NYC Marathon Applications

2008 NYC Marathon Applications

Sam Vasquez, MMA fighter dies

Sam Vasquez of Houston may have become the first fighter to die from injuries sustained in mixed martial arts competition in North America.

A report by The Fight Network cited the Harris County (Texas) medical examiner’s office confirming Vasquez’s death at 8:15 p.m. Friday. The cause of death was not released.

Vasquez had been battling for his life since taking a hard right to the chin from 21-year old Vince Libardi on Oct. 20 during a Renegades Extreme Fighting show at the Toyota Center in Houston. The blow knocked Vasquez out and he was rushed to St. Joseph Medical Center, where he stayed until moving to hospice care on Monday.

The 35-year-old Vasquez was competing in the featherweight division (145 pound weight class) in the third match of a 12-match card promoted by Saul Soliz, the longtime boxing coach of Ultimate Fighting Championship superstar Tito Ortiz. The show was overseen by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Calls to the department on Sunday were not immediately returned.

After taking a flurry of punches from Libardi, Vasquez collapsed in the ring and the fight was waved off at 2:50 of the third round. Emergency medical technicians worked on him in the ring for several minutes until he suffered what appeared to be a seizure and was rushed to the hospital.

Vasquez’s condition worsened from there. On Nov. 4, two weeks after being admitted, he underwent the first of two surgeries to relieve the pressure of a large clot in his brain, then had a massive stroke on Nov. 9 and was placed in a medically induced coma.

Vasquez, who had a seven-year-old son, came into the match with a 1-1 record, and had not fought in 13 months. Libardi, 14 years Vasquez’s junior, entered the match with seven pro fights and 10 rounds of action over three fights in the time since Vasquez had last fought in Sept. 2006.

“There was nothing out of the ordinary,” Paul Erickson, who was at ringside taking photos, said in an interview with The Fight Network. “They scrambled and hit the cage. Sammy stood up and looked a little wobbly. Then he went down and the referee called the doctor in. It didn’t seem like anything was out of the ordinary. Sammy was winded and looked exhausted, but he wasn’t unconscious when they carried him out. Everyone was puzzled at the time because no one could tell when or where he was injured.”

MMA had until recently been considered highly controversial, and a group of critics led by Sen. John McCain caused it to be banned in several states in the mid-to-late 1990s and pressured cable companies to not air its pay-per-view events.

In the past two-and-a-half years, though, the sport exploded in popularity due to television exposure of UFC, the sport’s major league franchise. UFC’s success has spawned hundreds of smaller promotions around North America with many states now holding more MMA events than boxing events.

Mixed martial arts officials and fans have long noted that there had never been a death in a sanctioned MMA match, a statistic no other combat sport could claim.

The only confirmed death prior to government oversight came when 31-year-old Douglas Dedge of Chipley, Fla. passed away on March 18, 1998, from severe brain injuries suffered in a match two days earlier at a non-sanctioned event called World Super Challenge in Russia. Dedge had passed out in a training session leading up to the fight, but went through with the match anyway.

I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere!

MEXICO CITY (AP) — It seemed to be a sweet victory for Mexican politician and marathon runner Roberto Madrazo, who was humiliated in last year’s presidential race: He won the age-55 category at the Berlin marathon with a surprising time of 2:41:12.

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But race officials said Monday they disqualified him for apparently taking a short cut in the Sept. 30 race. An electronic tracking chip indicates he skipped two checkpoints and took only 21 minutes to cover a nine-mile section — faster than any human can run.

“Not even the world record holder can go that fast,” race director Mark Milde said.

Madrazo can be seen grinning ear-to-ear and pumping his arms in the air as he crossed the finish line. The photograph made front pages in Mexico. But the picture raised suspicions because he wore a wind breaker, hat and long, skintight running pants — unusually heavy clothing for a person who had just run 26.2 miles in 60-degree weather.

“It was so obvious to me: if you look at everyone else that’s in the picture, everyone’s wearing T-shirts and shorts, and the guy’s got a jacket on and a hat or whatever,” said New York-based marathon photographer Victor Sailer, who alerted race organizers to the possible fraud. “I looked at it and was like, wait a second.”

The world record for 15 kilometers — the distance Madrazo covered in 21 minutes — is 41 minutes 29 seconds, by Felix Limo of Kenya.

Madrazo’s office did not return phone calls from The Associated Press.

But in June, Madrazo completed the San Diego marathon with a time of 3:44:06 — more than an hour slower than his time in Berlin, Mexican newspaper Reforma reported.

Mexicans poked fun at Madrazo when they learned he was stripped of his title.

“If you’re going to steal, you’ll steal here, in the United States, in Europe, everywhere in the world,” driver Octavio Elizalde Cerrillo said with a smile at one Mexico City taxi stand.

Madrazo’s reputation at home was already tarnished. He was found to have broken campaign spending limits by tens of millions of dollars in an earlier election, and police found no evidence to support his report that he was abducted and beaten by unknown assailants — a claim many saw as a sympathy ploy.

During his presidential campaign, opponents plastered walls with posters reading, “Do you believe Madrazo? I don’t either!”

The race director said Madrazo may have intended to drop out and taken a short cut to reach the start-finish area, although his apparent victory gesture suggests otherwise.

“I don’t know if it was his intention or accidental: I try to believe in the good of people,” Milde said.

Chris Benoit

AP-Journal entries written by wrestler Chris Benoit show he was wracked with grief and preoccupied with death after his best friend died in 2005, according to a lawyer representing Benoit’s father.

Benoit, who killed his wife and 7-year-old son and committed suicide in June, wrote the diary as a series of letters to the friend, fellow wrestler Eddie Guerrero, according to lawyer Cary Ichter, who represents the wrestler’s father in estate litigation.

Benoit’s father, Michael Benoit, referred to the diary earlier this month, saying it was “written by someone who was extremely disturbed at the time.” The father has said murder-suicide was out of character for his son and supported medical tests that recently showed Chris Benoit suffered brain damage that could have caused depression and irrational behavior.

Authorities say anabolic steroids were found in the home and Chris Benoit had a high amount of synthetic testosterone in his body when he died, leading to some speculation that steroid-induced rage sparked the killings.

Ichter, who said he knew Benoit for years, described what he said were Benoit’s writings but he did not make copies of the journal available for review.

Ichter noted that at one point Benoit wrote to his friend, “I will be with you soon,” an apparent nod to his own mortality.

“It showed that he was very depressed,” Ichter said of the entries.

Benoit also wrote warmly about his son, Daniel, and his wife, Nancy, who had given him the journal as a way to cope with Guerrero’s death, the lawyer said.

Prosecutors have said Benoit, 40, strangled his wife with a cord, used a choke hold to strangle his son placed Bibles next to the bodies and hanged himself on exercise equipment the weekend of June 22.

Ichter said a neighbor of the Benoits found the journal in the trash after the police and family had left the Benoits’ house, and the neighbor gave it to Michael Benoit. He is permanent administrator to Chris Benoit’s estate, and Ichter said the journal could become evidence in the estate litigation.

Authorities have said it could be months before the court determines the heirs, since neither Chris nor Nancy Benoit had a will. Whether Nancy Benoit died before Daniel will determine whether control of millions of dollars goes to Chris Benoit’s two children from a previous marriage or to relatives on Nancy Benoit’s side.

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We can open the Mexican border for some…

I am not expressing my political opinion on this issue, however, I think we’d all agree that these Mexican soccer fans can enter through any country’s border!

More Soccer Cheerleaders

Bonds Hits 2 Home Runs, 2 To Go

JULY 19, 2007

Barry Bonds is two home runs away from tying Hank Aaron. The Giants slugger ends his worst slump in six years with a pair of home runs at Wrigley Field. Bonds and the Giants head to Bud Selig’s home next to play three in Milwaukee.

Get your Barry Bonds signed memorabilia now. Prices will soon skyrocket! NY Sports Gear.com

NY Islanders New Captain, Bill Guerin

AP

Bill Guerin’s young daughter yelled with delight when a picture of her goal-scoring father appeared on a big television screen. The 36-year-old right winger had nearly the same reaction moments later when he saw the ‘C’ on his brand-new Islanders jersey. Guerin had no idea he had already been chosen by general manager Garth Snow and coach Ted Nolan to be the 11th captain in team history.

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Guerin was formally introduced to Long Island on Monday, less than a week after signing a two-year deal with the Islanders. Outside of a four-game, injury fill-in stint in Edmonton, Guerin hasn’t served as an NHL captain.

“I’m a little surprised,” he said, drawing laughter from a banquet room filled with team sponsors, fans and media. “I’m thrilled about it. It’s a tremendous honor. I don’t take this responsibility lightly.”

He donned the team’s blue sweater after his three new teammates Mike Comrie, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Jon Sim — all fellow free-agent acquisitions — stepped up to accept their jerseys from Snow.

Guerin is the latest fresh face of the Islanders, a franchise that still embraces its dynasty days of the 1980s while trying to matter again in the 30-team NHL. New York is looking for Guerin to show the form that led to a 36-goal campaign last season with St. Louis and San Jose, and not the 13-goal output he posted the season before with Dallas.

“I think I’ve been closer to the 30 goals more than 13,” said Guerin, who has hit the mark five times in 14 full NHL seasons. “I think it was just a bad year.”

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Dan Patrick is leaving ESPN

AP SPORTS

Dan Patrick is leaving ESPN after 18 years, insisting there is no acrimony but saying he was beginning to take his job for granted.

The former SportsCenter anchor announced his decision on his radio show Monday and said his final show will be Aug. 17. Patrick said he hoped to continue working in radio but wasn’t sure if he would do any more television.

“It’s been home, but I think I was starting to take it for granted, and I did not want to do that,” Patrick said on the air. “I did not think that was fair to these great people.”

Patrick said ESPN executives tried to talk him out of his decision. He originally planned to make the announcement last week, but they asked him to reconsider.

“If there was animosity, I wouldn’t be doing radio shows after this one today,” he said.

Patrick recently served as host of the NBA studio program on ABC, NBA Countdown, and the network’s game broadcasts, including the NBA finals. He was a SportsCenter anchor from 1989-06.

He has hosted The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio since 1999. During his last week, ESPN Radio will look back at memorable moments from the show.

“Dan has accomplished so much over the past two decades at ESPN and fans and newsmakers have turned to him for his steady and trusted approach,” ESPN executive vice president for production Norby Williamson said in a statement. “We wish him the very best.”

Patrick was honored as National Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association in 2000 and received a Sports Emmy Award in the Studio Host category in 1998.

He was a sports anchor/reporter for CNN from 1983-89.

Venus Williams wins 4th Wimbledon Title

Venus Williams won her fourth Wimbledon title Saturday…

read more | digg story

Federer Wins At Wimbledon

AP

Locked in the toughest test of his Wimbledon reign, against his only real rival in today’s game, Roger Federer summoned the strokes and resolve that allow him to chase records set by the greats of yesteryear.

And after Federer finally overcame Rafael Nadal in a five-set epic Sunday to win his fifth consecutive championship at the All England Club and 11th Grand Slam title overall, tying Bjorn Borg on both counts, guess who was waiting to greet him in a hallway off Centre Court?

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Borg himself. They smiled and embraced, then chatted briefly, a tete-a-tete between the only two men in the past century to win Wimbledon five years in a row.

“To see him after the match — it was very fitting in my point of view,” Federer said. “It made me a bit more proud of myself.”

He could swell his chest all he wanted, given everything he’s accomplished, not to mention the way he beat three-time French Open champion Nadal 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-2 for his 54th straight victory on grass in a taut match filled with momentum swings and marvelous shotmaking.

Federer is No. 1, Nadal is No. 2, and they have met in four of the past six major finals. Federer won both at the All England Club. Nadal won both at Roland Garros. This was, by far, the best of the bunch.

“I win my share. He wins his. We’ve been at the top for over 100 weeks together. It is like building up to one of maybe the great rivalries,” Federer said. “We sometimes haven’t lived up to the expectations in the past … but you can’t always play five-set thrillers, you know. I’m happy it happened today. I left as the winner. Perfect.”

He’s taken 11 of the past 17 Grand Slam titles, including three apiece at the Australian Open and U.S. Open. Now Federer’s total trails only Roy Emerson’s 12 and Pete Sampras’ 14 on the list of career Grand Slam titles.

“I don’t know how much longer I can keep it up,” the 25-year-old Federer said, “but I definitely feel like I’m mentally and physically still fit to go on for many more years.”

As close as the 21-year-old Nadal is to a barrier — the Spaniard does lead their career series 8-5, after all — Federer’s main challenge for some time has come from trying to live up to standards set in the past.

Even if Federer doesn’t necessarily look at it that way.

“He has so much passion for the game,” said his mother, Lynette. “He’s not playing for the record books. He’s playing for the game.”

On Sunday, on his game’s grandest stage, Federer finished with a 24-1 edge in aces and a 65-50 edge in winners. Numbers hardly do justice to his excellence or elegance with a racket in hand, however.

“He’s an artist on this surface. He can stay back. He can come in. No weaknesses,” said Borg, whose Wimbledon run was from 1976-80. “I believe if he continues the way he’s doing and stays away from injuries and has the motivation, he’ll be the greatest player ever to play the game.”

And those words were spoken before Borg watched Federer’s latest virtuoso performance from the front row in the Royal Box in jacket and tie.

Federer also dressed formally for the occasion, sporting his tailor-made, five-piece Gatsby getup, from the white dinner jacket with the gold “RF” on the left breast pocket to the white slacks replete with belt loops. Even his shoes were special, with four tiny red circles patterned after the Swiss flag, each marking a year he won a Wimbledon title. A fifth circle needs to be added now.

Still, just when it looked as if Federer might turn the sunny afternoon into a coronation by taking a 3-0 lead, Nadal won the next three games. Just when it looked as if Nadal might be in charge, breezing through the fourth set, Federer broke twice in a row to end the match.

Each did what he does best — and managed to show a flair for his foe’s fortes.

Nadal is terrific at the baseline, forcing opponents to hit great groundstroke after great groundstroke just to win a single point. Yet there was Federer, hanging in there on the longest of rallies; he won half the points that lasted at least 10 strokes. Federer believes he’s the best server around, yet it was Nadal who kept producing easy hold after easy hold.

“I tried to play as aggressive as possible,” Nadal said.

In the first set, he played serve-and-volley on one point, as if to say, “See, I can do that, too.” And Federer conjured up a cross-court forehand passing shot on the run, as if to reply, “Yeah, well, I can do THAT, too.”

Because of all the rain that jumbled the schedule and sapped some of the tournament’s energy, Nadal was playing on a seventh consecutive day. His right knee was treated during the fourth set, but he said that wasn’t a factor.

“Tired? No, no. Not tired,” said Nadal’s uncle and coach, Toni. “He played the first four sets completely even. Even.”

Federer has won 34 matches in a row at Wimbledon, and this was the first to go five sets. He’s played in 13 Grand Slam finals, and this was the first to go five sets.

And he was growing frustrated, both by Nadal’s relentless play and by what appeared, to Federer, to be questionable rulings by the instant replay system making its Wimbledon debut. After one call in Nadal’s favor, Federer cursed in disbelief.

“It’s killing me today,” Federer told the chair umpire.

Nadal had his chances in the final set. At 1-1, 15-40, he held two break points, but pushed a return long, then missed a forehand wide. At 2-2, 15-40, Nadal sent a return long, then Federer produced a 127 mph service winner.

“It was a tough moment to be in,” Federer said. “I was nervous.”

Those dangers averted, ahead 3-2 in the fifth, Federer grabbed hold of the match, getting to love-40 on Nadal’s serve. Finally, more than three full sets after the last time he had broken, Federer came through, ending a 14-stroke exchange with a forehand winner that kicked up a cloud of chalk.

Federer hit three aces in the next game to hold, then broke Nadal again. When he converted his second match point with an overhead winner, Federer dropped to his knees — the way Borg used to celebrate.

Waiting for the trophy ceremony, Nadal slumped forward in his chair, hanging his head.

“Losing in the fifth set,” Nadal said later. “It’s not easy, no?”

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