Dennis Shaw

Dennis Wendell Shaw (born March 3, 1947) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and the Kansas City Chiefs.
College career.
Shaw played college football for the San Diego State University Aztecs. While playing for the Aztecs he set an NCAA record by throwing nine touchdown passes in a 70-10 win against New Mexico State University on November 15, 1969. In that same season he set a single season school record for touchdown passes (39) and passes intercepted (26), the latter statistic led the NCAA for that season. He transferred from the University of Southern California and also played prior to that at Mount San Antonio Junior College.
Professional career.
Shaw was drafted in the second round by the Buffalo Bills in the 1970 draft. He was the third quarterback on the roster for the team next to Dan Darragh and James Harris. In the first game of the season, he stepped in for Darragh, going 4-for-7 for 52 yards in the 25-10 loss to the Denver Broncos. In the second game, he took over for an ineffective Darragh and went 13-of-18 for 143 yards, although he threw two interceptions in the 19-0 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He was named the starter for the following game against the New York Jets. He went 12-of-21 for 317 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the 34-31 win, with Shaw's pass to Marlin Briscoe delivering the victory. It was one of only three games where he would throw two touchdowns along with one of only two games with over 300 yards passing. He threw for 10 touchdowns and 20 interceptions on the year, throwing an interception in all but one of the games he started while passing for 2,507 yards and a 65.3 passing rating, with the Bills going 3-10-1 on the season after going 0-6-1 to close the year out. Despite a dismal season, he was sixth in yards, 16th in touchdowns, 7th in completion percentage along with 2nd in interceptions. He was plagued by fumbles, for which he had 10 of in the season along with being sacked 41 times. Shaw was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press in 1970, becoming the first quarterback to ever receive the award (started in 1967).
Shaw started the year off with a 18-of-30 day for 353 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions in a 49-37 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The rest of the year was dismal, as the Bills went 1–13 with minimal scoring. Shaw threw for 1,813 yards in 12 starts and 13 appearances, having 11 touchdowns and 26 interceptions (a league high) with a 51.2 completion percentage. For the following year, his fortunes improved slightly with the team. He started 13 of the 14 games in the 4-9-1 campaign, throwing for 1,666 yards while having 14 touchdowns and 17 interceptions for a 52.7 completion percentage. The 1973 season was his last with the team. They drafted Joe Ferguson prior to the season beginning, leading to a quarterback competition that Ferguson won. Shaw did not start any games that saw the Bills rise to 9–5 through a rushing attack from established back O.J. Simpson. Shaw had appearances in four games, throwing a total of 22-of-46 for 300 yards for four interceptions. In his career as a Bills starter, he went 8-27-2. Shaw was traded to the Cardinals for Ahmad Rashād, reuniting Shaw with his college coach, Don Coryell. Between playing football, he did jobs such as insurance sales, business consultancy and carpet franchise supervision. He served as back-up on three teams until 1978. He served as assistant coach for Eastern Illinois in 1980, Chula Vista High School in 1981, Western Illinois in 1983 before being assistant coach/player with the Chicago Blitz of the United States Football League in 1984, although no job was longer than a year, owing to his desire to keep his family of four children in the area of San Diego. He applied to be coach at San Diego State in 1980, but he was denied, although he did call games on KSDO for the team in 1986 for a year. He was to be offensive coordinator of the San Diego Thunder of the World Indoor Football League in 1988, but the league folded before playing a down.


Murray Halberg

Sir Murray Gordon Halberg (born 7 July 1933) is a New Zealand former middle-distance runner who won the gold medal in the 5000 metres event at the 1960 Olympics. He also won gold medals in the 3 miles events at the 1958 and 1962 Commonwealth Games. He has worked for the welfare of children with disabilities since he founded the Halberg Trust in 1963.
Biography.
Born in Eketāhuna, Halberg later moved to Auckland, where he attended Avondale College. He was a rugby player in his youth, but suffered a severe injury during a game, leaving his left arm withered. The next year, he took up running, seemingly being only more motivated by his disability. In 1951, he met Arthur Lydiard, who became his coach. Lydiard had been a famous long-distance runner, and had new ideas on the training of athletes. Three years later, Halberg broke through, winning his first national title on the senior level.
At the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games he placed fifth in the mile. At the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, he placed eleventh in the 1500 metres. Halberg became the first sub four-minute miler from New Zealand, and won the gold medal in the three miles at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. He became New Zealand Sportsman of the Year for 1958.
For the 1960 Rome Olympics, Halberg focused on the longer distances, entering in the 5000 and 10000 m. Halberg won the 5000 m gold, on the same day countryman Peter Snell was victorious in the 800 m. Halberg later placed fifth in the 10,000 m.
The following year, Halberg set four world records in events over imperial distances. After carrying the flag at the opening ceremonies, Halberg successfully defended his three-mile title at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. He closed out his running career at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, finishing seventh in the 10,000 m.
In the 1961 New Year Honours, Halberg was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to athletics. In the 1988 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Knight Bachelor, for services to sport and crippled children. In the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours, Halberg was appointed to the Order of New Zealand. The following month he became only the fourth person to be awarded the Blake Medal, named after fellow countryman Sir Peter Blake, for his more than 50 years' service to athletics, and to children with disabilities. In 1963 he set up The Halberg Trust, which supports children with disabilities to be active in sport, creation and leisure. The organization rebranded in 2012 to become the Halberg Disability Sport Foundation. For many years the organization has managed the New Zealand Sportsman of the Year Award, which is now called the Halberg Awards.
Halberg House of Hutt International Boys' School is named after Sir Murray Halberg, and students in the house earn what are called "meter points" which relates to Sir Murray Halberg and his running career. Tauranga Boys' College also named a house after Sir Murray Halberg. Halberg Crescent, in the Hamilton suburb of Chartwell, is named in Halberg's honour.


Rookie of the Month Award

Rookie of the Month Award may refer to:


Olga Korbut

Olga Valentinovna Korbut (born 16 May 1955) is a former gymnast who competed for the Soviet Union. Nicknamed the "Sparrow from Minsk", she won four gold medals and two silver medals at the Summer Olympic Games, in which she competed in 1972 and 1976 for the Soviet team, and was the inaugural inductee to the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1988.
While Korbut retired from gymnastics in 1977 at the age of 22, which was considered young for gymnasts of the period, Korbut's influence and legacy in gymnastics was far reaching. Korbut's 1972 Olympic performances are widely credited as redefining gymnastics, changing the sport from emphasising ballet and elegance to acrobatics as well as changing popular opinion of gymnastics from a niche sport to one of the most popular sports in the world.
Early life.
Korbut was born in Grodno to Valentin and Valentina Korbut. After World War II, the family moved to Grodno from Dubniaki (small town near Kalinkavichy). She started training at age 8, and entered a Belarusian sports school headed by coach Renald Knysh at age 9. There, Korbut's first trainer was Elena Volchetskaya, an Olympic gold medalist (1964), but she was moved to Knysh's group a year later. Initially he found her "lazy and capricious" but he also saw potential in her great talent, unusually supple spine, and charisma. With him, she learned a difficult backward somersault on the balance beam. She debuted this at a competition in the USSR in 1969. The same year, Korbut completed a backflip-to-catch on the uneven bars; this was the first backward release move ever performed by a woman on bars.
She finished fifth at her first competition in the 1969 USSR championships, where she was allowed to compete as a 15-year-old. The next year, she won a gold medal in the vault. Due to illness and injury, she was unable to compete in many of the competitions before the 1972 Summer Olympics.
Olympics.
At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Korbut's acrobatics and open high-level gymnastics brought her much fame. To this day, the back tuck and Korbut Flip are still very popular (2003 world beam champion Fan Ye performed both in her routine).
During the Olympics, Korbut was one of the favorites for the all-around after her dynamic performance in the team competition; however, she missed her mount on bars three times and the title went to teammate Ludmilla Tourischeva. That said, Korbut won three gold medals for the balance beam, floor exercise, and team competitions. In one of the most controversial finishes of all time, she took a silver medal in the uneven bars. Korbut's first attempt at her uneven bars routine was marred by several mistakes which all but ended her chances of winning a gold medal in the all-around. The next day, Korbut repeated the same routine in the event finals, although this time successfully. After the boards displayed a score of 9.8, the audience began to whistle and shout vulgar remarks at the judges in disapproval, believing her score to be too low. This carried on for several minutes but the judges refused to change her score.
Korbut is most famous for her uneven bars and balance beam routines, as well as her charismatic performances that captivated audiences. Her Olympic achievement earned her ABC's Wide World of Sports title of Athlete of the Year. In 1973, she won the Russian and World Student (i.e., University) Games, and a silver medal in the all-around at the European Championships.
At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Soviet coaches and officials had designated Korbut as the woman who could beat the Romanian prodigy, Nadia Comăneci, but Korbut was injured and her performances in the games were sub-par. She was overshadowed not only by Comăneci, but also by her own teammate Nellie Kim. She did collect a team gold medal, and an individual silver medal for the balance beam.
Retirement and life after the Olympics.
Korbut graduated from the Grodno Pedagogical Institute in 1977, became a teacher, and retired from gymnastic competition thereafter. She married Leonid Bortkevich, who was a member of Belarusian folk band Pesniary. The couple had a son, Richard, born in 1979. In 1988 Korbut was the first gymnast to be inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
In 1991, she and her family emigrated to the United States, because they were worried about the effects of fallout from the Chernobyl disaster on Belarus. They settled in New Jersey, where she taught gymnastics. They moved to Georgia two years later where she continued to coach. Korbut and Bortkevich divorced in 2000; she became a naturalized U.S. citizen the same year. In 2002 Korbut moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, to become head coach at Scottsdale Gymnastics and Cheerleading. Korbut faced Darva Conger on an episode of "Celebrity Boxing" which aired on 22 May 2002. Conger won by unanimous decision. Korbut lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. She now works with private gymnastics pupils and does motivational speaking.
Korbut traveled to London for the 2012 Summer Olympics. She watched the gymnastics competitions in the North Greenwich Arena, providing commentary by way of Twitter and Facebook. During the Olympics the Royal Opera House hosted an exhibit it created with the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, titled "The Olympic Journey, The Story of the Games". As well as historical artifacts, the exhibit featured the personal stories of 16 Olympic medalists, including Korbut. Korbut celebrated the 40th anniversary of her Olympic victories with an appearance at the exhibition on 3 August. She said "I didn't even expect this. I am so honored to be here."
In 2017, Korbut sold her 1972 and 1976 Olympic medals amongst thirty-two lots (including two golds and a silver from the Munich Olympics) which fetched $333,500 at Heritage Auctions.
In 1999 she spoke out about alleged sexual assault and rape she suffered at the hands of her coach, Renald Knysh, which he denied. Later in 2018 Korbut appeared in a TV show in which she again spoke out about several incidents in which she alleged that her coach sexually assaulted her. As a result of Korbut speaking out publicly, several other gymnasts who had also trained under Knysh spoke of similar incidents corroborating Korbut's allegations.
Legacy.
Korbut, who has won four Olympic gold medals, is best known for her move, the "Korbut flip", a backflip performed on the uneven parallel bars, starting from a standing position on the high bar and then catching the same bar from below on the under swing. She also achieved the flip on the 4" balance bar onto the straddle position and later the flip landing on her feet. Named after Korbut since she was the first to perform the skill at an international competition in 1972, the move has since been made illegal in the Olympic Code of Points. After the 1972 Olympic competition, she also met United States President Richard Nixon at the White House. About the meeting, Korbut said: "He told me that my performance in Munich did more for reducing the political tension during the Cold War between our two countries than the embassies were able to do in five years." In addition to greatly publicizing gymnastics worldwide, she also contributed to a marked change in the tenor of the sport itself. Prior to 1972, the athletes were generally older and the focus was on elegance rather than acrobatics. In the decade after Korbut's Olympic debut, the emphasis was reversed. Korbut, in her 1972, gold-medal Olympics, at and , exemplified the deliberate and purposeful trend toward smaller women in the sport.
In popular culture.
In a "Peanuts" comic strip published on 15 May 1973, the character Snoopy is seen doing balance beam positions with flawless precision on top of his doghouse for three panels until coming to a rest in the fourth one saying: "Olga Korbut has been bugging me for lessons!"


Valiyaveetil Diju

Valiyaveetil Diju (born 4 January 1981), also known as V. Diju, is an Indian badminton player from Kozhikode, Kerala. He clinched six National Championships title, once in the men's doubles and five times in the mixed doubles. He represented India in the 2012 London Olympics, became the first Indian player to participate at the Olympics in the mixed doubles alongside Jwala Gutta. He is the winner of Arjuna Award 2014, given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, government of India to recognize his outstanding achievement in National sports. He is also the winner of G. V. Raja awards, which is the highest government-level recognition for sports persons in Kerala. He is winner of Jimmy George award 2014. He is also winner of Vivekanandha sports excellence award 2014. He won the Youth excellence award also in 2014.He is the only mixed doubles player from India to reach top 10 in the world badminton ranking(BWF) .His highest ranking is number 6th in world ranking.
Career.
Diju started his International career by representing India for Asian junior badminton championship held at Hong Kong in 1997. In 2002, he and Sanave Thomas won the men's doubles title at the Indian National Championships by defeating Jaseel P. Ismail and Jaison Xavier in four games. He won the 2008 Bitburger Open in Germany along with Jwala Gutta. It was India's first mixed-doubles Grand Prix win. Diju is a five-time National mixed-doubles champion. In 2006, he won the mixed team bronze medal in Commonwealth Games at Melbourne. Diju-Gutta pair was runner-up at Indian Open held at Hyderabad in 2009. They lost to Indonesian Flandy Limpele and Vita Marissa in the final.
In August 2009, the Diju-Gutta mixed doubles pair became the first Indians to enter the quarterfinals of World Championship. The Championships was held at Hyderabad, India. The duo, seeded 8th, got a bye in the first round followed by a walkover in the second. In the third round they defeated 12th seed polish pair of Robert Mateusiak and Nadiezda Kostiuczyk 21–11, 22–20 in a 31-minute clash. In the quarter-final they went down to defending champions and second seeds Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir of Indonesia. The Indian pair was beaten 16–21, 14–21 in 27 minutes.
On 30 August 2009, Diju partnering Jwala Gutta became the first Indian badminton mixed doubles pair to win a Grand Prix Gold title. They defeated Indonesia's Hendra Aprida Gunawan and Vita Marissa 24–22, 21–18 in the Chinese Taipei Open final. In the quarter-final, the world No. 7 pair and third seed in the tournament, defeated South Korean pair Shin Baek-cheol and Yoo Hyun-Young and in the semi-final Diju and Gutta prevailed over Malaysians Goh Liu Ying and Chan Peng Soon 21–11, 17–21, 24–22.
In December 2009, Diju and his doubles partner Gutta reached the World Superseries Masters final in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. They beat Robert Mateusiak and Nadieżda Kostiuczyk of Poland in straight-games 21–19, 21–11. In the final the Indian pair went down to World Championship bronze medalists Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen 14–21, 18–21.
In 2010, Diju won the silver medal in Commonwealth Games in the mixed team event. He participated at the Asian Games in Guangzhou. Diju and Gutta pair reached the quarter-finals of the World Championships for the second consecutive year beaten by Koreans Ko Sung-hyun and Ha Jung-eun 21–16, 21–19 having beaten the English pair of Chris Adcock and Gabrielle White and Malaysians Goh Liu Ying and Chan Peng Soon in straight games and overcoming Chayut Triyachart and Yao Lei from Singapore in the pre-quarters in three games. The pair also won the 2010 India Open Grand Prix Gold for their second Grand Prix Gold title beating Triyachart and Lei in three games.
In 2011, Diju and Gutta reached the quarter-finals or better at three tournaments including two Super Series Premieres events at Denmark Open and China Masters where they reached the semi-finals, their first since 2009. They beat second seeded Chinese pair of Tao Jiaming and Tian Qing in the first round 5–21, 21–14, 21–18.
Diju started his Olympic campaign pairing Jwala Gutta in mixed doubles. However they lost their opening match 16–21, 12–21 in just 25 minutes at the Wembley Arena in London.
Government of Kerala announced him as the recipient of G.V. Raja awards for 2012–13.
Personal life.
Diju was born at Ramanattukara, in the Calicut district to Karunakaran and Lalitha on 4 January 1981. He did his schooling in Govt. Model Boys School, Thrissur. He completed his graduation from Farook College, Calicut. Diju is currently working as Chief Manager in ONGC, Chennai. He is married to Dr. Soumya on 16 September 2012. Diju and Soumya have a son Ivaan, who born 16 February 2017. Diju has an elder brother Dinu.


Cochrane Cup

The Cochrane Cup has been competed for since 1961 by the Men's Varsity Eight rowing teams of Dartmouth College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Wisconsin.
The cup was placed in competition by Mrs. Edward Cochrane in 1961 for heavyweight races among Dartmouth, MIT and Wisconsin. The cup is named after Admiral Edward L. Cochrane, former president of M.I.T., and director of the Navy’s Bureau of Ships. After one race of one mile (1961), one of 1.75 miles (1962) and another of two miles (1963), the cup has been raced on a 2000-meter course ever since.
The cup is named after Adm. Edward L. Cochrane of the Navy's Bureau of Ships who is a former president of MIT.


Park Chul-soon

Park Chul-soon (Hangul: 박철순, Hanja: 朴哲淳; also spelled Cheol Sun Park, Bak Cheol-sun; born March 12, 1956) is a former South Korean pitcher in the KBO League who played for the OB Bears. Park batted and threw right-handed. He was the second South Korean player to sign with a Major League team and play in the minor leagues after Lee Won-Kuk.
Amateur career.
Park attended Daeseong High School in Daejeon and Baemyung High School in Seoul. After high school Park went on to pitch for Yonsei University, where in 1979 he excelled in a Korean-American university baseball championship, which led to him being signed to a contract by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Professional career.
Minor League Baseball.
Coming to the United States in 1980, Park pitched for the Class-A Stockton Ports and then the Double-A El Paso Diablos. During his two years in the Minor Leagues, Park finished 11-12 with a 4.30 earned run average.
KBO League.
Returning to South Korea, Park joined the OB Bears of the newly formed Korea Baseball Organization. He quickly established himself as the best pitcher in the league, at one point winning an all-time record 22 games in a row, and finishing the season with 24 wins, a 1.84 ERA, and 108 strikeouts. He won the inaugural KBO League Most Valuable Player Award as well as the Pitching Triple Crown.
Injuries, however, sidelined Park for most of 1983 and all of 1984. Returning to the league in 1985, he earned the nickname "Phoenix," but never pitched more than 116-⅔ innings in another season. Converted to a reliever, but still injury-plagued, he eventually pitched 13 seasons in all for the Bears. In August of 1994, at age 38, he set a KBO record for being the oldest pitcher to throw a shutout when he beat the Taepyeongyang Dolphins. (The record was late broken by Song Jin-woo.)
Park retired after the 1996 season to become the Bears' pitching coach, where he remained until 1998.
Park Chul-Soon's number 21 was retired by the Doosan Bears in 2002.


Sportske novosti awards

"Sportske novosti" awards () refer to annual sports awards given by "Sportske novosti", a Zagreb-based Croatian daily sports newspaper. The awards originated in the 1950s and went on to become one of the most prestigious Croatian awards in sports. The winners are decided by polling sports journalists.
History.
"Sportske novosti" was founded in 1945 and it first began awarding the "Yugoslav Sportsman of the Year" and "Yugoslav Sportswoman of the Year" awards in 1950 for greatest achievements in Yugoslav sports. The award, one of several Yugoslav national-level sporting awards, was given every year between 1950 and 1990, when it was discontinued due to the breakup of Yugoslavia.
In 1952, the newspaper had launched a parallel award for Croatian athletes which honored best sporting achievements by sportsmen and sportswomen hailing from SR Croatia (1952–90) and later independent Croatia (1990–present). Winners of both the defunct Yugoslav awards and the present-day Croatian awards are selected through a poll of sports journalists from around the country who are members of the Croatian Association of Sports Journalists ("Hrvatski zbor sportskih novinara"), which was itself established in 1949. Award winners in both categories are collectively referred to as the "Golden Roll" ("Zlatna lista").
The current award is considered one of the most prestigious Croatian national sporting awards, along with the annual awards handed out by the Croatian Olympic Committee. In 1990 the categories for Men's Sports Team of the Year ("Momčad godine") and Women's Sports Team of the Year ("Ekipa godine") for notable achievements in team sports were introduced.
Athlete of the Year.
Croatian competition (1952–present).
Sportswoman of the Year.
This table lists the total number of awards for individual sportsmen and sportswomen by recipients' sporting profession.


Kamineni Eswara Rao

Kamineni Eswara Rao (26 August 1918 – 7 November 2007) was an Indian weightlifter. He competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics and the 1956 Summer Olympics.


John Brockington

John Stanley Brockington (born September 7, 1948) is a former American football player, a running back
in the National Football League (NFL) with the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs. He was a first round draft choice out of Ohio State University, and was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in .
College career.
Born and raised in Brooklyn in New York City, Brockington played halfback and fullback for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 1968 to 1970. He was one of the so-called Super Sophomores who led the Buckeyes to an undefeated season and a consensus national championship in 1968. Brockington and the other Super Sophomores finished their college careers with a record
Brockington played left halfback in 1968 and 1969, used primarily as a blocker for fullback Jim Otis and quarterback In 1970, Brockington moved to the fullback position and was the featured running back in head coach Woody Hayes' offense. Brockington finished his senior season with 1,142 rushing yards, which was at the time an Ohio State single-season record; he also scored 17 rushing touchdowns that season.
Brockington was selected onto the Buckeyes' All-Century Team in 2000, and was elected into the Varsity O Hall of Fame in 2002.
Professional career.
Brockington was the ninth overall selection in the 1971 NFL Draft, after Jim Plunkett, Dan Pastorini, Archie Manning, and John Riggins, and ahead of Jack Tatum, Jack Youngblood, Jack Ham and Dan Dierdorf. Brockington became the first NFL player to ever rush for 1,000 or more yards in each of his first three seasons. In his rookie year of 1971 with the Green Bay Packers, Brockington was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press, rushing for 1,105 yards and a 5.1 YPC in 14 games. Brockington was named All-Pro in , 2nd Team All-Pro in and All-NFC in . Brockington was also selected to three consecutive Pro Bowls (1971–1973).
His first running mate in the Green Bay backfield was sixth-year halfback Donny Anderson, another Packer first round draft choice, who was traded the following offseason to the St. Louis Cardinals for running back MacArthur Lane. Together, Brockington and Lane formed a dynamic running duo in the backfield, carrying the Packers offense between 1972 and 1974. The Packers won the NFC Central division in 1972 for their first playoff berth in five years.
With a running style based on his great strength, Brockington epitomized the power running back – a player who preferred to break tackles and run over defenders rather than run away from them. He was one of the first running backs to combine brute force with speed.
Brockington's success was short-lived; after eclipsing 1,000 yards rushing during each of his first three seasons, he ran for 883 yards in 1974 (with a career-high 43 receptions for 314 yards), but dipped to only 434 yards rushing on 3.0 YPC in 1975 under new head coach Bart Starr. This was the result of typical wear-and-tear, the trade of Lane in July 1975 and changes in the Packers' playbook that did not take advantage of Brockington's abilities. In 1976, he had 406 yards rushing with 3.5 YPC.
After the first game of the 1977 season, Brockington was released by the Signed by the struggling Kansas City Chiefs three weeks he appeared in ten games for them and retired following the season.
John Brockington Foundation.
Established in 2002 after receiving a kidney transplant from his future wife Diane Scott, Brockington created the John Brockington Foundation to aid others impacted by kidney disease. They provide free screenings and educational material to those who require it, and also provide food vouchers for people on dialysis. Kidney drives also aid those seeking new kidneys.


Gil Dodds

Gilbert Lothair Dodds (June 23, 1918 – February 3, 1977), called "The Flying Parson", was an American middle-distance runner. In the 1940s, he held the American and world records for the mile run. He was awarded the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States in 1943.
Biography.
Gilbert Lothair Dodds was born in Norcatur, Kansas, one of five children and the son of Rev. and Mrs. J. G. Dodds. His minister father was half English and half Irish; his mother was of German ancestry.
The family moved to Falls City, Nebraska when Rev. Dodds became the minister at Falls City Brethren Church. Gil Dodds attended Falls City High School, where he became a distance runner, coached by Lloyd Hahn, a runner in the 1924 Summer Olympics who lived nearby. Dodds never lost a race in high school. In 1935, he entered two events at a track meet in Peru, Nebraska and won both, setting state records in the mile (4:49.6) and half-mile (2:09.5), breaking the old records by 13.4 and 4.5 seconds, respectively. He was the state champion in the mile race in 1935, 1936 and 1937 and held the state record at 4:28.1 when he graduated in 1937. As a junior in high school, he developed a hernia while playing tennis; for the rest of his running career, he wore a truss while running to protect himself.
He attended Ashland College (A.B., 1941), Gordon Divinity School (B.Div., 1945) and Wheaton College (M.A., 1948) and had a winning steak of 39 races. On November 25, 1940, Dodds took his first national championship when he won the NCAA Men's Cross Country Championship in East Lansing, Michigan. Dodds was the AAU indoor mile champion in 1942, 1944, and 1947. Outdoors he set the American mile record of 4:06.5 in 1943 in Boston, finishing second to Sweden's Gunder Hägg.
On March 11, 1944, Dodds broke the world indoor record for the mile run at the annual Knights of Columbus track meet in Madison Square Garden, New York City. His time of 4:07.2 broke the old record by 0.1 second, which was jointly held by Glenn Cunningham, Charles Fenske and Leslie MacMitchell. One week later, Dodds lowered his own world indoor mile record to 4:06.4 at Chicago Stadium on March 18, 1944.
Known as "The Flying Parson", he graduated from seminary in 1945 and retired from running to be a full-time minister.
In 1947, he resumed running with the goal of making the
1948 Olympic team. In January 1948, he won his third Wanamaker Mile in 4:05.3, a career best time and the third time he had broken the world indoor record for the mile. One week before the Olympic Trials, he caught the mumps and injured his Achilles tendon and could not run the qualifying meet. He went on to work with the new "Youth for Christ" youth organization and became the track and cross country coach at Wheaton College (1945–1959).
In 1954, he received an additional M.A. degree in Education from Northwestern University.
Ministry.
As part of his ministry, Dodds used a personal story to explain the Scripture verse Hebrews 12:1, "... let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress, and run with endurance the race that lies before us."
“Runner Gil Dodds was once preparing for a race. After a series of stretching exercises, Dodd ran several warm-up laps around the track. Just before the race began, he quickly changed into some other track shoes.
One of the onlookers asked why he was changing shoes. Dodds tossed to the inquirer one of his warm-up shoes. Then one of his racing shoes. The man was still puzzled. There was no detectable difference in the two shoes. Both looked the same. Both seemed to weigh the same. Then Dodds explained. There indeed was a difference. The warm-up shoes were slightly heavier than his racing shoes. Though only a small difference, saving even that much weight for the race could spell the difference between victory and defeat.”
Personal life.
Dodds married Erma Louise Seeger, whom he met at Falls City High School. They had four children; Jack, Michael, Jann, and Joel.
Awards and honors.
Dodds was awarded the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States in 1943. He was inducted into the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.


Sardara Singh

Sardara Singh (born 15 July 1986) sometimes referred as Sardar Singh, is an Indian former professional field hockey player and captain of the Indian national team. He usually plays the center half position. Sardara became the youngest player to captain the Indian team when he led the side at the 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, in 2015.
On 13 July 2016, the responsibilities of the captain were handed over from him to P. R. Shreejesh, the goalkeeper of Indian Team. On 12 September 2018, Sardara announced his retirement from international hockey. He played 314 matches during 12 years in his career.
Early life.
Sardara was born in Haryana's village Sant Nagar in Sirsa District to Gurnam Singh, a RMP doctor and Jasveer Kaur, a housewife.
Career.
Sardara Singh made his debut for India in the junior team during India's 2003–04 tour of Poland. He made his senior debut against Pakistan in 2006. He also plays for his state of Haryana. He is a Deputy Superintendent Police Officer with the Haryana Police and plays for their team. Singh played for Chandigarh Dynamos in the inaugural season of the Premier Hockey League in 2005. He played for Hyderabad Sultans in the next three seasons till 2008, captaining the side.
His brother Didar Singh, a drag flick specialist also played for the Indian team, Haryana and Chandigarh Dynamos.
In 2010, he was included in the 18-men FIH All-Star team. In the same year, Singh was signed by the Belgian club, KHC Leuven to play in the Belgian Hockey League. In 2011, he was again named on the FIH All-Star team. Following Singh's impressive showing at the 2013 Asia Cup, he was signed by the Dutch club, HC Bloemendaal as a replacement to Teun de Nooijer.
On 13 July 2016, the responsibilities of the captain were handed over from him to P. R. Shreejesh, the goalkeeper of Indian Team. He has captained Indian team for 8 years.
He quit the sport in September 2018. In 2019, he was included in a 13-member Hockey India selection committee.
Hockey India League.
Sardar Singh became the highest-paid marquee player at the inaugural Hockey India League auctions as the Delhi franchise bought him for US$78,000 (4249,000). The Delhi team was named Delhi Waveriders. He captained his side to finish on second place in its inaugural season and was awarded the 'Player of the Tournament.' He was honoured with Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
Punjabi Music Industry.
Sardar Singh is making his first Punjabi Music Industry debut by featuring in song ‘Gallan Karraiyan’ by veteran Punjabi singer Hardeep Singh of Shehar Patiale de fame. The song is written by Sukha Wadali and the music is by Jaidev Kumar.


Aparna Kumar

Aparna Kumar is a 2002 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. She was attracted to mountaineering a few years earlier when she was posted at Moradabad, and commanding The 9th Battalion PAC (which guarded the Chinese border before ITBP came into being). She was awarded Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award in 2018 for land adventure by the President of India.
Career and Training.
An interesting turn in the life of Aparna Kumar, IPS began when she was posted as Commandant 9th Bn. P.A.C. Moradabad. The 9th Bn. P.A.C. has had a glorious past in the high attitudes of Uttaranchal manning the sensitive Indo-Tibetan border at Askot, Badrinath and Uttarkashi. In 1992 the charge of these posts was handed over to the ITBP.
The nostalgic riveting months of the foundation course in Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration(LBSNAA) Mussorie in 2002, and the fascination and curiosity towards the various mountaineering equipment, tent and gear at 9th Battalion triggered her to apply to do the one-month Basic Mountaineering Course at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABVIMAS) Manali, Himachal Pradesh in October 2013. She had always maintained a minimum level of fitness, but the foundation course and the trekking experience in the Himalayas left an indelible mark in her heart and mind.
She made her first attempt at climbing Mount Everest in April–May 2014, but due to major avalanche and the biggest disaster (16 sherpas lost their lives) on the Everest, all expeditions were called off by the Nepal Government. Thereafter she attempted to climb Lobuche East peak (6,119 m/20,075 feet) and was able to summit it in April 2013. She found it difficult and strenuous, as she had to survive in temperature of -35 degrees and rare oxygen. In June 2013, she successfully climbed Stok Kangri (approximately 20,182 feet) in Ladakh, thereby becoming the first-ever IPS/ All India Service officer to do it.
She completed her Advance Mountaineering Course at ABVIMAS, Manali in July 2014 with flying colours and became eligible to undertake expeditions. She was adjudged with grade of A plus.
She got the good news of promotion from SSP to DIG on 2 January 2016. Then she scaled the highest peak of Antarctica. She was carrying the flag of India and U.P. Police on the top. She is the first-ever All India service officer (IAS, IPS, IFS) both male and female to achieve such a feat. She has just been promoted as DIG in January and now posted as DIG Technical services in Lucknow.
Mountaineering Conquests.
The brisk pace at which she has done the six of the Seven Summits (climbing the highest peaks of seven continents) is just startling. It is even remarkable that the lady from Bengaluru who is the mother of two, and who never saw snow before coming for foundation course at Lal Bahadur Shashtri Academy of administration in Mussorie in 2002, has been consistently achieving success in climbing these heights which no other person in the esteemed bureaucracy of India has ever done it. Scaling Mount Everest is the ultimate dream of every mountaineer. At 8,848 metres (above 29,000 feet) above sea level, it's the roof of the world. The summit to Everest even involves immense risk to life, as year after year, there has been numerous deaths and loss of limbs due to frostbite.
Africa - Kilimanjaro.
On August 30, 2014 she was successful in climbing Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 m/19,340 feet) in Tanzania, the highest peak in Africa. The 15-day, ten-member expedition was not so difficult, as she was very well prepared. She fondly remembers the breathtaking valley view while climbing, and also the enchanting flat Glacier at the top. She unfurled the flag of India and U.P. Police and became the first ever IPS/ All India Service Officer to scale the height.
Australia - Carstensz Pyramid.
She continued to train and fine tune her Rock climbing skills and improving physical endurance, before her next Expedition. On 7 November 2014 She successfully scaled Carstensz Pyramid (4,884 m/16,024 feet) situated in West Papuan province of Indonesia, the highest peak in Australia and Oceania. It is considered an extremely challenging climb, as it entailed high degree of stamina and technical climbing skills. The way to reach the base camp is via Bali island and more than six hours to one of the remotest places on earth, where you require special permit because of protected tribal area. The vertical and jagged Rocky climb was extremely challenging as it involved test of one's physical strength and mental toughness. She again became the First ever IPS/ All India Service Officer (male or female) to achieve this feat.
South America - Aconcagua.
After a fortnight rest she began her preparation for her next Expedition in South America. Mount Aconcagua in Argentina is the Highest peak outside the continent of Asia. She did a special 15 days high-altitude training in Manali, Himachal Pradesh to acclimatize and fine tune her skills in snow craft. The long flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina is taxing and requires at least two days to recuperate from the Jet lag. Amongst the nine-member expedition team one of the members had to be sent back just below the summit, as his condition due to High altitude Pulmonary Edema(HAPE) began to deteriorate. Luckily for her, there was no such physical problem and her body responded very well. On January 14, 2015 she successfully summitted Mount Aconcagua (6,962 m/22,840 feet) situated in Argentina, the highest peak in South America. The 20 odd days expedition was very tiring as it involved long travel from India and braving height of around 23,000 feet in -35 degrees and lower Oxygen levels. She became the first ever IPS/ All India Service Officer to achieve this feet.
She went for the Mount Everest expedition on 5 April 2015 to Kathmandu. From there she started her Trek to the North side Base camp, China. Unlike the last year attempt at climbing Everest, she had some bigger plans to first scale the Everest from North side and then attempt from the South side in Nepal. No Indian woman has achieved this feat in the same year. The Everest mission had to be called off due to the High intensity Earthquake in Nepal which caused large scale disaster in Nepal and parts of China. The second time unlucky Aparna says that watching Everest everyday (during her climb up to 25,000 feet this year, before the quake hit ) has emboldened her resolve to make it to the top one day. Everest is like a magnet and the more you see the more you get attracted. It's the ultimate mission and dream of every mountaineer to summit the Everest.
Europe - Elbrus.
Keeping her disappointment of Everest aside, she immediately got on to the job of training for her next expedition of conquering the highest peak in Europe. She reached St. Petersburg, Russia on 25 July along with ten other climbing members to scale Mount Elbrus (5642 metres, around 18,510 feet). The climb was begun on 26 July and on 4 August at around 12.30 pm India Time, the team finally reached the summit. She again made history as she became the first ever All India Service officer (IAS, IPS, IFS), male or female, to achieve this feet. She came in communication range on 5 August and shared the good tidings with the family and friends. Successfully Climbing Elbrus strengthened her resolve to summit the other three expeditions: Antarctica (Mount Vinson Massif), Asia (Mount Everest) and North America (Mount Denali) in coming months.
She was proud and elated carrying the Tricolour and the flag of Uttar Pradesh Police at the top, in each of her expeditions. The toil, hard work and every drop of sweat, was worth it. The high-adrenalin moments at the summit were emotional moments as well, as a year in hindsight she never imagined herself chasing summits of some of the highest peaks of the world.
Antarctica - Mount Vinson and South Pole.
She started for the Antarctica expedition on 5 January 2016 from Delhi to Punta Arenas in Chile via Santiago. She was part of the Ten members expedition team, other members were from USA, Canada, South Africa, U.K., Australia, etc. At the Mount Vinson Massif in Antarctica her skills in snow craft and pulling her 30 kg sledge on the ice was put to test in freezing environment of the South pole. The temperature went up to -30 degrees and sometimes touching -40 degrees even, and on top high speed icy wind was about 100–120 km per hour. Another big challenge for her was pulling her own sledge full of luggage, as there are no porters for help. So as you make gradual climb, you pull your sledge which saps your energy.
She reached union glacier in Antarctica from Puenta Arenas in Chile and started her climb. The team was lucky as they could get a window of climb on their first day of reaching the advance base camp. They were expected to summit around 23 January but could do so 5 days earlier. On 17 January at 11 pm India Time and 2 pm local time she summited Mount Vinson Massif (about 17,000 feet), the highest peak in Antarctica. She contacted me from satellite phone from Union glacier on return on 21 January and shared the much awaited news. She was already beyond communication range for nine days. Surviving in the icy winds above 100 km per hour and -40 degree temperature took toll on her, as she lost more than 5 kg of weight and had a mild frostbite. She has gradually recuperated and is back on the field.
She trained very hard in the last four months before the Expedition at KD Singh Babu stadium. Her day would start at 4.30 am in the morning, when she did intense endurance training followed by Weight training at the stadium. "Her focused approach, hard work, sacrifice and consistent commitment has paid of", says her mother who has encouraged her and has been a great help in looking after the kids when Aparna is out on Expeditions. I don't think it would have been possible without mom's selfless contribution. Her children, ten-year-old Spandana and five-year-old Neelkantha are ecstatic and say that "We are Proud of Mom and are happy that now Mom shall be returning home soon with some gifts and souvenir for us".
Asia - Mount Everest.
After two unsuccessful attempts to scale the Everest in 2014 and 2015 due to avalanche and earthquake, respectively, she finally did it in 2016. She successfully scaled the highest peak of the world on May 21, 2016 at 11.02 IST. A satellite phone call from the top about the final summit sent frenzy among all family members and friends. She became the first female IPS officer to achieve this feat. Also she became the first ever All India Service officer (male or female) to scale the highest peaks of six continents out of seven. The expedition to conquer the Everest began on 9 April 2016 and it took more than 45 days of hardship braving low temperatures up to minus 45 degrees and high-speed chilly winds up to 150 km before she could reach the top. She was climbing from the northern (Chinese) side and had four other team members from USA, Belgium and India. She had to undertake acclimatization trips up and down the climb 1 and base camp, before launching herself for the final assault. She lost almost 13.5 kg during the expedition, experienced extreme sun burn and even had marginal frost bites and severe chest congestion.
She unfurled the flag of India and UP Police at the Everest before she began her climb back to climb three and further down. The last stretch of climb to the summit is extremely strenuous, and almost 12 hours of whole night and early morning trek before one reaches the top of Everest. It was special day- Buddh Purnima Day, and she could feel that the blessings of the almighty helped her summit and safe return, despite being extreme exhaustion and fatigue. It's so tiring that the physical endurance is put to its most challenging test and its only the mental toughness and the diehard resolute that helps you reach there. "The Climb was tough but the view from the Top is worth it" - Aparna Kumar after scaling Mount Everest.
A call from satellite phone at 11.15 hours IST to her husband sent waves of celebration and a sigh of relief amongst family, friends and bureaucratic fraternity across the country. Her passion for the task, unbeatable resolve to achieve the difficult, matchless disciplined training helped her achieve this feat in her third attempt. It was an emotional moment for her mother who was in Bengaluru with the kids during their summer vacation. She almost broke down in happiness and rushed to the temple nearby to pay obeisance to the almighty whose blessings helped her daughter fulfill her dream. She set a new benchmark of success defying the logic of age bar for achievement.
North America - Denali, Alaska.
In 2019, she climbed Mount Denali in Alaska and completed her Seven Summits challenge.
Seven Summits and Explorers Grand Slam.
She has now completed the Seven Summits (the highest peaks of the seven continents), she has targeted. She has accomplished what no other officer has. She has proven that women can excel in the hitherto male-dominated arena of extreme adventure sports. She has given many moments of proud and appreciation for her family, and the entire family of bureaucracy from Uttar Pradesh.
With an expedition to the North Pole, Aparna will complete the Explorers Grand Slam, which includes Seven Summits and the Two Poles.
Aparna firmly believes that the blessings of the God and her mother has helped achieve. She credits her senior officers both in the IAS and IPS who encouraged and supported her throughout. The Chief minister of Uttar Pradesh also encouraged her to take up the gigantic mission and also sanctioned financial support for her Mount Everest Expedition. In March 2015 she was awarded with 'Rani Lakshmi Bai Puruskar' by the Honorable Chief Minister Of Uttar Pradesh for her outstanding achievements and being a role model for many women at large. On eve of the Republic Day in 2016, she was conferred the 'DGP Commendation Disc' for her brave effort and outstanding achievement. In March 2016 she was conferred the 'Yash Bharti Samman', the highest civilian award of the state by the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. She was given The Devi award in November 2016 instituted by the Sunday Standard and Indian Express group.


Warren Cromartie

Warren Livingston Cromartie (born September 29, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player best remembered for his early career with the Montreal Expos. He and fellow young outfielders Ellis Valentine and Andre Dawson were the talk of Major League Baseball (MLB) when they came up together with the Expos in the late seventies. Nicknamed "Cro", he was very popular with the fans in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He won the 1989 Nippon Professional Baseball Most Valuable Player Award during his career playing baseball in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants.
Early years.
Cromartie was the only child of Leroy and Marjorie Cromartie. Leroy played quarterback at Florida A&M College, and led his team to Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships in 1944 and 1945. Having also played basketball and baseball in high school, he left FAMC to play semi-pro baseball with the Miami Giants, which led to a brief stint as a second baseman with the Cincinnati/Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro leagues. After that, Leroy returned to FAMC and led the Rattlers to another SIAC championship in 1947 and a national championship in 1950.
Upon graduation from Miami Jackson High School in 1971, Warren Cromartie was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the seventh round of that year's draft, but opted to instead attend Miami Dade College. Following this, he was drafted by three other teams (the Minnesota Twins in the third round of the January secondary draft, the San Diego Padres in the first round of June 1972 secondary draft, and the Oakland Athletics in the January secondary draft) but did not sign with any of the clubs. Finally, when the Expos selected him in the first round of the June 1973 secondary draft, he signed. Cromartie batted .336 with 13 home runs, 61 runs batted in and 30 stolen bases in his first professional season () with the Quebec Carnavals. This performance earned him a September call-up to the major leagues all the way from double A. He went 3-for-17 with three walks during his short stint with the Expos.
He went into Spring training competing for the open right field job, but was sent to "Expoville," the Expos' minor league complex in Daytona Beach, for reassignment to the triple A Memphis Blues in late March. After a disappointing 1975 season in Memphis, he rebounded nicely in to bat .337 for the American Association's Denver Bears, and receive a call up to the Expos in mid-August. He spent the rest of the season pretty much platooning with Ellis Valentine in right field, batting .210 with two RBIs.
Montreal Expos.
The Expos' young outfield.
Both Cromartie and Valentine won starting jobs in Montreal's outfield out of Spring training , with Cromartie shifting to left field. Joining them in the Expos' outfield would be 22-year-old center fielder Andre Dawson. Their youth, speed and talent soon made them the talk of the baseball world. Cromartie hit his first major league home run against the New York Mets' Nino Espinosa on July 2. Usually batting either second or fifth in the Expos' line-up, he spent most of the season with a batting average over .300, but cooled off to .282 with five home runs and 50 RBIs by the end of the season.
Cromartie was considered something of a defensive liability his rookie season, and worked on his defense during the off season. As a result, he led National League left fielders in many defensive categories in . He, Dawson and Valentine each led their respective positions in outfield assists to give the Expos the unquestionable top defensive outfield in the major leagues. With his bat, he got off to a slow start in 1978. He ended April with just a .193 batting average and two RBIs. From there, he batted .307 over the rest of the season to finish just below .300 (.297, which was tops on the team). His first major league grand slam was a walk off against the Atlanta Braves on July 19.
After going 0-for-five in the season opener with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cromartie embarked upon a 19-game hitting streak, the longest of his career. His hot start helped propel the Expos into their first real pennant race in franchise history. The Expos battled the Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the National League East throughout the season, with their lead in the division peaking at 6.5 games on July 2. They would eventually win a franchise-best 95 games but still finished second to the World Series-winning Pirates by two games. For his part, Cromartie batted .275 with eight home runs and a career-best 84 runs scored.
Shift to first base.
Cromartie had played some first base in the minor leagues, and was shifted there for the season after the Expos acquired outfielder Ron LeFlore from the Detroit Tigers at the Winter meetings. He had difficulty fielding his new position, committing a league leading 14 errors at first; however, he had one of his best seasons with his bat. He batted .288, and putting up career highs in home runs (14) and RBIs (70).
Perhaps the most memorable moment of Cromartie's 1980 season was a Fourth of July doubleheader with the New York Mets. He committed two of five errors by the Expos in the sloppily played first game loss (the Mets also committed three). After committing a third error in the second game, he also hit a two-run home run that carried the Expos to a 6–5 victory.
The Expos again found themselves in a pennant race in 1980 despite key injuries to LeFlore, Valentine, Larry Parrish and pitcher Bill Lee, among others (Cromartie was the only player on the team who managed to play a full 162 game schedule). Their season came down to a season ending three game set with the Philadelphia Phillies at Olympic Stadium; the Phillies won two out of three to win the division, and head to the post-season (Cromartie went hitless in eleven at bats).
The Expos were uninterested in re-signing LeFlore for the season, and allowed him to depart via free agency. Rather than shifting Cromartie back to left field, he remained at first with rookie Tim Raines given the starting job in left. When Valentine was dealt to the New York Mets shortly before the players strike, Cromartie shifted to right field with Willie Montañez assuming first base duties. With Montañez producing just a .177 batting average, he was dealt to the Pirates for fellow first baseman John Milner on August 20. Cromartie was eventually shifted back to first base in September with Tim Wallach taking over in right field.
Post season.
As a result of the players strike, the owners decided to split the 1981 season into two halves, with the first-place teams from each half in each division meeting in a best-of-five divisional playoff series (the first time that Major League Baseball used a split-season format since ). Cromartie batted .328 with three home runs, 18 RBIs and 24 runs scored in the second half to help the Expos win the NL East by half a game over the St. Louis Cardinals.
After two consecutive near misses, Cromartie and most of his teammates were reaching the post season for the first time in their careers. Cromartie went two-for-four with an RBI double off Steve Carlton in the opening game of the 1981 National League Division Series to help bring his club to a 3–1 victory over the future Hall of Famer. They defeated the Phillies in five games, but lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a five-game National League Championship Series. Cromartie was in the on-deck circle when the Dodgers recorded the final out of the 1981 National League Championship Series.
Right field.
Just as the season was set to begin, the Expos acquired first baseman Al Oliver from the Texas Rangers for third baseman Larry Parrish and first baseman Dave Hostetler. With this acquisition, Cromartie was shifted to right field. Cromartie was batting just .211 when he belted a walk-off home run off Cardinals closer Bruce Sutter on June 7. From there, he brought his average up to a far more respectable .250 with decent power numbers (10 home runs, 49 RBIs); however, the Expos still elected to acquire right fielder Joel Youngblood from the New York Mets for a player to be named later on August 4.
Youngblood cost Cromartie playing time when he first arrived in Montreal. The .192 batting average he put up in his first month with his new club, however, prompted manager Jim Fanning to give the job back to Cromartie full-time. For the season, Cromartie batted .254 with 62 RBIs and matched his career high with 14 home runs.
Youngblood's tenure with the Expos lasted just one season, as did Fanning's. With the arrival of new manager Bill Virdon in , Cromartie found himself in a battle with Terry Francona, who was coming back from a knee injury, for the right field job the following spring. Cromartie won the job, but still saw limited action in . On July 15, Cromartie tipped a food table in the Expos clubhouse following a 9–3 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Virdon suspended him three games for his temper tantrum. Back problems limited him to nine plate appearances in the Expos' final 26 games.
Yomiuri Giants.
Cromartie became a free agent at the end of the season. After receiving some interest from the San Francisco Giants, he instructed agent Cookie Lazarus to send out feelers in Japan. He ended up signing with the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball on December 28, 1983. At 30 years old, Cromartie became the first, and perhaps the most prominent, American player still in his prime to sign with a Japanese baseball team.
Upon his arrival in Japan, his manager, legendary Japanese slugger Sadaharu Oh, noticed a hitch in Cromartie's swing. He had Cromartie take batting practice with a book under his elbow to correct it. He had ten game-winning RBIs in his first season, and belted over thirty home runs in each of his first three seasons. During Cromartie's second season in Japan, his second son, Cody Oh Cromartie, was born. His middle name is in honor of Sadaharu Oh.
The low point of Cromartie's career in Japan came in June . The Central League suspended Cromartie for seven days and fined him $2143 for inciting a brawl with Masami Miyashita, a Chunichi Dragons pitcher who hit him in the back. The next time the Giants played in Nagoya, over 200 security guards were employed to protect Cromartie from the angry fans.
A broken thumb also limited him to just 49 games in . He appeared to be on his way to being Wally Pipped when his replacement, Ming-Tsu Lu, clubbed four home runs in his first five games. Lu was Taiwanese, and NPB has a "gaijin waku," or a limit of two foreign born players per team. Cromartie's former teammate with the Expos, pitcher Bill Gullickson, was also a member of the Giants. Given the salaries of Cromartie and Gullickson, Lu ended up being the odd man out.
In , Cromartie batted .378 with 15 home runs and 78 RBIs to be named MVP of the Central League, and lead his team to the Japan Series championship. In the deciding game of the series with the Kintetsu Buffaloes, Cromartie doubled in the fourth inning to ignite a three-run rally and homered in the seventh. He originally intended to retire at the end of the season, but his success prompted him to spend one more season with the Giants.
Kansas City Royals.
Cromartie was invited to Spring training with the Kansas City Royals in , and earned a one-year deal at the league minimum to serve as a left-handed bat off the bench. In limited duty, Cromartie batted .313 with one home run and 20 RBIs. He retired during the season with 20 games still remaining on the schedule.
MLB stats.
In seven seasons in Japan, Cromartie batted over.300 five times. All told, he compiled a .321 batting average with 171 home runs and 558 RBIs for the Yomiuri Giants. He led the Giants three times in RBIs, twice in home runs and twice in batting.
Climb.
Cromartie is an accomplished drummer, and has jammed with Canadian rock band Rush. A blueprint for the fictional "Warren Cromartie Secondary School" appears on the back cover of Rush's 1982 release, "Signals", and Cromartie is thanked in the album's liner notes.
While in Japan, Cromartie formed an AOR band called Climb with David Rosenthal of Rainbow. Rush lead singer Geddy Lee appears on the track "Who's Missin' Who" from their 1988 release, "Take A Chance". Mitch Malloy and Foreigner's Lou Gramm also make guest appearances on the album.
Broadcasting.
Right as his only season in Kansas City was set to start, his autobiography (co-written with Robert Whiting) detailing his playing days in Japan, "Slugging It Out in Japan: An American Major-Leaguer in the Tokyo Outfield", hit bookstores.
Cromartie began doing Florida Marlins pre-game shows for WQAM radio in , and remained a broadcaster with the Marlins in one form or another through . He served as the television color commentator for the Montreal Expos in the team's final year of existence (). He currently hosts a radio show on WAXY 790 AM in Miami, Florida. "Talking Hardball with The Cro" currently airs on Saturday during baseball season. He has his own segment on the TSN 690 in Montreal, and regularly airs at 4:00 PM Eastern on weekdays with Mitch Melnick.
In , Cromartie sued the makers of a film based on the manga/anime series "Cromartie High School" in Japanese court. The series does not feature Cromartie himself but does depict students who "smoke, fight with students from other schools and are depicted as ruffians" which he says defames his character as the school shares his name.
Coaching.
The Miami native held his first baseball camp at Miami-Dade Community College's North Campus in . He was the manager of the Japan Samurai Bears, an all-Japanese team in the independent U.S. Golden Baseball League during the league's only season (). Danny Gold and Matthew Asner of Mod 3 Productions filmed a documentary of the club entitled "Season of the Samurai". It aired on the MLB Network in .
He formed the Montreal Baseball Project in to launch a feasibility study into bringing Major League Baseball back to Montreal.
Other ventures.
He, Andre Dawson and Cecil Fielder of the Detroit Tigers (whom Cromartie met while the two played in Japan) teamed up to form "Sports Dent" in . The company produced baseball themed dental hygiene products, including a baseball bat shaped toothbrush, a toothbrush holder that plays "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", a dental floss dispenser shaped like home plate and mock baseball cards to record one's "Runs brushed in."
In , he made his professional wrestling debut at an event called "Hustle Aid" to benefit leukemia research. He and Ryoji Sai took on Tiger Jeet Singh and An Joenosuke in a tag team match at Tokyo's Saitama Arena. As Singh is known for walking around with a sword in his mouth, Cromartie showed up with a baseball bat, and wearing a baseball uniform with the words "Samurai Man" across his chest and the number 49 from his playing days on the back. The match ended with Cromartie pinning An Joenosuke for the victory.


Maxence Parrot

Maxence "Max" Parrot (born June 6, 1994) is a Canadian snowboarder who is a seven-time X Games champion and Olympic silver medalist. He represented Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, winning the silver medal in the latter.
Early life.
Parrot was born and raised near the Bromont ski area in Quebec. He began skiing at age 3 and discovered snowboarding at age 10. His father, Alan Parrot, was an alpine ski racer national hopeful and Canadian waterski champion.
Career.
Max Parrot has made snowboarding history four times. In 2013 he laid down the first Backside Triple Cork ever seen in an X Games Slopestyle event. In 2014, Parrot was the first to land consecutive Triple jumps in a Slopestyle run at the X Games. In April 2015, Parrot performed the very first Cab Quadruple Underflip 1620. In January 2016, he brought the Cab 1800 Triple Cork into competition at X Games in Aspen, earning him his second Big Air gold medal. He competes in slopestyle and represented Canada in this event at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Parrot has won a gold and silver medal each in both slopestyle and the big air events at the Winter X Games.
He competed for Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea where his first competition was in the slopestyle event. Parrot qualified for the final with the highest score, but in the final, he started with difficulty. He fell heavily on his first two of three runs, on his final run he threw down a clean run, scoring 86.00. This was good enough for the silver medal and his teammate Mark McMorris finished in third for the bronze medal. After the run Parrot said that "I hit my head twice, a couple were pretty hard actually. But I'm fine, I'm good. My helmet saved me twice and it made it possible to do my third run and actually land it. It's mission accomplished for me here. I'm really happy."
Personal life.
On January 17, 2019, Parrot announced he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma on December 21, 2018 and that he had started a 6-month course of chemotherapy. In early July 2019, Parrot announced that he had beaten Hodgkin's lymphoma. On August 31, 2 months after his final round of chemotherapy, he won the X Games snowboard big air event in Oslo, Norway.


Beckham rule


WNBA All-Rookie Team

The WNBA All-Rookie Team is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) honor given since the 2005 WNBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the WNBA head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for players on their own team. Each coach selects five players. A player is given a point for every vote they receive. The top vote getters comprise the team, regardless of the positions they play. The All-Rookie Team is generally composed of a five-woman lineup, but in the case of a tie at the fifth position the roster is expanded.
Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks was named to the All-Rookie Team and won the WNBA Most Valuable Player Award in the same season. This feat had never before been accomplished. In the NBA, only Wes Unseld has held this distinction.


Bruce Smith (halfback)

Bruce Phillip Smith (February 8, 1920 – August 28, 1967), nicknamed "Boo", was an American football player best known for winning the Heisman Trophy in 1941.
Smith was born in Faribault, Minnesota, where he excelled in high school football under the coach Win Brockmeyer at Faribault High School. The football field at Faribault High is now named after Smith. He attended the University of Minnesota, playing halfback for the back-to-back national champion Gophers in 1940 and 1941. Smith was captain of the 1941 Minnesota team. He received the Heisman two days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Smith earned first team All-American and All-Big Ten Conference honors in 1941.
During World War II, he served as a United States Navy fighter pilot. After the war, he briefly played in the National Football League (NFL) with the Green Bay Packers (1945–1948) and the Los Angeles Rams (1948).
The movie "Smith of Minnesota" was released in 1942. The premiere occurred in his home town of Faribault, Minnesota, to the amazement of the locals due to this novelty. However, laughter was heard in the movie house when certain advanced technologies, for that time (direct-dial phones, streetlights, etc.) were seen as part of the scenery—courtesy of being filmed in Hollywood, California.
Smith was diagnosed with cancer in the spring of 1967, and he spent the next several months visiting young cancer patients with the Rev. William Cantwell. Smith lost over half his body weight before succumbing to the disease. Cantwell, who was unfamiliar with Smith's sports achievements, nominated Smith for sainthood.
In 1972, Smith was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. His number 54 was the first to be officially retired by the Minnesota Gophers in 1977.


Jimmy George

Jimmy George (8 March 1955 – 30 November 1987) is often considered one of the greatest volleyball players of all time and was a member of India men's national volleyball team. He was the first Indian volleyball player to become a professional and played club volleyball in Italy. He is brother-in-law of the olympian Anju Bobby George.
Career.
Jimmy George was born to the famous Kudakkachira family, at Thondiyil near Peravoor in Kannur district, as the second son of Adv. George Joseph and Mary George. He learned to play volleyball from his father, a former university-level player. He played for St. Joseph's High School in Peravoor. In 1970, Jimmy became a member of the University of Calicut volleyball team. In 1973, he joined St. Thomas College, Pala. Jimmy represented the Kerala University four times from 1973 to 1976. The Kerala team won the All India Inter-University Championship during these four years. He was the captain of the team in 1973. He secured a berth in the Kerala State Team at the age of 16, in 1971, and thereafter he represented the state nine times.
In 1976, Jimmy quit medical college to join Kerala Police where he remained a member of the police team until his death. He took leave from the Kerala Police in 1979 and went to the Persian Gulf to play for Abu Dhabi Sports Club. In 1982 he left Abu Dhabi to join Coletto Club at Treviso in Italy and played for them for a season. He then switched to System Impiani and played for them in 1983-84. Returning to India he rejoined Kerala Police, played his last Nationals at Kanpur in 1985 and went back to Italy to play for Arrital team. In 1987-88 he signed a contract with Eurostyle-Euroslba team at Montchiari in Brescia and it was during that period that he died in a car crash.
Jimmy played for India's national volleyball team in the Asian Games in Tehran (1974), Bangkok (1978) and in Seoul (1986) where India won the bronze medal. He was captain of the Indian team that played at Saudi Arabia in 1985, and led the Indian team to victory in India Gold Cup International Volleyball Tournament at Hyderabad in 1986.
Awards & legacy.
At age 21, Jimmy George was the youngest volleyball player to win the Arjuna Award. He was given the G.V. Raja Award in 1975 and won the Manorama Award, for the best sportsman of Kerala, in 1976. He was judged the best player in the Persian Gulf region while playing for Abu Dhabi Sports Club, from 1979-82. He played as a professional in Italy from 1982-1984 and 1985-1987, and in his prime was considered one of the best attackers of the world. In 2000, Malayala Manorama, a newspaper in Malayalam, honored him as the best sportsman of Kerala of the 20th century.
Early death.
Jimmy died in a car accident in Italy on 30 November 1987, at the age of 32. His funeral ceremony was an unforgettable day for the natives of Peravoor. Thousands of people from different parts of Kannur District and Kerala State reached Peravoor to attend the function. His Body now rests at the Cemetery of St. Joseph's Church Peravoor, Thondiyil. Following his death, the Jimmy George Foundation was established, which in 1989 instituted the Jimmy George Award for best sportsperson of Kerala. The foundation also makes available cash awards at St. Joseph's High School, Peravoor, and at Devagiri College.
The government of Kerala dedicated its indoor stadium at Trivandrum named as Jimmy George Indoor Stadium. At St. Thomas College, Pala, a volleyball stadium is named after him, as were a stadium of St.Joseph's Higher Secondary School and a road at Peravoor. At Kannur, the District Headquarters, Police Department named its conference hall in the name of Jimmy George. An indoor stadium in Italy, called PalaGeorge, was dedicated in his memory at Montichiari, Brescia, and an annual junior tournament is organized in his memory. Since 1989, the Kerala Volleyball League of North America organizes the Jimmy George Super Trophy Volleyball Tournament.
At the time of Jimmy's death, his wife Lovely, whom he married in 1985, was pregnant for six months. She gave birth to a son named George in February 1988, three months after his father's demise.
References.
3. भारतीय वॉलीबॉल का वो महान खिलाडी ,जिसके याद में इटली में भी बना स्टेडियम!


Mir Khasim Ali

Mir Khasim Ali born in Hyderabad, A.P. was India's Men's Singles Champion in table tennis from 1968 to 1969. He was honoured with the prestigious Arjuna award.
Ali began playing table tennis in 1960 at the age of 11. He was the National Junior Champion in 1963, the National Senior Champion in 1968 and 1969, runner-up in the Commonwealth Championships of the Afro-Asian Championships in 1971 and a member of the Indian T.T. team from 1966 to 1973.
His first trip abroad representing India was to East Africa in 1966. Also in 1966 in Sri Lanka (Ceylon as it was then called) where the South Zone Inter-University Championships were held. Khasim represented Osmania University, which lost in the finals to Bombay University, thanks to U.S. Gurjar who pulled off an upset win over Khasim.
Gurjar repeated the feat in the Madras Nationals in December 1966. He was National Champion in 1968 and 1969 and runner-up in 1970. In 1971 he met Zhou Enlai and was present during the Ping Pong Diplomacy between China and the United States. During his heyday, Andhra Pradesh reached the finals of the National team events on nine occasions, winning the title once, and until 1973 he was an automatic choice in the Indian team.
References.
V. BALAJI - "Souvenir of the Mir Khasim Ali Table Tennis Benefit Tournament", April 1985, by Iqbal Ali


Rahul Banerjee (archer)

Rahul Banerjee (born 15 December 1986) is an Indian Olympic archer.
Career.
Banerjee started archery at the age of thirteen. His sister Dola Banerjee is also an Olympic archer. His first international appearance was in Youth World Championship in 2004; he won a team silver medal, which was the first world level medal for Indian archers. He won several gold medals at the World Cups in 2008, 2009 and 2010, as well as an individual gold medal in the Asian Grand Prix in 2009-2010. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, he won a gold medal in the individual recurve event and a team bronze medal. He won a team bronze at 2010 Asian Games.
On 21 June 2012, Banerjee qualified for the London Olympics by finishing second in the final qualification meet at Ogden, Utah, United States. At the Olympics he finished 17th individually and 9th with the Indian team.
Awards.
Banerjee received the Arjuna Award in 2011.


Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award

The Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award was an annual award honoring the achievements of a male individual from the world of collegiate sports. It was first presented as part of the ESPY Awards in 2002, following the subsumption of the Best College Football Player and Best Male College Basketball Player ESPY Awards, each of which Best Male College Basketball Player ESPY Award were presented annually between 1993 and 2001, inclusive. The Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award trophy, designed by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan, was awarded to the sportsman adjudged to be the best in a given calendar year of those contesting collegiate sport in the United States through the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
From 2004 until its subsumption with the Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award to create the Best College Athlete ESPY Award for the 2018 ceremony, the winner was chosen by online voting through choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee. Before that, determination of the winners was made by an panel of experts. Through the 2001 iteration of the ESPY Awards, ceremonies were conducted in February of each year to honor achievements over the previous calendar year; awards presented thereafter are conferred in July and reflect performance from the June previous.
The inaugural winner of the Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award in 2002 was Iowa State Cyclones wrestler Cael Sanderson who ended his collegiate career that year. In that period, he surpassed numerous NCAA records, clinched four NCAA wrestling championships, and went 159–0 undefeated in his final season. Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow received the trophy in 2008, and won it again the following year, becoming the only sportsman in the history of the award to have won it more than once. American footballers have been the most successful at the awards with eight victories and thirteen nominations, closely followed by Basketball players who have been recognised on seven occasions, and were nominated a further eighteen times. The 2017 (and final) winner of the Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award was Clemson Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson who was announced as the winner at the Microsoft Theater.


Tapani Mattila memorial trophy

Tapani Mattila Memorial Trophy is a special award in the Finnish SM-Liiga and is not awarded often.
Winners:
1995 Kalervo Kummola
1997 Harry Harkimo
2000 Frank Moberg
2006 Urpo Helkovaara


Al Baker

Al "Bubba" Baker (born December 9, 1956) is a former professional American football defensive lineman who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was named to three Pro Bowls during his career. He was named 1978 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He was one of the famous anchors of the "Silver Rush."
Professional career.
Baker, a graduate of Weequahic High School in Newark, New Jersey and Colorado State University, was drafted in the second round of the 1978 draft by the Detroit Lions. Listed as 6-6 and 250 pounds, he combined speed and strength.
He made his mark early as he began his NFL career with the Lions with an incredible 23 sacks (an unofficial stat at that time) his rookie year, with five sacks in a single game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played for the Lions for five seasons, starting 66 of 67 games. In his last season with the Lions, 1982, when sacks became an official statistic, he totaled 8.5 in only nine games. He also had two career interceptions with the Lions. During his career with the Lions he unofficially totaled 75.5 sacks including 23 sacks in 1978, 16 in 1979, 18 in 1980 and 10 in 1981, which are the franchise's top three all-time, single-season sack efforts.
He played the next four seasons, 1983–86, with the St. Louis Cardinals, for whom his season sack totals were 13, 10, 4 and 10.5. In 1983, along with the 13 sacks, he also had two interceptions. In 1987, he was a reserve defense lineman for the Cleveland Browns, then served in the same position in 1988 for the Minnesota Vikings. He returned to the Browns as a starter for all 16 games of the 1989 season as well as for all nine games he played for the Browns in 1990, his final NFL season at age 34.
Post-NFL career.
Baker said in the NFL that he hoped to "play long enough to make a fortune in football. Then my son can be a doctor. He won't have to play this dumb game". Baker now lives with his family, including his wife of 34 years, Sabrina, in Avon, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and he owns a restaurant called Bubba's Q World-famous Bar-B-Que & Catering in Avon. He appeared on the ABC-TV show "Shark Tank" on December 6, 2013, in which investor and entrepreneur Daymond John agreed to invest $300,000 for a 30 percent share in Queen Ann Inc., the food company started by Baker and Baker's children, Brittani Bo Baker and James Albert London Baker. Part of the agreement was the licensing of Baker's patent for de-boning pork ribs. DBA/Bubba's-Q Boneless Baby Back Ribs sold at stores such as QVC, have appeared on "Good Morning America" and are sold by retailers online. Baker and daughter Brittani are partners in the patented Boneless Baby Back Ribs.
In 2004, he was picked as the 9th Greatest Pass Rusher in NFL History by Sports Illustrated. In 2007, he was named to the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame.
Brittani Bo Baker.
Brittani Bo Baker (born 1985) is the managing partner with her father, former National Football League (NFL) football player Al “Bubba” Baker, of their restaurant Bubba's-Q World-famous BBQ & Catering in Avon, Ohio.
In 2006 Brittani and Al patented Bubbas's Boneless Ribs, a product and process for removing bones from an intact slab of ribs, making it possible for people to eat fully cooked deboned BBQ ribs with a knife and fork – this is not a reshaped patty. The co-inventors' patented product was featured on ABC's show "Shark Tank" (December 2013) where the father-daughter team partnered with branding expert and FUBU creator Daymond John. Brittani is the vice president of the company formed through the partnership with Daymond John.
In 2012 Brittani published a cookbook, "Al Bubba Baker's Simple Southern Cookbook", featuring simplified southern family recipes. She created the cookbook to honor her father. The book also includes "Sports Illustrated" articles, cooking tips and NFL action shots of her father during his football career.
Baker often helps the homeless and less fortunate in the Cleveland area. For her 29th birthday, she hosted and fed almost 100 homeless men at Bubba's-Q Restaurant in Avon, Ohio.
Baker serves as a board member for Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries Social Enterprise, which helps former homeless people learn the necessary skills to gain and maintain jobs in the culinary arts field.
Brittani has also been seen on QVC with her father on the show "In the Kitchen with David" starring David Venable.


Korisliiga Most Valuable Player

In the Korisliiga, the top Finnish professional basketball league, two awards are considered the Most Valuable Player award. The first, the Player of the Year, goes to the best Finnish player in the league. The second, is the Best Foreigner (in Finnish, "vuoden ulkomaalaisvahvistus").


Hotaka Yamakawa

, nicknamed "", is a Japanese professional baseball infielder for the Saitama Seibu Lions in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Yamakawa lead the Pacific League in home runs in 2018 and 2019.
He was selected . On October 10, 2018, he was selected Japan national baseball team at the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series.


Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award

The Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award is an annual award honoring the achievements of a male athlete from the world of action sports. It was first awarded as part of the ESPY Awards in 2004 after the non-gender-specific Best Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award was presented the previous two years (with American snowboarder Shaun White receiving the 2003 award). The Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award trophy, created by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan, is presented to the male adjudged to be the best action sports athlete in a given calendar year. Balloting for the award is undertaken by fans over the Internet from between three and five choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee, which is composed of a panel of experts. It is conferred in July to reflect performance and achievement over the preceding twelve months.
The inaugural winner of the Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award at the 2004 awards was freestyle BMX rider Ryan Nyquist. During 1997 and 2003, Nyquist won eleven out of eighteen available freestyle BMX medals at the X Games. He became the first freestyle BMX rider to be nominated for, and thus the first to win, an ESPY Award. The 2006 winner of the Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award was Shaun White. He was nominated a further five consecutive times between the 2008 and 2012 ceremonies, all of which he won, making him the athlete with the most victories with six. The two other athletes to have earned successive awards are street skateboarder Nyjah Huston and motocross rider Ryan Dungey. Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris became the first non-American to win the accolade in 2017 by earning three medals at that year's X Games in Minneapolis. Snowboarders are the most successful sportspeople (with seven awards), followed by motocross riders and street skateboarders (three). It was not awarded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2019 holder of the award was Huston who won the 2018 Street League Skateboarding World Championship and a gold medal in street skateboarding at the X Games Minneapolis 2018.


Stan Calvert Cup

The Stan Calvert Cup, formally known as the Stan Calvert Memorial Cup, was an annual varsity contest that took place in Newcastle upon Tyne between the universities of Newcastle and Northumbria originally in December and February, later moving March. The annual cup ran from 1994 to 2018, before being officially cancelled at the start of the 2018 academic year when Newcastle made the decision to withdraw from the competition.
The competition.
It was named after Alnwick-born Stan Calvert, who was Newcastle University's first Director of Sport from 1981, having been involved with sport at the university since the early 1960s.
The competition did not take place in a single sporting event but rather over 1200 competitors in more than 70 teams compete against each other in 26 different sports, the winning university is determined by whose team won the most events. The competition took place every year since its formation in 1994 until its cancellation in 2018. The rules that determined the nature of the competition were signed by both universities in 2009.
Previous winners.
Between 1994 and 2018, Newcastle University won the cup 13 times and Northumbria 10 times, with 2 draws. In 2013 Newcastle retained the cup for an unprecedented 6th consecutive year, but Northumbria University regained it in 2014, and retained it until the competition's final year in 2018.


ACC Athlete of the Year

The Atlantic Coast Conference Athlete of the Year award is given to the male and female athlete who show extraordinary talent throughout the entire season. The award is decided by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.
Anthony J. McKevlin Award.
The Anthony J. McKevlin Award, which originally went to the league's athlete of the year regardless of gender until 1990, named in honor of a former sports editor of the "Raleigh News and Observer", has been voted upon and handed out annually since the ACC was formed in 1953–1954.
Mary Garber Award.
In 1990, The Mary Garber Award, named in honor of Mary Garber, a former "Winston-Salem Journal" reporter and a pioneer for women in the field of sports journalism, was established to honor the league's top female athlete. In 2005, the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) distinguished Garber by honoring her with its prestigious Red Smith Award, making her the first female recipient in the award's 25-year history.


LNBP Most Valuable Player

The Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP) Most Valuable Player Award is an annual award given to the most valuable player in the Mexican highest professional basketball league. The award is given after the regular season.


David Hemery

David Peter Hemery, (born 18 July 1944) is a British former track and field athlete, winner of the 400 metres hurdles at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
Early life.
Hemery was born in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, but his father's accounting work took the family to the United States, where he attended school and graduated from Boston University. At one point the family had returned to Britain for a time, and Hemery moved back and forth across the Atlantic during his training.
Athletics career.
Hemery's first International title came at the 1966 Commonwealth Games, where he won the 120 yd hurdles in 14.1 seconds, a title he retained four years later at the 1970 Commonwealth Games (by then it was the 110m hurdles which he won in 13.8 seconds). at 3:35.
At the Mexico City Olympics in 1968, Hemery won the 400m hurdles in 48.12 seconds, a new world record. His margin of victory was the largest since 1924, beating second-placed Gerhard Hennige from West Germany by almost a second. After Hemery crossed the line BBC commentator David Coleman famously exclaimed "Who cares who's third – it doesn't matter!" Hemery's British teammate John Sherwood turned out to be the bronze medal winner in a close finish that had to be settled by photo finish. Hemery's performance helped him win the 1968 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
In 1969, Hemery won a silver at the European Championships in the 110m hurdles, but missed the next European Championships in 1971 due to injury. At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Hemery defended his title and finished third, behind John Akii-Bua from Uganda and Ralph Mann from the United States. He was also a member of the silver medal winning British 4 × 400 m relay team, one of whose members was David Jenkins.
Superstars.
David Hemery won the first ever British Superstars competition, held in 1973, registering a second victory in 1976, and was recognised as Britain's best Superstar from 1973 to 1977.
As a recently retired athlete, Hemery was free to participate in the professional Superstars contests and keep any prize money he won – unlike many other competitors (like Kjell Isaksson or Andy Ripley). Noticing the very high standard of competition within a short time of the event starting, Hemery created his own training regime, becoming adept at the gymnasium tests and canoeing and propelling himself into national fame.
After winning the original British title, Hemery then entered the 1974 event though he was struggling with illness. Eventually narrowly beaten by John Conteh, Hemery then went on to the 1975 European contest where he was beaten again, this time by Ties Kruize. When Kruize suffered serious injuries in a car crash before the final, Hemery was invited to participate and performed bravely, scoring points in every event. He was soundly beaten by Kjell Isaksson, but could still finish second. The rules for European Superstars allowed athletes to compete in "near specialist" events with a handicap, meaning that both Hemery and Isaksson were allowed to run in the 100m and Steeplechase, but only after giving the other finalists a head start. In the final 600m Steeplechase event Hemery had to make up a 100m handicap on his rivals in order to finish in overall second, and valiantly did so, but only after again falling badly at the water jump. Hitting the ground hard while challenging Isaksson for the lead, Hemery rose with a grimace of pain on his face then sprinted for the line, grabbing third. However, as soon as the race was over he collapsed, with the TV cameras showing huge swelling to his injured leg – he had run the last 100m with badly torn ankle ligaments.
In 1976 Hemery won back his British title with a dominating performance. He could not qualify for the European Final this year (beaten by Isaksson again), so he then tried his hand at the American version, qualifying for the final before finishing a disappointing 11th. Because of this sojourn to the USA, Hemery was not eligible to compete in the inaugural 1977 World Final, and he did not compete again in individual Superstars again until the 1981 Challenge of the Champions, where he finished joint fourth with his great hurdling rival John Sherwood. Winning the 1983 Past Masters event enabled him to compete in the 1984 International Final (where he finished third, though 40 years old).
Later life.
After his running career, Hemery worked as a coach in the United States and Great Britain. In 1969 he was made an MBE followed by the Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2003. He received a masters degree in Education from Harvard University. For a period in the 1970s he taught at the famous English school Millfield. In 1998, he was elected as the first president of UK Athletics. In 2011 Hemery became the first Briton to be awarded the European Olympic Committee’s Laurel Award for services to sport. In 2015, he ran the London Marathon to raise money for the charity that he had founded - '21st Century Legacy'.
Author.
Hemery has written several books.


PSAT Sports Awards

The PSAT Sports Awards (Greek: Αθλητικά Βραβεία ΠΣΑΤ) are the annual sports awards that are issued by the Panhellenic Sports Press Association (PSAT). The awards are given to the year's top performing individual athletes, in the form of Athlete of the Year awards, and also to the year's top performing sports teams in the nation of Greece. The award winners are chosen by the votes of a panel of sports editors in Greece.
The first PSAT Sports Awards were given in the year 1954, by the sports writers of the "Sports Press Association" (SAT), which was later renamed to the "Panhellenic Association of Sports Writers (PSAT)". The awards ceremony, which takes place every year in front of a large audience, is also often honored by the presence of the current President of the Hellenic Republic, at the time of the event. The PSAT Sports Awards are considered to be the most important annual sports award that any Greek athlete is given by their own country.
From 1954 to 1973, the award was for individual Greek athletes, regardless of their gender. However, in 1960, the crew of the sailing vessel "Nireus", was given the award, due to their gold medal win at the 1960 Rome Summer Olympics. Since 1964, separate awards are also given to Greek sports teams. Since 1974, separate individual awards are given out to both male and female athletes of Greece. In 2004, awards categories for coaches and athletes with disabilities were added. Separate categories for male and female athletes with disabilities were added in 2008. A category for the best sports team with disabilities was added in 2013.
There are also the following awards: The Athletics Contribution and Ethics award, which is given to Greek athletes that have made a great long-term contribution to Greek sports. The Fair-Play award, which is given to Greek athletes that have displayed good character, by consistently honoring and observing the rules of fair-play in their respective sports. The Rising Talent award, which is given to young Greek athletes that are considered to be possible future stars in their respective sports. And the Social Contribution award, which is given to contributors that have helped to promote the growth of Greek sports. There are also honorary distinctions that are given to sports club personalities that have made significant contributions to Greek sports, as well.
Best Greek Athlete (1954–1973).
From 1954 to 1973, The Best Greek Athlete, or Greek Athlete of the Year award was given to single individuals, regardless of their gender. In 1960, instead of giving the award to a single individual athlete, the crew of the sailing vessel "Nireus", was awarded as a team. That was in honor of their gold medal win at the 1960 Rome Summer Olympics.
In 1970, Christos Papanikolaou broke the world record in the men's pole vault. In honor of that achievement, he was given the award, without a vote being held to determine the year's winner of the award. In 1972, rather giving the award to a single individual athlete, three winners were chosen. In honor of their good performances at the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics.
Best Greek Male Athlete (1974–present).
In 1974, separate individual awards for both male and female athletes were established, with the Best Greek Male Athlete, or Greek Male Athlete of the Year award beginning in that year. In 1996, rather than giving the award to a single individual athlete, the award was given to all of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics gold medalists, without a vote. In 2000, an individual award was given to Kostas Kenteris. However, at the same time, Club Association Society awards were also given to Pyrros Dimas, Akakios "Kachi" Kakiasvilis, and Michalis Mouroutsos, in honor of their gold medal performances at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics.
Best Greek Female Athlete (1974–present).
In 1974, separate individual awards for both male and female athletes were established, with the Best Greek Female Athlete, or Greek Female Athlete of the Year award beginning in that year. In 1982, rather than giving the award to an individual athlete, Sofia Sakorafa and Anna Verouli were given the award, without a vote being held. That was done in order to honor their achievements in that year. In that year, Sakorafa broke the world record in the javelin throw, and Anna Verouli won the gold medal at the 1982 European Athletics Championships.
Best Greek team (1964–present).
The award for the Best Greek Team was established in 1964.
Best Greek Coach (2004–present).
The award for the Best Greek Coach began in 2004. The award is given to the best sports coach of any Greek team, regardless of whether they are of Greek or foreign nationality, or to the best sports coach with Greek nationality, regardless of where they coach.
Best Greek athlete with a disability (2004–2007).
From 2004 to 2007, there was a single award for both Greek male and female athletes with disabilities. In 2007, Anthi Karagianni became the only female to win the Best Greek Athlete with a disability award.
Best Greek male athlete with a disability (2008–present).
The award for the best Greek male athlete with a disability, began in the year 2008.
Best Greek female athlete with a disability (2008–present).
The award for the best Greek female athlete with a disability, began in the year 2008.
Best Greek disabled athlete's team (2013–present).
The award for the Best Greek disabled athlete's team began in the year 2013.
1980 Greek Football Super Cup.
In 1980, the Panhellenic Sports Press Association (PSAT) also established the Greek Football Super Cup. The teams that contested the original Greek Football Super Cup event were Olympiacos Piraeus and Kastoria. The game was won by Olympiacos, by a score of 4–3.