Joe Garagiola, a major league baseball player who evolved into a long broadcasting career at the age of 90. Garagiola was a journeyman catcher who played for nine seasons in the majors for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and the New York Giants. After his retirement from baseball, Garagiola wrote the book "Baseball is a Funny Game" (1960). That helped launch his broadcast career.
But Garagiola was better known as the backstop panelist for NBC's Today show from 1967 to 1982 and 1990 to 1992. Garagiola also did play by play and color commentary for NBC Sports baseball telecasts from 1974 to 1988. Garagiola then spent a season doing cable commentary for the California Angels. Afterwards, Garagiola did part time commentary for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1998-2012 while his son was general manager for the Diamondbacks. All together, Garagiola broadcast for 35 years over seven decades. No wonder why Garagiola was honored with the Ford Frick Award and inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown New York in 1991.
Keeping to his lighthearted take on life, Garagiola quipped that the only way that he could get into Cooperstown was as a broadcaster.
Basketball legend Meadowlark Lemon died at age 83 in Scottdale, Arizona on December 27, 2015. Lemon was the court jester of the Harlem Globetrotters for 22 seasons before venturing off to play for the Bucketeers, then later with the Shooting Stars and in 1988 starting "Meadowlark Lemon's All Stars". In 1994, Lemon played 50 games for the Harlem Globetrotters while still playing for his own touring team.
In Meadowlark Lemon's prime, he played 325 games a year. After missing one game in Germany after a bad meal of goulash in 1955, Lemon played 7,500 consecutive games for the Harlem Globetrotters, which was the equivalent of 92 NBA seasons. But Lemon was known for more than his perfect attendance on the courts.
Wilt Chamberlain played with Meadowlark Lemon for the 1958-59 season on the Harlem Globetrotters. Wilt Chamberlain lauded Lemom shortly before his Wilt's death in 1999: “Meadowlark was the most sensational, awesome, incredible basketball player I've ever seen. People would say it would be Dr. J or even [Michael] Jordan. For me it would be Meadowlark Lemon.” Lemon could make unbelievable behind the back half-court baskets and was known for his long range hook shot.
Supplementing his superior skill set at basketball fundamentals, Meadowlark Lemon was a showman. He enthusiastically embraced being the "Clown Prince" of basketball, by doing a regular shtick of throwing a bucket-full of confetti and pulling down the pants of referees. Meadowlark Lemon was inducted into both the Basketball Hall of Fame and the International Clown Hall of Fame.
Aside from being an athlete and an entertainer, Meadowlark Lemon had a spiritual side. Lemon became an ordained minister in 1986 and a Doctor of Divinity in 1988 from Vision International University. Along with his second wife Dr. Cynthia Lemon, he founded Meadowlark Lemon Ministries with a mission "Changing lives to change the world" by leveraging his books, media, evangelical outreach along with Camp Meadowlark basketball camp as inspiration to stay focused and finish strong message aimed at keep kids away from the path of substance abuse.
Meadowlark Lemon Ministries has a special outreach to youths in detention facilities and prisons. Meadowlark's message to these troubled souls is that you are not alone, you are uniquely special, God has great plans for you and you are forgiven.
Through his excellence on the courts and comedy, Meadowlark Lemon could entertain and elevate his fans. Parlaying his successes on the court to his ministry, Meadowlark Lemon helped elevate himself and others to a higher level. Rest In Peace Clown Prince of Basketball.
Dean Smith, the coach of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels from 1961 to 1997, died on February 7th, 2015 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina at the age of 83. Smith had been suffering from advanced dementia for years.
Dean Smith retired with 879 wins under his belt with the 9th highest winning percentage in college basketball (77.6%). During his tenure as the head coach of the Tar Heels, Smith's teams appeared in 11 NCAA Final Four games and won two national championships in 1982 and 1993. While the recent exposure of the Tar Heel Paper Courses scandal took away some of the luster from the 1993 championship, Smith's motto about mistakes offers a positive way forward.
Although Dean Smith did not have a set coaching style, his Tar Heel teams tended to feature a fast break half court offense that stressed passing along with a trapping defense that created turnovers and easy baskets. Smith's coaching popularized the "tired signal" of a raised fist, huddles before free throws, having point guards call out set defenses. Dean Smith innovated several defensive sets, including the point zone, double teaming the screen and roll and the run and jump.
Dean Smith was also known for employing the Four Corners Offense, which a team with a lead stalled. The NCAA instituted a shot clock in 1985 to speed up play and discourage ball control offense thereby foiling the Four Corners Offense.
Tar Heels and college hoops fans will mourn the passing of Dean Smith.
Stuart Scott, the longtime ESPN personality, succumbed to cancer at age 49. Scott was part of the ESPN2 launch in 1993 in order to bring in younger audiences. Scott incorporated pop-culture and hip hop catchphrases into his reportage. Scott popularized the utterance: "Booyah". He also coined some colorful metaphors like: "He must be the bus driver cuz he was takin' him to school" and "As cool as the other side of the pillow".
President Barack Obama interrupted his 17 day vacation in order to pay tribute to Stuart Scott's passing. The First Fan's expression of condolences seem sincere, especially since Mr. Obama gets his morning news from watching ESPN.
Joe Garagiola, a major league baseball player who evolved into a long broadcasting career at the age of 90. Garagiola was a journeyman catcher who played for nine seasons in the majors for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and the New York Giants. After his retirement from baseball, Garagiola wrote the book "Baseball is a Funny Game" (1960). That helped launch his broadcast career.
But Garagiola was better known as the backstop panelist for NBC's Today show from 1967 to 1982 and 1990 to 1992. Garagiola also did play by play and color commentary for NBC Sports baseball telecasts from 1974 to 1988. Garagiola then spent a season doing cable commentary for the California Angels. Afterwards, Garagiola did part time commentary for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1998-2012 while his son was general manager for the Diamondbacks. 
