2008 sports deaths
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Photos of sports figures who died in 2007
Ted Rogers, owner of the Toronto Blue Jays, died at his home on Tuesday. He was 75.
Pete Newell, the Hall of Fame basketball coach who won an NCAA championship and Olympic gold medal and later tutored some of the game's greatest big men, died Monday. He was 93.
Gene Hickerson, the Cleveland Browns Hall of Fame right guard whose blocking helped Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly and Bobby Mitchell make the shrine, died after a long illness. He was 73.
NFL Notes
Chris Mims, a former defensive lineman for the San Diego Chargers and Washington Redskins beset by legal problems, was found dead in his downtown Los Angeles apartment yesterday. He was 38.
A Russian lawmaker said Tuesday that rising hockey star Alexei Cherepanov, a first-round draft pick of the New York Rangers, may have died due to negligence on the part of paramedics who responded to an emergency call.
Milt Davis knew how to read people - on and off the football field.
Ultimate Fighting Championship star Evan Tanner has died in the desert east of San Diego, possibly of heat exposure.
Don Haskins, credited with helping break color barriers in college sports in 1966 when he used five black starters to win a national basketball title for Texas Western, died Sunday. He was 78.
Six weeks ago, during the 25th anniversary celebration of the Orioles' last world championship, Todd Cruz stood on the field at Camden Yards and reveled in the moment.
Genuine Risk was a fabulous filly who dared to take on the boys in the 1980 Kentucky Derby and wound up in the winner's circle draped in a blanket of roses.
Bobby Murcer succeeded Mickey Mantle, played in pinstripes with Don Mattingly and watched proudly from the broadcast booth when the New York Yankees returned to power.
Jim Ware will be remembered by those who knew him as a great teacher on and off the softball field.The Broadneck coach died Saturday morning. He was 62.
Mando Ramos, a two-time lightweight boxing champion who battled drug and alcohol abuse, died at 59.
Former Chargers safety Terrence Kiel was killed after he was thrown from a Chevy sedan he was driving, police said Saturday.
Eddie VanKirk settled scores with his fists as he grew up on the tough streets of Southwest Baltimore. He went on to box professionally for 13 years as a welterweight and confidently took on competitors.
Scott Kalitta died Saturday when his Funny Car burst into flames and crashed at the end of track during the final round of qualifying for the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.
Charlie Jones, the deep-voiced sportscaster whose career as a play-by-play announcer spanned 38 years for ABC and NBC, has died. He was 77.
Mitch Frerotte, an offensive lineman who played in three Super Bowls for the Buffalo Bills, has died. He was 43.
Jim McKay, who in 1947 spoke the first words ever heard on Baltimore television and later became the model for the modern sports anchorman with his marathon effort amid a terrorist attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics, died yesterday of natural causes at his horse farm in Monkton. He was 86.
Luc Bourdon, a promising rookie defenseman with the Vancouver Canucks, was killed Thursday when his motorcycle struck a tractor-trailer in a crash near his hometown. He was 21.
Former major league pitcher Geremi Gonzalez, who won 11 games for the Chicago Cubs in 1997, was killed by a lightning strike in his native Venezuela on Sunday. He was 33.
Pat Santarone: 1929-2008
While the Orioles produced some of the best teams in baseball over three decades, beginning in the 1960s, they went unchallenged when it came to their garden.
Madison 'Buzz' Nutter: 1931-2008
The autograph signing featuring the Baltimore Colts at the Towson Center on March 29 turned out to be a final show of warmth for Madison "Buzz" Nutter.
Myron Cope, the screechy-voiced announcer whose colorful catch phrases and twirling Terrible Towel became symbols of the Pittsburgh Steelers during an unrivaled 35 seasons in the broadcast booth, has died. He was 79.
Sir Edmund Hillary: 1919-2008
Sir Edmund Hillary, the mountain-climbing New Zealand beekeeper who became a mid-20th century hero as the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, has died. He was 88.
U.S figure skating champion Christopher Bowman pleased fans and fellow skaters with his flair on the ice. But he was also known for his off-the-ice struggles with drugs and alcohol and other personal problems.
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