Good-bye to a legend
Pat Summitt died this morning. She was 64.
Here's the column in today's paper on A2 about her.
We overuse and misplace words like legend or icon and even a few others so often that when someone like Pat leaves this word, those words - as powerful as they are - do not feel strong enough.
Look at what she did. Look at how she did it. Look at how long she did it.
There is no way to accurately reflect the greatness of her professional career with all the titles and the banners and the wins and the respect and the acclaim. And then you realize, that's not her most legendary asset.
Yes, basketball was her lottery ticket to millions of dollars and world-wide fame, but her greatest gift was her ability to connect with people in a way that it did not matter if you were the President of the United States or a ball girl, you felt that you mattered.
There will be an overflowing river of tributes and praise for her, and rightly so. Consider the following on a true or false Tuesday:
She did more for her sport than anyone else ever did for another sport? True or false.
She did more for women's sports than anyone else did ever? True or false.
She did more in sports than any other person born in Tennessee or at the University of Tennessee ever? True or false.
FILE- In this March 19, 2012, file photo, Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt waves as she leaves the court after Tennessee defeated DePaul 63-48 in an NCAA tournament second-round women's college basketball game in Rosemont, Ill. Summitt, the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history who uplifted the women's game from obscurity to national prominence during her career at Tennessee, died Tuesday morning, June 28, 2016. She was 64. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File) More on Summitt
The stories of her grace and graciousness as well as her intimidating and intensity will be everywhere today. Please feel free to post links or personal memories.
There are a multitude of statements from across the state, women's basketball and sports in general. And while her influence on so much outside of sports is being rightly trumpeted today, let's not forget how great she was as a coach.
Current UT coach Holly Warlick recalled a story on SportsCenter this morning about how she prepared the Lady Vols for their first title game against Louisiana Tech. Instead of practicing again, Pat had everyone lay on the floor and visualize what they had to do to win. Warlick detailed how prepared they were for the 10-point win that was the first of Summitt's eight titles.
Think about how many teams use pregame mental image preparations now.
Let's also not forget that in addition to all those wins and the fact that every four-year Lady Vols player from 1976-2011 had the chance to play in a Final Four or even the fact that she was named the Naismith coach of the century for the 1900s.
And remember that every Lady Vols player who stayed for four years graduated.
Every one.
And all of that was because of Pat.
Tough year
Wowser, been a rotten year for the truly greats in their field so far. Consider the deaths of the following to be among the very best of their generation:
Actor Alan Rickman, who was universally praised.
Harper Lee, who wrote "To Kill a Mockinbird" which many believe to be the best Southern novel ever. (We'll go with "Run with the Horsemen" but we are biased.)
Pat Conroy, another Southern writer who touched so many.
Merle Haggard, the beloved country music star.
And if that's not bad enough, take the next step to this list of all-time greats in their field that we have also lost this year, and the year isn't even half over.
Muhammad Ali, the best boxer ever.
Prince and David Bowie, two of the most individually talented musicians of any genre of all-time.
Antonin Scalia, one of the most well-respected SCOTUS justices and legal minds ever.
Gordie Howe, no worse than the second-best hockey player ever.
Now Pat.
Wowser indeed.
God must of needed some heavy hitters upstairs.
This and that
- More on Pat: Everyone who is anyone in the state this side of Tennessee Ernie Ford released a statement on Summitt. Also, around 7:30 this morning, five of the top 10 national trending topics on Twitter were related to Pat Summitt.
- Egad. Kris Bryant can slap hit. His final box score line from last night's historic night of three homers and two doubles was 5-4-5-6. (Five at-bats, four runs, five hits and six RBIs.) The record for the most total bases in one game is 19, set by Shawn Green in And it's not like he just squeaked out. His three singers travelled 1,265 feet, which is close to a quarter of a mile and averaged almost 422 feet.
- Buddy Ryan also died Tuesday morning. He was 82. (Man, this is really a fun-filled 5-at-10, huh?) Ryan's defensive mind and eventually his 4-6 defense truly helped shape the view of modern football. You can make a hard argument that the most influential defensive presences in football history are Dick LeBeau (flex 3-4), Bud Carson (who is considered the architect of the Tampa 2 during his time as the Steelers defensive coordinator in the 1970s), Bill Belichick (who maximized LT's speed and used the first pure speed rusher as the NY Giants defensive coordinator and has become a legendary defensive mind) and Ryan. (And yes, that Rushmore is pretty tough to limit to four.)
- Braves lost 8-3. We'll have our prospect of the week tomorrow.
Today's question
We'll have two.
First, with Pat's death, Rushmore of sports figures from Tennessee.
Secondly, John Cusack turns 50 today. The big 5-0. Rushmore of Cusack movies, and it's not going to be as easy as you think. Dude had a pretty stellar career as a supporting actor before becoming a headliner.
Go, and remember the mailbag.
Rest in peace Pat.