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k beard as he presented the AL pitcher of the month award to right-hander Matt Shoemaker
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k beard as he presented the AL pitcher of the month award to right-hander Matt Shoemaker
in General Chat Sun Aug 11, 2019 8:36 pmby yyys123 • | 1.470 Posts
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- During his 95 years, Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson went from fan to "Foolish Club" member to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, enjoying every step along the way. The NFL lost the person regarded as the leagues "conscience" on Tuesday, when Wilson died at his home around 1:40 p.m. Bills president Russ Brandon announced Wilsons death at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando, Fla. His death resonated among the owners -- from old to new. Wilson played an integral role in establishing the modern game, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009. In 1959, Wilson founded the Bills in helping establish the upstart American Football League, whose owners were dubbed "The Foolish Club" for having the chutzpah to challenge the NFL. Some five years later, Wilson played an influential role in the framework for the merger of the leagues. "Ralph Wilson was a driving force in developing pro football into Americas most popular sport," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. "Ralph always brought a principled and common-sense approach to issues." Patriots owner Robert Kraft released a statement saying how grateful he was for how Wilson welcomed him to the NFL, adding: "I will miss him." So will Bills Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy, whom Wilson lured out of retirement to serve as the teams general manager from 2005-06. "He wasnt my boss, he was my friend," Levy said. "Deeply saddened to hear about his passing. He meant so much to the game that both of us revered, and to the community of Buffalo and beyond. Its quite a loss, and hes going to be remembered so fondly by everyone who knew him." The last surviving member of the original AFL owners, Wilson died at his home in Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich., said Mary Mazur, a spokeswoman for the Wayne County medical examiners office. He had been receiving home hospice care. Wilson had been in failing health since having hip surgery in 2011. Though he spent much of his time at his home in suburban Detroit, he attended Hall of Fame induction weekends. He was a regular at Bills home games since founding the franchise, but had not been there since going to one game in 2010. Wilson gave up daily oversight of the club on Jan. 1, 2013, when he relinquished the presidents title to Brandon. "No one loves this game more than Ralph Wilson," Brandon said. "Its very tough. What hes meant to the entire organization. Hes our leader, our mentor our friend. How he loves his players and loved our community. Special guy. They just dont make them like Ralph Wilson." Wilson earned a well-established reputation for loyalty to fans and the stands he took against franchise relocation. Though he butted heads several times with late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, it did not affect their friendship. As Davis said in 2009: "There were a lot of guys saying (Steelers owner Dan) Rooney was the conscience. But certainly, Mr. Wilson was more of a conscience of the league." Wilson also earned the respect of his players. Bills Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas struggled with his emotions when discussing Wilson. "With Mr. Wilsons passing today, it hurts," Thomas said. "So Im going to miss him, without a doubt. He used to call me his favourite son." Wilsons Bills have never won a Super Bowl. They came close in the early 1990s, when the Levy-coached and Jim Kelly-quarterbacked teams won four consecutive AFC championships, but lost each time. The Bills have not made the playoffs since 1999 and their 14-year post-season drought ranks as the NFLs longest active streak. Running back Fred Jackson said Wilsons death provides the team new focus to end that drought. "We want to continue to cement his legacy," Jackson said. "We want to honour him, and a great way to honour him is going out and winning a lot of football games." Wilson never lost his sense of humour. In 2010, with the Bills 0-5, Wilson began an interview with The Associated Press with an apology. "I want to apologize for this phone system," Wilson said, with a familiar chuckle. "Its almost as bad as my team." The future of the team is now in the hands of Brandon and Wilsons second-in-command, Bills treasurer Jeffrey Littmann. For the meantime, the Bills are expected to be placed in a trust before eventually being sold. Wilson expressed no interest of leaving the team to his family. He is survived by wife Mary, daughters Christy Wilson-Hofmann, who serves as a Bills consultant, and Edith Wilson. Theres also niece Mary Owen, who serves on several NFL committees while working as the teams executive vice-president of strategic planning. Kelly has expressed interest in buying the franchise and has previously said hes assembled a group of investors. Kellys health, however, has become an issue this week. He is expected to have surgery for a second time in a year following the recurrence of cancer that his wife described as aggressive and "starting to spread." Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula is also considered a candidate to purchase the Bills and keep them in Buffalo. That doesnt remove the possibility of outside interests making offers and relocating the team to larger markets such as Los Angeles or nearby Toronto. The Bills future in Orchard Park is secure for the short term. The team negotiated a 10-year lease in December 2012 with the state and county to continue playing at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The agreement includes a provision that essentially locks in the Bills through the first seven seasons. The franchise would have to pay US$400 million if it decides to leave before 2019. The team then has an option of buying out the remaining three years of the lease for $28 million. Under Wilson, the Bills produced 10 Hall of Famers, including himself and Smith. The others were Kelly, Levy, Thomas, O.J. Simpson, offensive linemen Billy Shaw and Joe DeLamielleure, receiver James Lofton and receiver Andre Reed, who will be inducted this year. Born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1918, Wilson moved to Detroit three years later when his father, Ralph Wilson Sr., took a sales job at an auto dealership. The father turned to insurance and in the mid-1930s landed a deal with Chrysler Corp. Among Wilsons first moves upon taking over his fathers insurance business in 1959 was selling his minor share in the Lions and joining up with Lamar Hunt and Bud Adams to help found the AFL. In 1964, Wilson travelled to the Winter Games at Innsbruck, Austria -- where he slept on the floor of a reporters room because all the hotels were booked -- to help broker the AFLs landmark TV deal with NBC. Wilson still carried influence with Goodell, who leaned on the Bills owner for advice, and among current NFL owners. Shahid Khan reached out to Wilson for advice before completing his purchase of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2012. "Given his legacy as a builder and visionary, I imagine Ralph was able to relate to my dream to one day join him as a team owner," Khan said. "Ill never forget his kindness and will always treasure the letter he wrote welcoming my family to the NFL." Wilson wore the "Foolish Club" badge with honour. "What a damn fool I was," he told the AP in 2009. "But I didnt care. I just wanted to own a team." In 1998, Wilson received the "Order of the Leather Helmet" from the NFL Alumni Association for his contributions to professional football. Wilson always maintained a healthy perspective in regards to what mattered when it came to football, including his place in the game. When asked about the fragmented state of football in the mid-1990s, Wilson joked: "Its such a great game, itll survive us." Funeral arrangements have not yet been determined. AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner in Orlando, Fla., Associated Press writers Mike Householder in Detroit and Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, AP Sports Writers Mark Long in Jacksonville, Fla., Paul Newberry in Atlanta, Larry Lage in Detroit, Dave Skretta in Kansas City, Tom Withers in Cleveland, Teresa Walker in Nashville and AP freelance writer Mark Ludwiczak contributed to this report. Ronde Barber Buccaneers Jersey . Cilic cruised to victory, beating the seventh-seeded Seppi 6-1, 6-3 in just 72 minutes. He faced only one break point, winning 24 out of 29 points played on the first serve. Jamel Dean Buccaneers Jersey . "Ive got a lot of work to do on this team and the sooner that I can get back to my office and start that work, itll be better," he said straight-faced as the rest of the room erupted in laughter. http://www.authenticbuccaneerspro.com/Lee-roy-selmon-buccaneers-jersey/ .200. His solution to his hitting woes was business in the front and a party in the back."That would be a mullet," Norris says. O. J. Howard Buccaneers Jersey . Portuguese sides Benfica and Porto also advanced to the last eight while Basel overcame an early red card to win 2-1 at Salzburg and progress from a last-16 second leg that was briefly suspended because of crowd trouble. Lyon, Valencia and AZ Alkmaar will also be in Fridays draw in Nyon, Switzerland, where the team to avoid will be Juventus -- even though the Italian champions made heavy work of their all-Italian last-16 match against Fiorentina. Warren Sapp Jersey .A. Happs hold on a spot in the Blue Jays starting rotation is in question. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Even after a late flight home from Texas led into an early three-run deficit, the Los Angeles Angels incredible late-season offensive barrage still wouldnt stop. David Freese hit a two-run homer and Mike Trout had an RBI triple during Los Angeles seven-run fifth inning, and the Angels beat the Houston Astros 11-3 Friday night for their ninth consecutive victory. Kole Calhoun had a tiebreaking, two-run single in the fifth for the major league-leading Angels (92-55), who began their final homestand by reducing their magic number to five for their first AL West title since 2009. They lead spiraling Oakland, which lost 4-2 in Seattle, by 11 games with 15 to play. "Were just playing good baseball," said Calhoun, who had his 12th three-hit game of the season. "Confidence is huge, and it just seems like were all playing together. Theres never a panic mode. Its been fun coming to the yard every day." Trout had an RBI double in the fourth and Howie Kendrick added a two-run double in the sixth for Los Angeles. The Angels have won 15 of 17 overall, highlighted by their longest winning streak since August 2004. After a slow start in their first game back from a 10-day, four-city road trip, the Angels obliterated Houstons early 3-0 lead with another eye-popping night from the majors most productive offence. Los Angeles has scored at least seven runs in eight consecutive games, matching the 1979 franchise record. "Its certainly a good time for it," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "They cracked the door open for us a little bit, and then (we got) just some key hits all the way around." The Angels scored 70 runs during their eight-game road streak, and they increased that crazy offensive pace in their return to the Big A, trouncing the only team that has beaten them since Aug. 25. The Astros took two straight from Los Angeles early last week. Brett Oberholtzer (5-11) couldnt get through the fifth for the Astros, who had won eight of 10. "Theyre a good team, and theyre on a roll," Houston interim manager Tom Lawless said. "Theres no doubt about that. So if we dont play a clean gamee .dddddddddddd.. we made a miscue here, we made a miscue there, and they just took advantage of it. Thats what good teams do." The Angels had seven hits in the fifth, scoring their first run of the inning when Jake Marisnick dropped Collin Cowgills fly ball in right for an error. Calhoun, Trout and Albert Pujols all drove in runs before Freeses eighth homer, his second in 42 games. "I just missed it," Marisnick said. "I just dropped it. The ball has got to be caught. It was a big point in the game and it gave them some momentum." C.J. Wilson (12-9) struggled just to reach the fifth, but the Angels offence secured his second straight victory. The inconsistent left-hander gave up seven hits and struck out six. Marisnick, from nearby Riverside, got a 20-foot RBI single in the first inning when Wilson and catcher Chris Iannetta couldnt field his bases-loaded topper cleanly. Los Angeles maintained its four-game lead over Baltimore (88-59) for the majors best record. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED Robbie Grossman reached first in the fourth inning when Lawless successfully challenged a call for the first time as the Astros manager. Replays showed C.J. Cron hadnt applied a tag after catching an errant throw from Erick Aybar. Grossman came around to score on Dexter Fowlers double. BEARD AND WEIRD Before the game, Angels President Tim Carpino donned a fake black beard as he presented the AL pitcher of the month award to right-hander Matt Shoemaker. The executives phoney facial hair was even bigger than Shoemakers tonsorial trademark. Several Angels reserves also wore fake beards for a group photo with Shoemaker. TRAINERS ROOM Angels: Cleanup hitter Josh Hamilton missed his eighth straight game with an injured right shoulder, and the offence again didnt miss him. The 2010 AL MVPs return is still uncertain. ... LHP Joe Thatcher was activated from the disabled list after a six-week absence with a sprained ankle. UP NEXT Astros RHP Scott Feldman (8-10, 3.99 ERA) starts the middle game of the series against RHP Jered Weaver (16-8, 3.58), who looks for his AL-leading 17th win. ' ' '
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