For the Record
| DIED |
At age 86, former Washington Senators third baseman Eddie Yost. Yost (above), who had suffered from heart problems, played 18 years in the majors, 14 with Washington and two each with the Tigers and the Angels. He was 17 when he broke in with the Senators in 1944, never having played a season of minor league ball. He missed the 1945 season while serving in the Navy during World War II, but in '47 he became the Senators' starting third baseman. Yost was known as the Walking Man for his skill at collecting bases on balls. He led the majors in walks five times and twice topped the AL in on-base percentage. He retired in '62 with a career .254 batting average but a .394 OBP. Yost spent more than 20 years as a coach, with the second iteration of the Senators, the Mets—with whom he won the '69 World Series—and the Red Sox.
| COMMITTED |
Verbally to attend Cal, Missy Franklin. The U.S. Olympic swimming star, 17, announced her decision on Twitter last Saturday, writing, "Committed to swim at Cal Berkeley! I am officially a baby Golden Bear. I am so honored to be a part of such a special team! #GoBears." Cal coach Teri McKeever led the U.S. team to 15 medals in London; Franklin (above) won gold in the 100- and 200-meter backstrokes and in the 4 √ó 100-meter medley relay and 4 √ó 200-meter freestyle relay, as well as bronze in the 4 √ó 100-meter free relay. Olympic teammate Rachel Bootsma is a freshman at Cal. Franklin had also considered Georgia, Texas and USC.
| FAILED |
Two drug tests in advance of his super lightweight title-unification fight last Saturday night with Danny García, boxer Erik Morales of Mexico. Morales, 36, passed a third test and was allowed to remain on the card; he was knocked out in the fourth round. The former super bantamweight, featherweight, super featherweight and junior welterweight titleholder tested positive for the diet supplement clenbuterol, a banned substance but asserted that he had eaten contaminated meat. Morales has said he would like to fight one more time in his home country and then retire.
| POSTPONED |
By Formula 1, the U.S. Grand Prix race, scheduled to be held in New Jersey on July 16, 2013, because, said F1 president and CEO Bernie Ecclestone, the organizers "didn't quite know what they were doing." The event will take place some time in '14 instead. The Port Imperial circuit, which will run 3.2 miles over the streets of Weehawken and West New York, along the Hudson River, was not coming along as quickly as planned, and reports had organizers missing some permits. F1 will run 19 races in '13 rather than replace Port Imperial with another venue.
| ANNOUNCED |
That he will bypass the Nippon Professional Baseball draft and become an international free agent eligible to sign with MLB teams, Japanese righthanded pitching prospect Shohei Otani. Otani, 18, was expected to be a first-round pick in the NPB's draft this Thursday, but league rules say that if he signs with a Japanese pro team, he must stay there until he becomes a free agent or his team decides to accept bids from an MLB team for the right to negotiate with him. (Japanese players who have never signed with an NPB team are not subject to these rules.) If he signs with a major league team, Otani, whose fastball has been clocked at up to 100 miles per hour, would be the first top draft pick to jump directly from a Japanese high school to MLB. The Dodgers, Orioles, Rangers and Red Sox are reported to be interested.
| DIED |
At age 86 after a brief illness, Hall of Fame Minneapolis Lakers guard Slater Martin (below). Martin won four championships—three in a row from 1952 through '54— with the Lakers, who were led by the NBA's first superstar, center George Mikan. A prototypical point guard, Martin left an indelible legacy of sharp passing and defense. "I think he's the best defensive guard that ever lived. That includes all the ones right now," said Sid Hartman, the Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist who worked as acting general manager for the Lakers for much of their time in Minnesota. Martin signed out of Texas in '49, played seven seasons with Minneapolis before being traded to the Knicks. In midseason New York sent him to the St. Louis Hawks, where he won his fifth title—and the only one in the history of the franchise—in '58, before retiring in '60. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in '82.
GO FIGURE
338
Yards rushing for New Mexico running back Kasey Carrier in the Lobos' 28--23 loss to Air Force. His total, on 39 carries, set a Mountain West record.
$756
Value of merchandise—including a TV, Blu-ray player, sleep pants and a vacuum cleaner—stolen from a Cookeville, Tenn., Walmart by a man who told police he committed the robbery to pay off a $150 bet he made on the Vols against Mississippi State.
38
Hits in his first 100 postseason at bats for Cardinals third baseman David Freese, breaking the MLB record of 37 held by Thurman Munson and Steve Garvey.
37
Combined points scored by Texas Tech and TCU in three overtimes in a game Tech won 56--53.
$20,000
Amount spent over two years by 75-year-old retired schoolteacher Don Martini of Blairstown, N.J., to build a 20-by-17-foot replica of Giants Stadium in his garage, complete with 235 working light stanchions.
| ANNOUNCED |
The auctioning off of personal sports memorabilia by Basketball Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight (left). To help fund his grandchildren's education, Knight, 72, is selling the three NCAA title rings he won with Indiana, as well as his 1984 Olympic gold medal. Consider, though, what some other items associated with the famously stormy Knight might fetch from collectors.
1985: CHAIR
Tossed by Knight onto Assembly Hall court during Purdue game
1992: BULLWHIP
Wielded in pretend whipping of Hoosier F Calbert Cheaney
1999: SHOTGUN
Fired in accidental wounding of Knight's hunting partner
NFL PLAYERS POLL
Who is the most overrated player in the league?
Tim Tebow, Jets QB 34%
Mark Sanchez, Jets QB 8%
Tony Romo, Cowboys QB 8%
Michael Vick, Eagles QB 4%
Ray Lewis, Ravens LB 3%
FAST FACTS
Ordinarily a team would replace a QB whose peers voted him the league's second-most-overrated player, but when his backup is No. 1, with more than a third of the votes ... well, the Jets are sticking with Sanchez.... Forty-eight players received at least one nod, including Super Bowl MVPs Lewis, Tom Brady (2%) and Eli Manning (1%).... While 15 quarterbacks made the list, no kickers or punters were named.
BASED ON 180 NFL PLAYERS WHO RESPONDED TO SI'S SURVEY
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HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES (YOST)
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AARON JOSEFCZYK/ICON SMI (KNIGHT)
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HEINZ KLUETMEIER (FRANKLIN)
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BEJIM/FOTOLIA.COM (CHAIR)
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KEVIN LARGENT/FOTOLIA.COM (WHIP)
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PHOTOEXPERT117/FOTOLIA.COM (SHOTGUN)
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SIMON BRUTY (SANCHEZ)
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CARLOS M. SAAVEDRA (TEBOW)
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NBA PHOTOS/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (MARTIN)