jim Taylor had four 1,000-yard seasons with Ringo at center, and Green Bay won two NFL titles before Ringo was traded to the Eagles after the 1963 season. He played in a then record 182 straight games before retiring in 1967.
Died
Of a heart attack at age 59, U.S. Olympic sprinter Robert Taylor (below), who won gold and silver medals at the 1972 Games. Taylor was a member of the 400-meter-relay team that won in Munich, and he finished second in the 100 meters—a race he nearly missed because of a schedule mix-up. Taylor and the other U.S. entrants in the 100, Eddie Hart and Rey Robinson, were using a schedule that said the quarterfinal heats were to begin at 7 p.m. on Aug. 31, 1972. The heats actually began at 4:15 p.m.; after rushing to Olympic Stadium, Hart and Robinson missed their heats, but Taylor barely made his. He ran after stripping off his sweat suit and doing two deep knee bends to warm up. He qualified for the semifinals and won the silver the next day.
Considered
By the IOC, a decision not to declare a winner in the women's 100 meters at the 2000 Olympics. Marion Jones was stripped of the gold medal last month after admitting that she used performance-enhancing drugs before the 2000 Games. Normally the IOC would award the gold to the second-place finisher, but the silver medal in Sydney was won by Greece's Katerina Thanou—who was part of a doping scandal at the '04 Olympics. Earlier this month IOC president Jacques Rogge said medal winners would be upgraded only if they were "clean," and an IOC board member said last week that while no decision had been made, "the best way would be ... [to] just leave it as it is, and there is no gold." The IOC could rule on the medals at its meetings Dec. 10--12.
Debunked
By the German tennis federation, a rumor that Tommy Haas was poisoned during Germany's Davis Cup loss to Russia in Moscow in September. Haas, the world's 12th-ranked player, lost in straight sets on the first day of the semifinal and was unable to play a singles match two days later because of gastroenteritis. German doubles player Alexander Waske later told reporters that an unnamed person had told him that Haas was poisoned. Haas then underwent blood tests in New York City, a procedure that revealed no evidence of poisoning. "It's no longer an issue," Haas said.
Forced
By WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod to apologize to the student who dresses as Wisconsin mascot Bucky Badger (left), North Dakota defenseman Joe Finley. The junior slashed Bucky's shins as the mascot was leaving the ice before the Badgers hosted the Sioux on Nov. 10. McLeod ruled that Finley must apologize in writing to Wisconsin junior David Blanchard, who wasn't seriously hurt. North Dakota's 3--1 win was also marred by a 10-player brawl that resulted in 122 penalty minutes. Those players were not punished further.
They Said It
DAVID BECKHAM
Looking back on his first year in MLS:
"It's been great so far, very positive and smooth apart from ... the season."
Go Figure
1 Players in major-college history who have had 20 rushing touchdowns and 20 TD passes in the same season: Florida's Tim Tebow, who has thrown for 26 scores and run for 20 this year.
2,309 All-purpose yards this season by Missouri wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, an NCAA record for freshmen.
$6.08 billion Total Major League Baseball revenue this year, a record.
$1.2 billion Baseball revenue in 1992, the year Bud Selig replaced Fay Vincent as commissioner.
39, 13, 14 Points, rebounds and assists by LeBron James against the Magic on Nov. 14, the highest totals in all three categories in a game since Wilt Chamberlain had 53, 32 and 14 on March 18, 1968.
21, 343 Age in years and days of Magic center-forward Dwight Howard last Friday, when he became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 3,000 career rebounds.
SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE
A 102-year-old woman from Lincolnshire, England, posed nude for a calendar to raise money for a local soccer team.
PHOTO
JOHN BIEVER (CARR)
PHOTO
HEINZ KLUETMEIER (TAYLOR)
PHOTO
JOE ROBBINS/GETTY IMAGES (PICTURE THIS)
PICTURE THIS NOV. 18 Halftime show at the Chargers-Jaguars game in Jacksonville.
PHOTO
DAVID STLUKA/ICON SMI (BUCKY BADGER)
PHOTO
SIMON BRUTY (BECKHAM)
