Times wires
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
High schools
Hundreds honor Mich. player who was 'larger than life'
HOLLAND, Mich. — Classmates, coaches and former opponents were among the mourners who filled a southwest Michigan church Tuesday to celebrate the life of a teen athlete who friends and family say will have a long-lasting impact.
Many of the more than 1,500 people at Wes Leonard's funeral wore orange ribbons, and some released orange and black balloons outside the church, mirroring the colors of the Fennville High team that he made a winning shot for last week before collapsing on the basketball court.
Leonard died of cardiac arrest from an enlarged heart Thursday, moments after his shot gave the Blackhawks a victory to wrap up the regular season at 20-0.
The night before they paid tribute to Leonard at the church, his teammates honored the 16-year-old junior as they won their first game in the state Class C tournament.
Those who knew the "larger than life" football and basketball star always recognized that he was special, even apart from sports, his uncle, Jim Leonard, said during the church service.
"It's just amazing that now the whole world knows how special he was," he said at Christ Memorial Church. "Wes will not be forgotten."
Colleges
Notre Dame ends use of lifts at practices
Notre Dame said it will no longer use hydraulic lifts for videographers at football practices, five months after a student fell to his death when a machine toppled over on a windy day.
The school in South Bend, Ind., said it will instead use remote-controlled cameras — a system the Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame's president, said fulfills a pledge made after Declan Sullivan died. The Indiana Occupational Health and Safety Administration is investigating what caused the lift holding Sullivan, 20, to fall as he filmed practice Oct. 27. The National Weather Service reported gusts that were as high as 51 mph at the time.
Soccer
Man U exec defends Glazers at inquiry
Manchester United chief executive David Gill dismissed critics of the Glazer family and insisted that the English Premier League club isn't negatively affected by debts of more than $812 million. Gill defended the Glazers, who bought the team in 2005 and spend $72 million annually in interest payments, at a British parliamentary inquiry into English soccer. The Glazers also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
UEFA Champions League: Lionel Messi scored twice and host Barcelona beat Arsenal 3-1 to reach the quarterfinals on 4-3 aggregate.
Et cetera
Golf: Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will be in the same group this week at Doral, and No. 4 Graeme McDowell will join them. The Cadillac Championship based the groups for the first two rounds on the rankings. That puts No. 1 Martin Kaymer with Lee Westwood and Match Play winner Luke Donald.
Horses: Jockey Ramon Dominguez said he has been told he will ride Brethren on Saturday in the Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar. Meanwhile, owner Mike Repole said Uncle Mo, early favorite for the Kentucky Derby, will race Saturday in the Timely Writer Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach. Entries for both races will be drawn today.
Iditarod: Four-time champion Martin Buser was the first musher into the Nikolai checkpoint in the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska.
Olympics: Two-time defending beach volleyball champions Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor of the United States will play at the 2012 London Games.
Don Jensen, Times correspondent; Times wires