Died
Of injuries suffered in a fall while training for a snowboardcross World Cup
race in Lake Placid, N.Y., Jonatan Johansson (above). The 26-year-old Swede
finished 12th in the event--in which four snowboarders race downhill
simultaneously--at the Olympics in Turin. Johansson was alone on the course on
Whiteface Mountain, and wearing a helmet, when he fell on Sunday morning. An
autopsy was scheduled for Monday, and the cause of death was expected to be
announced this week. The World Cup event was canceled after his accident.
Died
At age 43, Doug Hamilton, the general manager and president of the Los Angeles
Galaxy. Hamilton was traveling with the MLS team--which had just lost a
CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal in Costa Rica--when he suffered a heart
attack. A team doctor attempted to resuscitate him as the pilots returned the
plane to Costa Rica, but he could not be revived.
Graduated
From the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot, former Steelers and Rams
defensive lineman Jeremy Staat. At Arizona State, Staat, 29, was a teammate and
roommate of Pat Tillman, the Army Ranger and former Arizona Cardinals safety
who was killed in Afghanistan in 2004. Staat, who played for the Steelers from
1998 to 2000 and for the Rams in 2003, said he wanted to enlist in the military
after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, as Tillman did, but Tillman
advised him to play pro football until he qualified for retirement benefits.
Staat said Tillman's death gave him "more motivation" to enlist: "I
should have been there for him."
Finished
Thirteenth in the first Formula One race of the year, Scott Speed, the first
American to drive in the series since 1993. The 23-year-old from Manteca,
Calif., finished one lap down in the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was won by
defending F/1 champ Fernando Alonso.
Sentenced
To eight years in a French prison, Christophe Fauviau, who admitted drugging
his children's tennis opponents, a practice that led to the death of a
25-year-old player. Fauviau, 46, a former French military pilot, spiked more
than 25 water bottles with Temesta, a drug that can cause drowsiness. In 2003
Fauviau's son, Maxime, defeated Alexandre Lagardere, who died in a car accident
after the match; police believe he fell asleep at the wheel. Traces of Temesta
were found in his system. (Fauviau also has a 16-year-old daughter, Valentine,
who is a rising star in French tennis.) "Not for one second did I think of
hurting people," Fauviau said. "I realize now that I did."
Retired
After 24 seasons as coach at Temple, John Chaney (above). A two-time national
coach of the year, Chaney, 74, was college basketball's Dr. Jekyll. On one
hand, he led the Owls to 17 NCAA tournament appearances and was revered as a
father figure by his players. On the other, during games he could seem barely
in control, stomping the sidelines with tie loosened, mouth foaming and eyes
bulging. His temper could get the best of him: In 1994 he threatened to kill
UMass coach John Calipari during a press conference, and last season he sent a
player into a game to rough up St. Joseph's forward John Bryant. ( Bryant ended
up with a broken arm after a hard foul.) "It has never been a job for me,
but a passion," said Chaney.
Placed
On three years' probation by the NCAA, the Ohio State basketball program, for
player benefits violations under former coach Jim O'Brien. The Buckeyes avoided
the harshest sanctions--they face no postseason ban and will not lose
scholarships--but the NCAA came down hard on O'Brien, who was fired in 2004
after seven seasons after instructing an assistant to give $6,000 in cash to
the family of a recruit. If O'Brien gets another college job before March 2011,
he and his new school must appear before the NCAA infractions committee to
discuss whether he faces further sanctions.
Unveiled
By the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League, a ballpark delicacy that
brings together the sweet and the savory (and perhaps someday your dentist and
your cardiologist): a bacon cheeseburger served on a Krispy Kreme bun (right).
Called Baseball's Best Burger, the doughnut-beef treat will be available at GMC
Stadium in Sauget, Ill., for $4.50 (angioplasty not included). Season-ticket
holders were given a sneak preview. Says team media relations director Jeff
O'Neill, "The consensus was, It sounds so bad, but it works."
Named
After Don King, a street adjacent to Atlantic City boxing venue Boardwalk Hall.
On Monday, Atlantic City mayor Robert Levy and other local dignitaries unveiled
Don King Plaza in honor of the promoter's "tireless commitment to establish
Atlantic City as one of the great resort destinations of the world since
1980." King has promoted hundreds of fights in Atlantic City but in 2004
was banned by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission from working with any
casino in the state because he was an unindicted co-conspirator in a bribery
case against former IBF president Robert W. Lee, who was sentenced to a
22-month jail term.
Renamed
As Red Bull New York, the MLS squad formerly known as the New York/New Jersey
MetroStars. The team was sold by AEG, the entertainment conglomerate that still
owns four of the 12 MLS teams, to energy drink maker Red Bull--which also
operates a soccer team in the Austrian league, owns a two-car Formula One
operation and is planning on entering NASCAR. The sale price was not disclosed,
but team president Alexi Lalas said it exceeded the MLS record of $26 million
paid for the Los Angeles Galaxy in 1998. "We are associating ourselves with
a world-renowned brand that is synonymous with creative, innovative and unique
marketing," Lalas told SI.com. "We are going to blow people's
minds."