BULLETS STAR UNSELD DIES
Wes Unseld was an undersized NBA center known more for his bruising picks, tenacious rebounding and perfectly placed outlet passes than any points he produced.
He thrived in his role as a workmanlike leader.
“I never played pretty,” Unseld said when elected to the Hall of Fame in 1988. “I wasn’t flashy. My contributions were in the things most people don’t notice. They weren’t in high scoring or dunking or behind-theback passes.”
Unseld, who began his pro career as a rookie MVP, led Washington to its only NBA championship and was chosen one of the 50 greatest players in league history, died Tuesday after “lengthy health battles, most recently with pneumonia,” his family said in a statement released by the Wizards. He was 74.
He spent his entire 13-season playing career with the Bullets-wizards franchise, then was its coach and general manager. The team was based in Baltimore when he was drafted; he and his wife, Connie, opened Unselds’ School in that city in 1978.
Unseld instantly made the team then known as the Baltimore Bullets into a winner after he was taken with the No. 2 overall pick — behind future teammate Elvin Hayes — in the 1968 draft.
A decade later, he was the MVP of the 1978 NBA Finals as the Bullets beat the Seattle Supersonics in a seven-game series best known for Washington coach Dick Motta’s proclamation: “The opera ain’t over until the fat lady sings.”
Listed at 6-foot-7 and 245 pounds, Unseld used power and savvy to outplay bigger opponents. He also brought his pro team something it never had experienced — and hasn’t, really, since he stopped playing: true sustained success.
As a rookie, he averaged 13.8 points and 18.2 rebounds, while the team went 57-25, a 21-win improvement over the previous season and the franchise’s first winning record. Unseld (1969) and Wilt Chamberlain (1960) are the only two players to win NBA Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in the same season.
The Bullets made the playoffs 12 consecutive times, reaching four NBA Finals. Unseld was an All-star in his first four seasons and again in 1975.
Death
Arrogate, winner of the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Classic and the champion 3-year-old male that year on his way to becoming North America’s all-time leading money earner, has died. He was 7.
Juddmonte Farms said Arrogate was euthanized Tuesday after becoming ill.
The Lexington, Ky., breeding farm said it was unclear what the illness was and a necropsy is planned.
Juddmonte said Arrogate had been having a successful breeding season until last week when it was suspended because of what was initially suspected to be a sore neck. Days later, he fell in his stall and efforts to get him back up were unsuccessful. He was taken to an animal hospital in Lexington for tests.
Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Arrogate had seven wins in 11 career starts and earnings of $17,422,600, making him North America’s all-time richest thoroughbred.
NFL
All 32 NFL teams have been told by Commissioner Roger Goodell to hold training camps at their home facilities this summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most NFL teams stay at their training complexes year-round, but Dallas, Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Buffalo are among those that stage training camp elsewhere.
The Cowboys and Steelers are scheduled for the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 6 and will be the first two teams to report in late July. Dallas usually trains in Oxnard, and Pittsburgh in nearby Latrobe, Pa.
The Cowboys have never held their entire preseason at home. The Steelers have trained at St. Vincent College in Latrobe for more than a half-century.
Also
• Former boxing champion Floyd Mayweather has offered to pay for George Floyd’s funeral and memorial services, and the family has accepted the offer.
Mayweather personally has been in touch with the family, according to Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions. He will handle costs for the funeral on June 9 in Floyd’s hometown of Houston, as well as other expenses.
• The Athletic reported that MLS players were voting on whether to accept a deal that would see teams head to Florida in late June and start games in early July. The vote was to continue into this morning, with an announcement of a result sometime after that.
• The college football season opener between Notre Dame and Navy has been moved out of Ireland because of the cornavirus pandemic. The Irish and Midshipmen were scheduled to meet in Dublin on Aug. 29, but instead will seek to play at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., during the Labor Day weekend.
• A Florida judge has denied NBA rookie Zion Williamson’s attempt to block his former marketing agent’s effort to have the exduke star answer questions about whether he received improper benefits before playing for the Blue Devils.
• The PGA Tour will hold a one-time tournament July 912 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, the week before the Memorial at the same course. It would fill a gap in the schedule created by the cancellation of the John Deere Classic.
• Formula One finally will get underway with back-toback races at the Austrian Grand Prix on July 5 and 12 as part of an eight-race European swing.
• Clemson assistant coach Danny Pearman said he made a “grave mistake” when he repeated a racial slur to extigers tight end D.J. Greenlee at practice three years ago.