Ebook Notable Sports Figures 3: Part 2

R John Randle 1967- American football player laying for the Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks, John Randle was a leading defensive tackle in the 1990s. Though small for a defensive tackle in this time period (only 6’1” and 267 lbs.), he once played in 176 consecutive games and started in 140 con-secutive games. Randle also had eight consecutive sea-sons in which he had at least ten quarterback sacks, and was selected to play in the Pro Bowl six times. Randle was born on December 12, 1967, in Hearne, Texas, where he and his older brother Ervin (who was also a football player who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1985-92) were raised by their single mother, Martha. His mother was employed as a maid, and Randle grew up very poor. The family lived in a shack until he was a senior in high school. It was not until Randle began attending Hearne High School that he began to play football, following in the steps of his brother. At Hearne High, he was both an of-fensive and defensive lineman. Randle was also a mem-ber of the track team. Because of his poor SAT scores, however, he had to go the junior college route. Plays College Football After spending two years at Trinity Valley Communi-ty College, Randle entered Texas A & M in Kingsville, a Division II school. As a senior in 1990, he earned Little All-America honors, and graduated with a degree in so-ciology. Signs With the Vikings as Free Agent During the 1990 NFL draft Randle was not selected in part because of his small size for the position he played. His play at Texas A & M did merit a workout with the Atlanta Falcons, but they declined to sign him because they believed he was out of shape. A week later, the Minnesota Vikings invited him to training camp, and Randle was later signed to a free agent contract. He played his heart out to prove his value to the team. John Randle It took several seasons for Randle to emerge as a de-fensive force. In 1990, he only had one quarterback sack. In 1991, Randle started eight games and had 8.5 sacks. By 1992, he established himself as solid player and began his consecutive game start streak. Randle proved his worth as a leader in quarterback sacks and forcing fumbles. Though Randle continued to post improved numbers in the mid-1990s, it was not until 1996 that he had a break-out season. This was due in part to a coaching change, but also to Randle’s emerging approach to the game. He began to trash talk more on the field, getting into his opponents’ heads. Randle also would paint his face, and developed his own physical pre-game ritual. Randle continued to improve in 1997, with a career-high 15.5 sacks, the most in the NFL that season. Though he was a great defensive player, he had more to 1263 Randle Chronology Notable Sports Figures Awards and Accomplishments 1967 1989 1990 1992 1996 1997-98 Born December 12, in Hearne, Texas Daughter Brittany born on October 10; married wife Rosie Graduates from Texas A&I earns Little All-America honors; signs with the Minnesota Vikings Begins a consecutive game starter streak on November 29 Divorces wife Rosie Leads NFL in sacks with 15.5 1990 1993-98, 2001 2000 Earns Little All-America honors Plays in Pro Bowl Chosen as starting tackle on the NFL Team of the Decade by the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee 1998 Signs largest deal ever for a defensive lineman with Vikings 2001 Released by Vikings; signs with the Seattle Seahawks; marries Candace on February 14 brought his consecutive game streak to an end at 140. Randle led the Seahawks with seven sacks in 12 games. offer with his instinctual, relentless play that wore down offenses. Paula Parrish in the Star Tribune wrote, “his bigger contributions, according to teammates and his defensive coordinator, continued to be the intangibles— his leadership, his electricity, his experience.” In 1998, Randle became a free agent, but was the Vikings’designated transition player. (That is, Minnesota had the right to match any offer Randle received.) He had a hard time getting a deal done with the Vikings, and considered signing with the Miami Dolphins, among other teams. Randle ended up signing a five-year deal worth $32.5 million with $20 million guaranteed. This was the largest contract ever for a defensive lineman. During the first season of his contract, Randle only had 10.5 sacks (his lowest number in years) and was not chosen to play in the Pro Bowl. In 2000-01, Randle was still playing relatively well, but had a disappointing sea-son with only eight sacks and 31 tackles. Though he was sometimes double and triple-teamed, some observers believed his skills were in decline. Randle believed his career was incomplete without a Super Bowl ring and believed that Minnesota was not progressing in that direction. Because the Vikings want-ed to give him a pay cut, he asked to be traded. Instead, the team released him. When his career in Minnesota ended after 2000-01 season, he had recorded the third most sacks, with 114, and the third most fumbles caused, with 24, in team history. Signs with Seattle In 2001, Randle was signed by the Seattle Seahawks. The team’s coach and general manager, Mike Holmgren, had previously been the coach of the Green Bay Pack-ers, a team Randle excelled against. Randle signed a five-year deal worth $25 million, including a $5 million signing bonus. Randle immediately proved his worth, with a great 2001 season. He had 11 sacks, and went to the Pro Bowl. He began the 2002 season on the injured list re-covering from knee surgery—his first major injury—but played well during the rest of the season. The injury Randle’s stretch of eight consecutive seasons where he recorded ten or more sacks was the second most in NFL history after Reggie White. Coach Holmgren told Chuck Carlson of the Capital Times, “He’s got a lot of energy. He’s the type of player you want on your team because his motor is so great, his heart is so great and he goes 150 percent all the time. Everybody wants guys like that.” CONTACT INFORMATION Address: c/o Seattle Seahawks, 11220 NE 53rd St., Kirkland, WA 98033. FURTHER INFORMATION Periodicals Allen, Percy. “Knee Injury Ends Randle’s Streak at 140.” Seattle Times, (November 12, 2001): D6. Allen, Percy. “Seahawks Quickly Get Handle on Ran-dle.” Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, (March 4, 2001). Banks, Don. “A Method to His Madness.” Star Tribune, (January 3, 1998): 1C. Banks, Don. “Randle Becomes $32.5 Million Man.” Star Tribune, (February 18, 1998): 1C. Banks, Don. “Randle Visits Eager Dolphins.” Star Tri-bune, (February 17, 1998): 4C. Banks, Don. “Unsettled, Randle proves to be Quite Un-settling.” Star Tribune, (September 22, 1998): 1C. Barreiro, Dan. “Randle has Reasons to Smile These Days.” Star Tribune, (July 26, 2000): 1C. Bruscas,Angelo. “Can’t Hold Candle to Randle.” Seat-tle Post-Intelligencer, (December 30, 2002): D8. Bruscas,Angelo. “Energizer Charging Hawks Randle’s Return Should Provide Lift for Defense.” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, (October 12, 2002): D4. Carlson, Chuck. “Vikings’Randle Backs Talk.” Capital Times, (November 28, 1997): 1B. Ditrani,Vinny. “Vikes’Lineman Has a Big Bite.” The Record, (December 27, 1997): S2. Farnsworth, Clare. “Randle is Too Hard to Handle.” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, (July 31, 2001): C1. Hartman, Sid. “Randle Says It’s Time to Start Over.” Star Tribune, (March 4, 2001): 3C. 1264 Notable Sports Figures Redgrave Career Statistics Tackles Fumbles Interceptions Yr Team TOT 1990 MIN 21 1991 MIN 58 1992 MIN 56 1993 MIN 59 1994 MIN 42 1995 MIN 44 1996 MIN 46 1997 MIN 58 1998 MIN 41 1999 MIN 38 2000 MIN 26 2001 SEA 35 2002 SEA 15 TOTAL 539 SOLO AST SACK FF 12 9 1 1 32 26 9.5 2 45 11 11.5 0 54 5 12.5 3 32 10 13.5 3 34 10 10.5 1 36 10 11.5 4 48 10 15.5 2 30 11 10.5 3 30 8 10.0 4 25 1 8.0 2 26 9 11.0 4 13 2 7.0 0 408 131 132.0 29 BK INT TD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 MIN: Minnesota Vikings; SEA: Seattle Seahawks. Jensen, Sean. “Roving Randle Keeps Vikings’Oppo-nents Guessing.” Knight Ridder/Tribune News Ser-vice, (October 10, 2000). King, Peter. “Home Free.” Sports Illustrated, (March 2, 1998): 74. Parrish, Paula. “Randle Again Looms Large.” Star Tri-bune, (September 23, 1996): 12C. Powell, Jaymes. “John Randle’s Sack Milestone Just Part of a Package.” Knight Ridder/Tribune News Ser-vice, (November 13, 1999). Reusse, Patrick. “High Expectations Not New for Ran-dle.” Star Tribune, (August 8, 1998): 1C. Reusse, Patrick. “Randle: He Keeps Going and Going…” Star Tribune, (November 19, 1998): 1C. Williamson, Bill. “Randle Seeks Trade After Poor Sea-son.” Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, (January 31, 2001). Williamson, Bill. “Vikings Expected to Release Ran-dle.” Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, (Febru-ary 28, 2001). Youngblood, Kent. “One Speed.” Star Tribune, (August 2, 1999): 1C. Youngblood, Kent. “Positively Pumped Up.” Star Tri-bune (April 29, 2000): 1C. Youngblood, Kent. “Stats Don’t Reflect Randle’s Solid Play.” Star Tribune, (September 13, 2000): 1C. Other “Green,Vikings Agree to Buyout.” ESPN.com. http:// sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=1305597&type= news (January 25, 2003). “John Randle.” ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/ nfl/players/stats?statsId=1422 (January 13, 2003). “John Randle.” NFL.com. http://www.nfl.com/players/ playerpage/4128/bios (January 13, 2003). Sketch by A. Petruso Steve Redgrave 1962- British rower ir Steve Redgrave is the greatest competitive rower in history, one of the greatest Olympians ever and, arguably, Britain’s greatest sportsman of the twentieth century. His feats as an oarsman are legendary—gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games; nine World Championships; a string of four unbeaten seasons; and countless awards in Thames River competitions. “Most of us dream of winning one gold medal, but to do it at five Olympics is something else,” Australian rower Bo Hanson told Time International. “It’s just a shame he had to race against us.” Pursuing his Passion Redgrave, the son of a carpenter, was a frustrated, dyslexic student when he left school at age sixteen to become a rower—and began more than two decades of six-day-a-week, five-hour-a-day training sessions. “When you’re dyslexic, you are always trying to get around situations, to find another way to do some things,” Redgrave told Diane Pucin of Knight-Ridder Newspapers. “If you find something you are quite good at, then you tend to stick with it. Some people call me obsessive, but I think it was just that, at a time in life when you need to fit in, I found something that I was good at.” Redgrave claimed his first Olympic gold medal at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles in the coxed four race. Two years later, in 1986, he won the first of his nine World Champion gold medals and won three gold medals in 1265 Redgrave Notable Sports Figures Chronology 1962 Born March 23 in Marlow, England 1984 Wins first Olympic gold medal at Los Angeles games 1986 Becomes triple gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, winning the single scull, coxless pairs, and coxed four 1986 Wins first World Championship 1988 Wins second Olympic gold medal as well as a bronze at Seoul games 1992 Wins third Olympic gold medal in Barcelona; flagbearer for British Olympic Team 1993 Completes first of four consecutive unbeaten seasons (1993-96) during which he records 61 straight victories in the coxless pairs event 1996 Wins fourth Olympic gold medal in Atlanta; flagbearer for British Olympic Team 1996 Receives honorary degree from the University of Durham 1999 Wins ninth World Championship 2000 With victory at Sydney Games, becomes second athlete ever—and the first in an endurance sport—to win gold medals at five successive Olympics. Steve Redgrave the Commonwealth Games: in the single sculls, coxless pairs and coxed four events. At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Redgrave teamed with Andrew Holmes and they blew away the field to win gold in coxless pairs. The next day, on a whim, they rowed in the pair with coxswain race—and won the bronze medal. Relentless Holmes retired after the Seoul Games; Redgrave teamed with Matthew Pinsent, an Oxford-educated vicar’s son, in 1990. “The two shared nothing but a love of rowing, yet that was enough to make them insepara-ble,” Brian Cazeneuve wrote in Sports Illustrated. “When fans would ask Redgrave, who is dyslexic, to write a special inscription with his autograph, he some-times called on Pinsent to watch over him so he would-n’t reverse the letters.” The pair was relentless on the water, going undefeated for five years and winning gold medals in coxless pairs in four World Championships and the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. The 1996 Games in Atlanta offered Redgrave a shot at his fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal and a place in the history books. Danish sailor Paul Elvstrom had won gold medals at four consecutive Olympic games from 1948 to 1960 and Americans Al Oerter (1956-1968) and Carl Lewis (1984-1996) matched that mark in track and field. The Hungarian fencer Aladar Gerevich leads all athletes with six golds in consecutive games between 1932 and 1960 (no games were held in 1940 or 1944.) Redgrave downplayed the distinction of joining this elite group as he headed into the 1996 games. “I row to do my very best,” he told Pucin, “and it is silly to think about pressure. There isn’t a lot of hype in this sport. It is filled with good people who are never arrogant, and so the people who win will have done their best. That’s what’s important. If I win another gold, that is wonderful. If not, then that is too bad, but that’s all.” A Brief Retirement Redgrave and Pinsent won the coxless pairs in At-lanta; Redgrave’s place in history was secure, but he was physically and mentally exhausted. “If anyone sees me go near a boat again,” he gasped after racing to his fourth Olympic gold, “they have my permission to shoot me.” Redgrave’s rash retirement did not last, however. Four months later, he was back in training. “He has lived with the job so long now he doesn’t know any other way,” said his wife, Ann, a physician with the British rowing team. “My training as a doctor tells me people just can’t switch off like that.” Redgrave, Pinsent, Jim Cracknell and Tim Foster began preparations for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, where they would compete in the coxless four. Some commentators suggested the move to a four-man race was due to Redgrave’s dwindling abilities. The team worked hard, however, averaging “370 kilometers a week on the water, plus weights sessions in the gym,” Time International reported. “About 65 percent of the rowing time is just grinding out the kilometers at 18-20 strokes a minute, at a heart rate of 140. Two or three times a week they do more intensive exercises to up the heart rate, and once a week get up to competitive pace of 36 strokes a minute, which has the heart racing nearer to 170-180 beats a minute. It would be a grueling schedule for an athlete in perfect health. But Redgrave, 38, is 1266 Notable Sports Figures not.” Redgrave was diagnosed with colitis, appendicitis, and diabetes after the 1996 Olympics. To manage his di-abetes while in training, he consumed 6,000 calories a day in six meals, each followed by an insulin shot. “There are no athletes who compete in an endurance sport with diabetes,” he said, “so there’s no form guide.” A Lasting Legacy The Britons prevailed in Sydney, and Redgrave had Olympic gold medal number five. He was the second athlete ever—and the first in an endurance sport—to win gold medals at five successive Olympics. “Steve told us, ‘Remember these six minutes the rest of your life,’” Foster said. At the medal ceremony, Redgrave re-ceived his gold from Princess Anne of Britain, and Inter-national Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch presented him with a special medal com-memorating his fifth straight gold medal. Redgrave lives in Marlow, England, with his wife, Ann, and their three children. He is off the water, but he’s pushing as hard as ever. Redgrave has launched his own line of men’s sportswear and has secured endorse-ment deals for a cholesterol-lowering spread, a brand of snack foods, and the luxury carmaker Jaguar. Also, the Sir Steve Redgrave Charitable Trust has a goal of rais-ing £5 million over five years for philanthropic efforts focused on children’s health. In Sports Illustrated, Cazeneuve summarized Redgrave’s legacy: “If rowing has given value to Redgrave’s life, he in turn has enno-bled the gentleman’s pursuit with his workingman’s dedication.” CONTACT INFORMATION Address: Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England. Online: Steve Redgrave Web site: http://195.172.104.2/. SELECTED WRITINGS BY REDGRAVE: (With Nick Townsend) A Golden Age: Steve Redgrave, the Autobiography, BBC Worldwide, 2000. FURTHER INFORMATION Periodicals “Britain’s Redgrave Gets Special Reward.” New York Times (December 30, 2000). Cazeneuve, Brian. “Never Say Never: Britain’s Steve Redgrave, the Greatest Oarsman Ever, Isn’t the Re-tiring Type.” Sports Illustrated (October 9, 2000). Noble, Kate. “On Golden Ponds.” Time International (July 10, 2000). Noble, Kate. “Steve Redgrave.” Time (October 2, 2000). Reece Awards and Accomplishments 1984 Gold medal in coxed four, Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California 1986 Gold medal, coxed pairs, World Championships 1986 Gold medal in single sculls, coxless pairs, and coxed four, Commonwealth Games 1987 Silver medal in coxed pairs, World Championships 1987, 1991, Gold medal in coxless pairs, World Championships 1993-95 1988 Gold medal in coxless pairs and bronze medal in coxed pairs, Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea 1989 Silver medal in coxless pairs, World Championships 1990 Bronze medal in coxless pairs, World Championships 1990 Indoor World Rowing Champion, World Rowing Championships 1992 Gold medal in coxless pairs, Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain 1996 Gold medal in coxless pairs, Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia 1997-99 Gold medal in coxless four, World Championships 1997, 1999 Gold medal in coxless four, World Cup 2000 Gold medal in coxless four, Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia 2000 Voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2001 Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, receiving Commander of the Order of the British Empire status Pucin, Diane. “Redgrave Ready to go for Fourth Row-ing Gold.” Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service (July 20, 1996). Vecsey, George. “Five Games, Five Medals for a Deter-mined Briton.” New York Times (September 23, 2000). Ware, Michael. “Kings’Row: Britain’s Steve Redgrave Strokes His Way to Immortality, While New Zealand’s Rob Waddell Doesn’t Miss a Beat.” Time International (October 2, 2000). Sketch by David Wilkins Gabrielle Reece 1970- American volleyball player abrielle Reece is not only known for her physical prowess, but also for her beauty. She has made a name for herself in the world of sports by merely being herself, and she has graced the world with her beauty by modeling to make a living while doing what she truly loves, which is playing volleyball. Reece has made great strides in challenging the world’s perception of feminin-ity and size, being 6’3” and weighing 160-170 pounds. She has never been ashamed to tell people her weight, 1267 ... - tailieumienphi.vn