Skip to main content

For the Record

Dismissed

By BYU's basketball team for violating the school's honor code, starting forward Brandon Davies (above), who was leading the then No. 3-ranked Cougars in rebounding this season with 6.2 per game. Davies, 19, was suspended for the remainder of the year after he admitted to having sex with his girlfriend, an act that many interpret as a violation of the school code, which demands that students and faculty "live a chaste and virtuous life." (BYU is owned and operated by the Mormon church; the code also requires abstinence from alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea and coffee, and calls for regular church service participation.) The Cougars, who were in the running for a No. 1 seed in this year's NCAA tournament before Davies's dismissal, suffered their first home loss of the season in their first game without him, falling 82--64 to New Mexico on March 2. Last Saturday they bounced back with a 102--78 win over Wyoming, but Davies's absence was reflected in the new AP poll, which dropped BYU to No. 8. Davies's future with BYU remains to be determined.

Withdrew

From a scheduled defense of his IBF and WBO heavyweight titles against Dereck Chisora, Wladimir Klitschko, who in his announcement cited an abdominal injury. Klitschko suffered the ailment during training for a fight with Chisora that was initially scheduled for December and proved unable to resume training for the rescheduled date of April 30. His withdrawal paves the way for an anticipated showdown with WBA champion David Haye (25-1-0), and the two sides have agreed to terms on a deal for a bout that would take place this June or July in Germany. If the pair indeed meet, Klitschko-Haye would be the most anticipated heavyweight fight since Lennox Lewis defeated Wladimir's older brother, Vitali, in 2003.

Died

Of cardiac arrest last Thursday, moments after his layup with just under 30 seconds left in overtime propelled Fennville (Mich.) High to a 57--55 win over Bridgman and capped a 20--0 regular season, 16-year-old junior Wes Leonard. The 6'2", 220-pound guard-forward already had been carried off the court by teammates and exchanged handshakes with opponents when he collapsed in front of a crowd of nearly 1,400 fans. Leonard was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. (An autopsy revealed dilated cardiomyopathy.) A two-sport athlete, Leonard had eclipsed 1,000 points during his career and was a standout quarterback on the football team, which he led to a division title last season, throwing seven touchdowns in the title game. Leonard is the second Fennville athlete to die in the last 14 months: 14-year-old wrestler Nathaniel Hernandez died of a seizure following a match in January 2010.

Died

At age 85 of prostate cancer, Wally Yonamine, a two-sport pioneer who became the first American to play professional baseball in Japan following World War II. Born Kaname Yonamine in Hawaii to Japanese immigrants, Wally—a name adopted in high school—preceded his baseball career with one season on the San Francisco 49ers (then of the AAFC), who claim he was the first Asian-American pro football player. When that stint ended with a broken wrist, Yonamine focused solely on baseball, which landed him in Japan in 1951, six years after the war's conclusion. Playing first for the Yomiuri Giants, Yonamine endured insults and having objects hurled at him before he eventually endeared himself to fans with hustle and aggressive play. He batted .311 for his 12-year career, earning one MVP award, three batting titles and seven All-Star appearances while helping the Giants win four Japan Series. In 1994 Yonamine was elected to the Japan Baseball Hall of Fame.

Expecting

Next Feb. 1, 2009 Preakness Stakes winner Rachel Alexandra, who mated with two-time Horse of the Year and 2007 Preakness winner Curlin on Feb. 21 at Lane's End Farm in Versailles, Ky. Both horses are owned by wine magnate Jess Jackson, who boards the 5-year-old Rachel at his Stonestreet Farm in Lexington and stands 7-year-old Curlin at nearby Lane's End. The match, one of the most regal in recent history, is expected to produce a "superhorse," in Jackson's words, worth millions of dollars.

Protested

By Iran's national Olympic committee, the logo for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London (below). In a letter to IOC president Jacques Rogge, Iran's secretary general for the Games, Bahram Afsharzadeh, reportedly argued that the design—which was unveiled four years ago after an $800,000 development effort, and which features the jaggedly-stylized numerals 2012—spells out Zion, which in the Bible refers to Jerusalem. Following Iran's longstanding opposition to Israel's existence, Afsharzadeh called the logo "racist" and threatened that Iran would boycott the Games. (He called on other Muslim nations to follow suit.) Iran's is not the first objection to the London logo. In 2007, when the design was made public, bloggers saw in the artwork everything from Nazi symbolism (a swastika and the Waffen SS) to an obscene depiction of Bart and Lisa Simpson. Last week the IOC put such interpretations to rest. "The ... logo represents the figure 2012," said one official. "Nothing else."

THEY SAID IT

Dustin Pedroia

Red Sox second baseman, to a Boston team official who had offered to find him food during a game last week before Pedroia took it upon himself to go into the stands and buy three hot dogs:

"I don't need any help. I'm a grown athlete."

Go Figure

$560

Fine—along with a two-match ban—assessed to the Colombian soccer player who last week kicked and killed an opposing team's owl mascot, which had landed on the field.

5

Home runs hit by Austin Glorius of Windermere (Fla.) Prep—tying a national high school record—in a 38--0 romp over Faith Christian.

.056

The Heat's NBA-worst shooting percentage (1 of 18) in tying or go-ahead situations in the last 10 seconds of games, including misses by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in an 87--86 loss to the Bulls on Sunday.

156 mph

Record speed of a serve by Croatia's Ivo Karlovic in a Davis Cup match last Saturday, besting by 1 mph Andy Roddick's previous mark.

8-19-21-22-28

Jersey numbers of the Capitals' top five scorers—and the five favorites of fan Jimmy Smith, who won $100,000 in the Virginia Lottery by playing those digits.

.933

No. 1 Ohio State's three-point shooting percentage (14 of 15) in Sunday's 93--65 win over Wisconsin, an NCAA record that included an unprecedented 14 straight makes.

PHOTO

GREG NELSON (DAVIES)

PHOTO

MITCHELL LAYTON/GETTY IMAGES (PEDROIA)

PHOTO