
For the Record
Died
At age 64 of cancer, Jim Seymour, the Notre Dame receiver whose 48 catches and eight touchdowns in 1966 helped the Fighting Irish to a share of the national title and whose speed and size (6'4" and more than 200 pounds) provided the template for a new breed of fast, rangy receivers. Though Seymour (above) would briefly play professionally for the Bears, he was best known as a three-time All-America who averaged more than 15 yards a catch and scored 16 career touchdowns. (Seymour's 276 receiving yards against Purdue in his first college game, in '66, is still a Notre Dame single-game high.) More than his numbers, Seymour stood out for his stature, which was rare in the days before Calvin Johnson, Plaxico Burress and Randy Moss. In a '66 cover story, TIME depicted Seymour as being able to "leap four feet straight up and pluck a football out of the sky—with such tenderness that ... you can stand right next to him and never hear the ball hit his hands."
Signed
by Kyle Busch Motorsports, 2007 Formula 1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen. A native of Finland, Raikkonen, 31, will make his NASCAR debut in the Camping World Truck Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20. In '07, Raikkonen replaced seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, and that season won the F1 title. Though Raikkonen has 18 career Grand Prix victories, he lost his ride with Ferrari after the '09 season, and for the last two years he has competed in the World Rally Car series. Nicknamed the Iceman because of his Nordic stoicism and his cool in the cockpit, Raikkonen will race in three to five events this season for Busch, one of the most tempestuous, fiery figures in NASCAR. This unlikely union could signal a career change for Raikkonen in '12. If he has moderate success in the Truck Series, the Iceman may soon cometh full-time to NASCAR.
Criticized
For introducing Kegasus, a gut-bearing, nipple-ring-wearing centaur mascot for the Infield Fest activities that take place at Pimlico in May as part of the second leg of horse racing's Triple Crown, the organizers of the Preakness Stakes. Unveiled on March 29 by Maryland Jockey Club officials, the digitally rendered half-horse, half-man delivers a youth-skewed pitch for the Fest (where one can buy a $20 bottomless beer mug or participate in a bikini contest), which has angered the more traditional supporters of the 140-year-old racecourse. Baltimore City Health Department commissioner Oxiris Barbot blogged that the symbol detracts from the race, and Maryland delegate Pat McDonough labeled the campaign "infantile."
Charged
With hacking three men to death with an ax in South Africa, former professional rugby player Joseph Ntshongwana. The 33-year-old Ntshongwana, who played flanker for the Blue Bulls, a popular South African rugby outfit based in Pretoria, was charged on March 31 with three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of assault with intention to commit grievous bodily harm. The fourth potential victim, who escaped the attack, told police that Ntshongwana had accused him of being involved in a gang-rape of Ntshongwana's daughter. That claim, reported in newspapers, led to outcries of support for Ntshongwana. But police denied reports that the assaults were triggered by any such incident and have confirmed that Ntshongwana has no daughter.
Died
At age 88, Hall of Fame boxing trainer, manager, matchmaker and TV commentator Gil Clancy. After a stint in the Army, Clancy found his calling teaching boxing to kids in New York City schools. It was there that he first encountered Emile Griffith, the fighter with whom he would become most closely associated. With Clancy in his corner, Griffith won five world titles—three as a welterweight and two as a middleweight. (Infamously, in the third of three title bouts with Benny Paret, in '62, Griffith delivered blows that led to Paret's death, by brain trauma.) Clancy managed Griffith over 19 years and 112 bouts, and also worked with Jerry Quarry, George Foreman, Gerry Cooney and Oscar De La Hoya. In '78, following Griffith's retirement, Clancy became a matchmaker for Madison Square Garden before embarking on a career in broadcasting, delivering award-winning boxing analysis in the '80s and '90s.
Smuggled
Into a Colombian first division soccer game in a morbid scene seemingly plucked from the 1989 movie Weekend at Bernie's, the corpse of 17-year-old soccer fan Cristopher Sanguino. On March 26, the day before a highly anticipated match between Envigado and the home side, C√∫cuta Deportivo, in Estadio General Santander, Sanguino—who belonged to a group of hard-core Deportivo supporters called la barra del indio—was playing a game of pickup soccer when he was gunned down in a drive-by shooting. The following day some 200 to 300 la barra supporters waited outside the stadium until the final 15 minutes of the match, at which point they rushed through the open gates bearing a coffin containing Sanguino's body. According to witnesses, the coffin reached the terrace level of the stadium in time for its handlers to celebrate a late Deportivo equalizer. Afterward Sanguino's mother offered her full support of the act, saying, "He loved the game and he loved his team, so what better way to honor him?"
GO FIGURE
62
Percent of respondents in a Seton Hall poll who believe the U.S. should drop its case against Barry Bonds—despite 74% believing Bonds knowingly took PEDs.
10
Consecutive seasons that the Panthers have missed the playoffs, topping by one the previous NHL record.
$25 million
Asking price for Tiger Woods's 155-foot yacht, Privacy, which the golfer bought for then wife Elin Nordegren in 2004.
$2 million
Estimated annual cost of operating the vessel, which reportedly has a permanent crew of 13.
31
NCAA D-III swimming and diving titles won in a row by Ohio's Kenyon College before Denison (less than an hour away) upset the Lords 500.5 to 499.5 on March 27.
5'10"
Height of Illinois College guard and YouTube sensation Jacob Tucker, who last Thursday won the College Slam Dunk Contest.
150
Consecutive league home games coached without a loss by Real Madrid's José Mourinho before his side fell 1--0 last Saturday to Sporting Gijon, ending a streak that dates to 2002.
THEY SAID IT
Erik Ainge
Jets backup quarterback, on his struggles with addictions to painkillers, cocaine and heroin—all of which he says he has kicked:
"I would've made Charlie Sheen look like Miss Daisy."
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WALTER IOOSS JR. (SEYMOUR)
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©20TH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION (BERNIE'S)
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AFP/GETTY IMAGES (CASKET)
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TOM BERG/ICON SMI (AINGE)