Beloved Key West regular dies after fall
A 76-year-old man remembered for his smile and kindness died Feb. 20, after police said he fell down a flight of stairs at a Key West bar and guest house.
Duwayne Litz was found unconscious and bleeding at the Bourbon Street Pub and New Orleans House, 724 Duval St., on the deck below a flight of outdoor stairs, according to a police incident report.
Police arrived at the bar at about 10 p.m., as business owner, Joe Schroeder, was performing chest compressions on Litz before first responders arrived and took over CPR.
Schroeder said it appeared Litz fell backward as he was going up the stairs.
Key West Fire Rescue took Litz to Lower Keys Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Two men said they were in their room when they heard a loud noise. They were staying in a guest room right below the stairs where Litz was found, the report states.
A bartender called 911 and one man checked Litz for a pulse, police said.
The investigation remains open until police obtain autopsy results, said Key West police spokeswoman Alyson Crean.
“No foul play is suspected,” Crean said.
Police listed a Key West home address for Litz. His Facebook page says he lived in Oakland Park and was also a real estate broker in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Litz was a teacher for many years, having taught English at a high school and a community college, the page states.
He lived in Key West for years before recently moving to the Fort Lauderdale area, said Ray Warren, who was a friend.
“We were all really sorry to see him leave,” Warren said.
Litz liked to socialize in Key West, Warren said, appearing at the locals costume parade during Fantasy Fest and at the tea dances held at the La Te Da restaurant on Duval Street.
“I don’t think I ever heard him say anything bad about anyone,” Warren said. “He was just friendly to everybody. Always smiling.” Warren said Litz was well-known in Key West circles.
“If you’re going to invite good people to an event, you’re going to invite Duwayne,” Warren said. “He made his mark by being pleasant, which is not a bad way to make a mark.”
Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce was fired Monday, given the hook less than halfway into a season that carried heightened expectations before being hampered by injuries.
Hawks president Travis Schlenk announced the move in a short statement released by the team.
The Hawks are 14-20 and 11th in the Eastern Conference, following a 109-99 loss at Miami on Sunday. It was the Hawks’ 11th loss after holding a fourth-quarter lead. The teams play again in Miami on Tuesday.
Pierce, 44, gave no indication that he thought he was in trouble after Sunday’s loss. He even ran the Hawks’ practice Monday morning in Miami.
“We would like to thank Lloyd for his work and commitment to not only the Hawks organization but the city of Atlanta,” Schlenk said in the statement.
The Hawks did not immediately name an interim coach. The likely choice is Nate McMillan, the former Indiana coach who was added to Pierce’s staff in the offseason.
Schlenk said the move to fire Pierce, which comes less than a week before Atlanta hosts the All-Star Game, is timed to help the team have a second-half resurgence.
“We have high expectations for our team on the court and we believe by making this change now that we can have a strong second half of the season,” Schlenk said.
ELSEWHERE
Mavericks 130, Magic
● 124: Luka Doncic had 33 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists; Kristaps Porzingis played a nearly flawless second half for visiting Dallas, which has won four of its last five and nine of 12.
Nikola Vucevic had 29 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for the Magic, who lost their fourth straight.
76ers 130, Pacers 114:
●
Shake Milton scored 26 points, Furkan Korkmaz had 19 and the reserves sparked host Philadelphia to the win. Joel Embiid had 24 points and 13 rebounds.
Malcolm Brogdon led Indiana with 20 points.
Raptors: Toronto’s
●
game against Detroit, scheduled for Tuesday, was tentatively rescheduled for Wednesday, a move the NBA hopes will let the Raptors work out COVID-19 issues.
Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane is showing no sign of slowing down in his 14th season.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion has eight goals and 19 assists in his past 15 games, inserting himself into the conversation for a second Hart Trophy for NHL MVP. He scored his 400th career goal Sunday night.
Led by Kane, still as dynamic as ever at age 32, the surprising Blackhawks head into a challenging stretch of their schedule with some momentum after a 9-3-1 February.
Next up is a three-game series at home against Tampa Bay, which outscored Chicago 10-3 while sweeping the first two games of the season.
The only change in
Kane in his 30s is the world around him — from his longtime girlfriend, Amanda, and infant son, Patrick Timothy Kane III, at home, to his mostly new cast of teammates at the rink, some of which grew up watching the high-scoring winger become one of the league’s biggest stars with the Chicago Blackhawks.
It looks as if the changes are working quite well, too.
“You just want to keep getting better and keep trying to help the team as best you can,” Kane said, “and for me, that’s getting the puck as much as possible and creating plays and try to create to create some scoring chances, so try to just keep improving on that.”
It’s going to be quite difficult for Kane to improve on his recent production.
MONDAY’S GAME
Senators 5, Flames 1: ●
Drake Batherson scored twice to extend his goal streak to six games, andhost Ottawa routed Calgary. Batherson's streak is tied with four others for the longest in Senators history.
Tim Stutzle had two assists, and Matt Murray made 27 saves for Ottawa, which went 2-1-0 in the three-game set and has won six of its past nine.
Sam Hauser scored 18 points and No. 21 Virginia ended a three-game skid by handing Miami its sixth loss in a row, 62-51 on Monday night at Charlottesville, Virginia.
Kameron McGusty scored 14 points and Elijah Olaniyi had 12 for the Hurricanes (7-16, 3-15 ACC), who were trying to make Jim Larrañaga the 16th coach to win 100
ACC games in his career.
Trey Murphy III added 12 points for the Cavaliers (16-6, 12-4), who took command with a 14-2 run to end the first half. Miami closed within six points several times after halftime, but each time Virginia kept the Hurricanes from getting closer.
Elsewhere: Florida
●
State’s Leonard Hamilton agreed to a five-year contract extension that will keep the men’s basketball coach with the school through 2025. Hamilton, 72, is in his 19th season with the Seminoles, who sit atop the latest ACC standings with a record of 14-4 . ... Michigan finally broke the stranglehold of Gonzaga and Baylor atop the AP Top 25, taking advantage of the Bears’ loss at Kansas to leap into the No. 2 spot behind the Bulldogs. The Bears, whose unbeaten season was foiled by the Jayhawks, drop back to third place
ETC.
NFL: J.J. Watt has
● agreed to a two-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals, showing that the franchise will be aggressive again in its push to snap a five-year playoff drought. The free-agent edge rusher was released last month by the Houston Texans, for whom he won three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards. The 31-year old Watt has been one of the NFL’s best players for a decade, but asked out in Houston, which is undergoing a roster upheaval.
Soccer: Real Madridmissed ● a chance to move closer to Spanish league leader Atletico Madrid ahead of their derby next weekend by drawing at home with Real Sociedad 1-1. The draw halted Madrid’s four-game winning streak in the league and left the club five points from its city rival, which has a game in hand.
Golf: U.S. Amateur
● champion Tyler Strafaci and top-ranked amateur
Davis Thompson are part of the 10-member
U.S. team that will try to retain the Walker Cup in May against Great Britain and Ireland. The matches for amateurs will be May 8-9 at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach.