FOR THE RECORD
| DIED |
At age 75, Jill Kinmont Boothe, whose recovery from a skiing accident that left her a quadriplegic was the subject of the 1975 movie The Other Side of the Mountain and its '78 sequel. In January '55 Boothe, then just 18, appeared on the cover of SI (above) as a favorite to compete for the U.S. at the '56 Winter Olympics. Three days after that issue hit newsstands, however, she crashed during a giant slalom race in Alta, Utah, and damage to her spinal cord left her paralyzed from the shoulders down. Boothe eventually regained mobility in her arms and from a wheelchair earned her teaching credential at Washington. She taught for 35 years, focusing on the physically and mentally challenged, and was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in '67.
| REVEALED |
To the Ravens, his current team, that he would retire, Ricky Williams, one of just 26 NFL players to have rushed for 10,000 yards. A Heisman winner at Texas, Williams's pro career turned weird right out of the gate. The fifth overall pick in 1999 posed in a wedding dress for a magazine cover and hired rapper Master P to negotiate his rookie contract with the Saints. Williams (right) spent 11 years in the NFL, leading the league in rushing in 2002. But he missed parts of three seasons, first after he retired to study holistic medicine, and later due to suspensions for failed drug tests. After a stint in the CFL, in '06, Williams resumed his NFL career, running for 444 yards in '11 as a backup to Ray Rice. He plans to continue his education and devote more time to running his foundation for high-risk kids.
| DENIED |
By the NCAA, a request from Connecticut that its basketball team be waived from punishment for violating new Academic Progress Rate rules, meaning that the defending national champion Huskies will be ineligible to participate in the 2013 NCAA tournament. UConn has since appealed the ruling, and the NCAA's academic performance subcommittee is scheduled to review the decision (no timetable has been set), but if that appeal is denied, the Huskies could be the first high-profile team punished under new rules measuring academic performance and retention based on whether student-athletes remain academically eligible and on track for graduation. UConn is suffering in part because of players who were not academically eligible when they left for the NBA draft. In exchange for waiving punishment the school had offered to self-impose sanctions, such as declining any revenue from the '13 tournament and reducing the number of games played.
| ANNOUNCED |
During a live Ustream chat with fans, that he plans to return to football after a one-season retirement, Randy Moss. The wide receiver, who once famously said, "I play when I want to play," abruptly retired last August after a season in which he was traded from the Patriots to the Vikings, released by the Vikings and then picked up by the Titans, for whom he caught just six passes in four games. At the time of his departure, Moss explained that he needed time off to make adjustments in his life, but on Monday he said that he had his family's blessing and was ready to get back on the field. Moss is currently tied with Terrell Owens for second place on the alltime career touchdown list, 44 behind Jerry Rice's 197.
| DIED |
At age 66 after a battle with colon cancer, Geoff Hollister, one of Nike's original executives. After starring in the '60s as a runner for Bill Bowerman, Oregon's track coach, Hollister worked on commission selling running shoes for Blue Ribbon Sports, the company that Bowerman founded alongside Phil Knight—another former Ducks runner—which would later become Nike. Hollister stayed with Nike for three decades, notably helping to launch the waffle-sole shoes at the '72 Olympic trials. Last Saturday, after breaking the U.S. indoor two-mile record at the USA Track & Field Classic in Fayetteville, Ark., Galen Rupp, another Oregon grad, dedicated his performance to Hollister's memory.
| ADMITTED |
During an interview with WBZ NewsRadio, that he was under the influence of cocaine for roughly "two thirds" of the games he pitched in the majors, former Red Sox, Expos and Rangers righthander Dennis (Oil Can) Boyd. Speaking about his upcoming autobiography, They Call Me Oil Can, the righthander with a 78--77 record over 10 seasons estimated that he "would have won 150 ball games" had he more often just gone to bed instead of taking drugs, which, he claimed, often remained in his system while he was on the mound. Boyd (above) clarified, however, that he "wasn't doing anything that hundreds of ballplayers weren't doing at the time," adding that he was never drug-tested during his career.
GO FIGURE
2
Age at which gamers can play as Tiger Woods in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, which will include a mode that "features all of the different eras from Tiger's career."
4
Consecutive road wins by at least 20 points, from Feb. 4 through Feb. 10, by the Bulls, an unprecedented NBA feat.
20
Consecutive home wins, through Monday, by the Red Wings, tying the alltime NHL mark.
30
Inches difference in height between new Harlem Globetrotter Paul Sturgess, at 7' 8" the world's tallest pro hoopster, and Jonte Hall, at 5' 2" the shortest player in the team's history.
300,000
Volts of electricity delivered by the electroshock guns carried by players in Ultimate Tazer Ball, which last week launched a four-team pro league.
$350,000
Personal-injury damages sought in a lawsuit against paralympic runners Jon and Jason Dunkerley; the plaintiff claims the brothers, who were born blind, ran into her on a running path.
| ANNOUNCED |
By the Spanish Tennis Federation, that it would sue French TV channel Canal+ for using its logo in a skit on the puppet show Les Guignols, implying that Rafael Nadal uses performance-enhancing drugs. While Nadal isn't the first sports figure to get the puppet treatment (right), his likeness may be the first to stir up such trouble: Five days later Nadal faced a surprise drug test.
José, as in Real Madrid skipper Mourinho, gets ribbed on Irish Special 1 TV, telling viewers, "I'm fantastic!"
Anfernee Hardaway's Nike ad alter ego, Lil' Penny, was mothballed in '98 after a career-altering injury.
Louis Kazagger, the felt Howard Cosell, offered play-by-play on such Muppet sports as demolition speedskating.
NHL PLAYERS POLL
Which All-Star-caliber player is the easiest to intimidate?
Phil Kessel, Maple Leafs RW 15%
The Sedin Twins, Canucks F's 8%
Alexander Semin, Capitals LW 7%
Patrick Kane, Blackhawks C 3%
Ilya Kovalchuk, Devils LW 3%
FAST FACTS
Identical twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin of the Canucks received votes as a pair as well as individually: Alone, Hendrik finished tied for sixth in the voting (3%) and Daniel tied for 17th (1%).... No defenseman received more than a single vote.... Goaltenders Roberto Luongo of the Canucks and Mike Smith of the Coyotes were the only two players at their position who received votes.
Based on 145 NHL players who responded to SI's survey
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YOUTUBE.COM (NADAL PUPPET)
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HY PESKIN (KINMONT)
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SCOTT ROVAK/US PRESSWIRE (WILLIAMS)
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YOUTUBE.COM (MOURINHO)
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YOUTUBE.COM (LIL' PENNY)
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MUPPET.WIKIA.COM (KAZAGGER)
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KATHY WILLENS/AP (KESSEL)
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JOHN IACONO (BOYD)