- Publish date:
FOR THE RECORD
| DIED |
Last Thursday in Boston at age 85, former Harvard football coach Joe Restic. On the Crimson sidelines from 1971 to '93, Restic (above) had a record of 117-97-6 and won or shared five Ivy League titles. A veteran of the Army Air Force in World War II, he played college football first at St. Francis University in Loretto, Pa., and later at Villanova, graduating in 1952—the same year he played three games for the Eagles as a receiver and defensive back. Restic, who also pitched for two years in the Phillies organization, began coaching as an assistant at Brown in 1956, and later was the offensive coordinator at Colgate before moving to the CFL in 1962. Six years later, he became the coach of the Hamilton Tiger Cats. It was there that Restic conceived his influential multiflex offense, which was designed to confuse defenses with numerous formations and schemes. "When you plan to defense against a Restic team, you plan to defense the world," former Yale coach Carm Cozza once said. "He throws everything at you."
| ANNOUNCED |
A run for the Russian presidency in 2012, by Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov. Amid widespread unrest in his home country after parliamentary elections on Dec. 4 that were condemned as fraudulent resulted in victory for prime minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party, Prokhorov (below) said at a press conference on Monday, "I think that our society is waking up, and that part of the government which is not capable of establishing a dialogue with society, those authorities will have to go." The 6'8" bachelor, who built his fortune in banking and the precious-metals industry, and whose net worth of $18 billion makes him the third-wealthiest person in Russia, according to Forbes, has been active in politics for several years. He was ousted in September from his own pro-business political party, a move he blames on the Kremlin. But the stakes are higher now. The last billionaire to challenge Putin—who was 1999 to 2008, and is seeking another term—was Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who has been in jail since 2003, when he was convicted of fraud and tax evasion in a prosecution many in Russia saw as politically motivated.
| SIDELINED |
After a recurrence of concussionlike symptoms similar to the ones that kept him off the ice for nearly 11 months, Penguins star Sidney Crosby. Since his comeback on Nov. 21, the 24-year-old center had scored 12 points in eight games, but on Dec. 5 he took an inadvertent elbow from Bruins center David Krejci that left him wobbly. Crosby sat out Pittsburgh's next two games and on Monday decided he wasn't ready to return to the lineup even though tests reportedly show he does not have another concussion. Crosby is doing light workouts, but there is no timetable for his return. "I don't think frustrating even describes [the situation]," he said.
| DIED |
Of an apparent heart attack last Thursday at age 42, former Chargers linebacker Lew Bush. A fourth-round pick out of Washington State in 1993, he played seven years with San Diego and was a member of its lone Super Bowl team, in '94. Bush is the seventh member of that '94 Chargers team to die before the age of 45, and the second this year. Linebacker David Griggs died in a car accident in '95, and running back Rodney Culver was killed in a plane crash the following year. Linebacker Doug Miller died after being struck by lightning in '98. Center Curtis Whitley died of a drug overdose in 2008. Defensive lineman Chris Mims died of an enlarged heart later that year, and defensive tackle Shawn Lee died of a heart attack last February. At the time of his death, Bush was working as a pregame radio commentator for the Chargers.
| INTRODUCED |
As the crew chief for driver Denny Hamlin Darian Grubb, who won the NASCAR Sprint Cup with Tony Stewart on Nov. 20. Stewart had informed Grubb (left) during the 2011 Chase that he would be released after the season because, in the words of the driver, "we needed to go in a different direction." In three seasons together, the two had won 11 races, including five during this year's Chase. Grubb, 36, will replace Mike Ford, the only crew chief Hamlin has worked with in seven years of Cup racing. The two nearly won the 2010 championship but faltered in the final two races, a slide that continued this season, when Hamlin won only once.
GO FIGURE
1,876
Laps around the Storridge, England, town hall (equaling a marathon), walked by 84-year-old Moira Starkey (on two canes); the feat earned her selection as one of the torchbearers for next year's London Olympics.
$207,317
Fine levied by the NHL on Oilers defenseman Andy Sutton for charging the Hurricanes' Alexei Ponikarovsky; Sutton was also suspended for eight games.
60
Percent of respondents in an L.A. Times poll who agreed with NFL Magazine's choice of Peyton Manning as the 2011 MVP, despite his not having played a game this season.
1,600
Shares in the team—at $250 apiece—sold by the Packers in the first 11 minutes of the franchise's first public stock offering since 1997. The team hopes to raise at least $22 million through the sale of shares through Feb. 29.
13
Teams for which righthanded reliever Octavio Dotel, 38, will have played (an MLB record) when he takes the field next season for the Tigers—with whom he signed a one-year deal last week.
NFL PLAYERS' POLL
Who is your least favorite NFL commentator?
Cris Collinsworth, NBC 11%
Chris Berman, ESPN 8%
Warren Sapp, NFL Network 6%
Troy Aikman, Fox 5%
Ron Jaworski, ESPN 4%
FAST FACTS
Collinsworth is the most decorated studio analyst, having won 12 Sports Emmys since 1997.... Six ESPN employees were among the top 11 vote getters (including Jon Gruden, Matt Millen, Skip Bayless and Trent Dilfer), whereas CBS had no one in the top 12.... Aikman was No. 2 in an earlier SI poll of players' most-liked commentators.... In a similar poll on Facebook, SI readers voted Joe Buck (36%) their least favorite, with Collinsworth second (28%).
Based on 237 NFL players who responded to SI's survey
| SPORTED |
By Baylor QB Robert Griffin III (left) while accepting the Heisman Trophy in New York City last Saturday, a gaudy pair of caped socks inspired by Superman. Griffin is not, of course, the first athlete to appropriate and wear the symbols of the Man of Steel.
2008
Dwight Howard
The caped center flew to the slam dunk title at the All-Star Game.
2010
Pablo Aurrecochea
The Guarani keeper's shirt couldn't prevent a 4--2 loss to River Plate.
PHOTO
CHUCK SOLOMON (RESTIC)
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SERGEI KARPUKHIN/REUTERS (PROKHOROV)
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EDUARDO MUNOZ/REUTERS (GRIFFIN SOCK)
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MARK MAKELA/ZUMAPRESS.COM (GRIFFIN)
PHOTO
LARRY W. SMITH/EPA (HOWARD)
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DANTE FERNANDEZ/LATINCONTENT/GETTY IMAGES (AURRECOCHEA)
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JUSTIN LUBIN/NBC PHOTO (COLLINSWORTH)
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DOUG KRANZ/ICON SMI (GRUBB)
