FOR THE RECORD
| DIED |
At age 89, American race car driver and car designer Carroll Shelby. Besides trying his hand at chicken farming, training World War II pilots, running an African safari company and marriage—seven times—Shelby took up sports car racing in 1952. For one race he arrived late to the track still wearing overalls from his chicken farm; when he won, he made the overalls his racing uniform from then on. He finished first in 19 straight races in '57, when SI made him its cover boy (above), and was twice named the magazine's driver of the year. In '59 he became the second American-born driver to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. When a heart condition forced him out of the driver's seat in '60, Shelby devoted his energy to designing cars, mixing the power of American engines with the grace of European sports cars to create the iconic Shelby Cobra. In later years he worked with Detroit companies to design sleek, powerful cars, including the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and the Dodge Viper.
| APPROVED |
By the Minnesota Senate, a $975 million new stadium for the Vikings. The team's current lease, in the 30-year-old Metrodome, expired after the 2011 season. But Thursday's 36--30 decision, which came hours after the state House of Representatives ended an overnight bargaining session with a 4 a.m. vote of 71--60, brings the Vikings one step closer to staying in Minneapolis for a generation. (The team had been rumored to be considering a move to L.A.) The final hurdle: approval later this month by the Minneapolis City Council (of which a majority has already committed to the deal) and by Governor Mark Dayton (who has pushed for a stadium deal to keep the Vikings in town). According to the bill, the NFC North franchise will pay $477 million toward its new home, $50 million more than in the original plans. The state will chip in $348 million. And the final $150 million will come from the city of Minneapolis. The team plans to sign a 30-year lease to play in the new stadium, which will open on the site of the Metrodome in '16.
| ADMITTED |
By former NFL receiver Cris Carter, that he offered teammates bounties for injuring opponents during his playing days. Carter, who spent 16 years in the NFL—mostly with the Vikings—and was selected to the Pro Bowl squad eight times, came clean on ESPN Radio's Hill & Schlereth show last Tuesday but clarified that his bounties were intended to protect himself, not just to injure opponents. Specifically, he pointed to an incident with former All-Pro linebacker Bill Romanowski, remembering a time that Romanowski had threatened him before a game. Carter (left) said that he offered teammates money to help keep Romanowski at bay. On Wednesday, Romanowski called the receiver's admission "absolute fiction."
| DIED |
At age 75, former junior welterweight champion Eddie Perkins, who had suffered from dementia and diabetes in recent years. Perkins, who trained under Johnny Coulon, won the WBA junior welterweight title in 1962 by beating Italy's Duilio Loi, but Loi took the belt back in a rematch later that year. Perkins (right) won the belt—and the WBC version—again the next year in a 15-round win over Filipino Roberto Cruz, and he defended his titles successfully twice before losing a disputed decision to Carlos Hernandez in '65. Perkins retired in '75 after a 19-year career, with a record of 74-20-2, including 21 knockouts, and joined Coulon and Loi in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, in 2008.
| WITHDREW |
From his scheduled May 19 rematch with Amir Khan after failing a prefight drug test, WBA and IBF light welterweight world champion Lamont Peterson. Peterson, who had requested the screening before the fight against Khan, from whom he won the titles by split decision in December, tested positive for synthetic testosterone, which he admits to taking but claims was a valid treatment for a medical condition. Peterson's doctor, John Thompson, said in a letter to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which conducted the test, that he had diagnosed Peterson as having a "critically low level of free testosterone" and had injected him with soy testosterone pellets, which are not on WADA's list of banned substances. Thompson later said that the pellets do not enhance athletic performance because they are released into the system slowly. Peterson, however, did not disclose the treatment until after he received the positive result. Khan has called for the titles to be returned to him and has said that he will require his future opponents to submit to prefight testing.
GO FIGURE
$1.65 MILLION
Asking price for the Sudbury, Mass., farm owned by Babe Ruth from 1922 to '26. The 5,124-square-foot, five-bedroom house and its two-acre plot were listed last week.
$910,696
Earnings by Ruth over his 22-year MLB career (roughly $15 million in 2012 dollars).
150 DB
Loudness of the Long Range Acoustic Device, a military-grade sonic cannon that organizers of Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine plan to use, if necessary, to disperse unruly soccer fans at the summer event. That's roughly the same volume a jet engine reaches at takeoff.
4 OF 5
Games last week in which A's 3B Brandon Inge drove in at least four runs. Only one other batter has matched that feat: Lou Gehrig, in 1931.
163.4 MPH
Speed of a serve by Australian tennis player Sam Groth at a Challenger event in South Korea on May 9, the fastest ever recorded.
340
Groth's world ranking at the time.
NBA PLAYERS POLL
Which athlete from another sport could play in the NBA today?
CALVIN JOHNSON, LIONS WR 16%
JIMMY GRAHAM, SAINTS TE 10%
TERRELL OWENS, FREE-AGENT WR 7%
ANTONIO GATES, CHARGERS TE 7%
CAM NEWTON, PANTHERS QB 6%
FAST FACTS
Graham, Gates and Tony Gonzalez (who was sixth, with 5%) played D-I basketball. Graham averaged 4.2 points at Miami, Gates 16.5 at Eastern Michigan and Kent State (where he was an honorable-mention All-America in 2003) and Gonzalez 6.4 at Cal.... Of the 39 athletes named, 29 play pro football—19 as receivers or tight ends.... Usain Bolt (3%) received the most votes for a nonfootball player.... In a similar poll on Facebook, 56% of SI readers named Johnson.
BASED ON 121 NBA PLAYERS WHO RESPONDED TO SI'S SURVEY
| SUBMITTED |
Unbelievably Believable ®
By Robert Griffin III, applications—at $325 each—for the trademarks on his full name, the abbreviations RG3 and RGIII, and the phrase Unbelievably Believable from the former Baylor QB's Heisman acceptance speech. Griffin was just recently named the Redskins' starter, so his legal maneuvering might seem presumptuous—until you consider that Jeremy Lin fought with fans earlier this year over the rights to Linsanity. Here, seven other athlete-owned phrases and slogans. Repeat with caution.
Can't Wait!
I Love Me Some Me
Three-peat
Got Strange?
Invinceable
Wilfork U Up
Revis Island
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ROBERT HALMI (SHELBY)
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BARBARA L. SALISBURY/THE WASHINGTON TIMES/LANDOV (GRIFFIN)
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TOM DIPACE (CARTER)
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DAVID BERGMAN (BART SCOTT)
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ANTHONY J. CAUSI/ICON SMI (MICHAEL STRAHAN)
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JOHN W. MCDONOUGH (PAT RILEY)
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KIRBY LEE/IMAGE OF SPORT/US PRESSWIRE (JARED ALLEN)
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PATRICK MCDERMOTT/GETTY IMAGES (VINCE YOUNG)
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DAMIAN STROHMEYER (VINCE WILFORK)
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JOHN BIEVER (MANNY RAMIREZ)
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AP PHOTO (PERKINS)
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NICK DOAN/GETTY IMAGES (OWENS)