Reunited By Tragedy
Tragedy pulled them apart, then another tragedy brought them back together.
Hall of Fame stock car driver Bobby Allison and Judy, after 36 years of marriage, divorced following the deaths of their sons, drivers Clifford and Davey.
Bobby Allison had been living in Hueytown, Ala., and Judy in Mooresville, N.C., for four years. They were reunited at services for Adam Petty, son of racer Kyle Petty and grandson of NASCAR legend Richard Petty, who was killed May 12 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Thursday they repeated the vows they had first said on Feb. 20, 1960.
“It’s ironic that a tragedy presented the opportunity for us to, first of all, speak, and then to put our feelings aside to help someone else,” Bobby told the Birmingham News.
Sadly, there was another tragedy Friday, when Winston Cup driver Kenny Irwin was killed at the same New Hampshire speedway.
There’s a price to pay
Columnist Reid Grosky asks in the Riverside (Calif.) Press Enterprise, “Now that Bobby Beathard has left his job as general manager of the San Diego Chargers, does he have to make child-support payments to Ryan Leaf?”
Bigger than a refrigerator
Producer Larry Thompson, on his futuristic football feature “Super Bowl 3000,” says “The prototype lineman will be at least 8 feet tall and weigh more than 400 pounds with an average salary of about $1 billion annually.”
Who says the French are rude?
France is not only the World Cup and Euro 2000 champion, but the French national soccer team players apparently are the best sports.
“The French national team provided conclusive evidence that success can be built on the principles of fair play,” European soccer’s governing body said after France received the “fair-play award,” based in part on player and fan conduct.
England, which won the last fair-play award in 1996, and Turkey were excluded from the rankings this year because of street violence involving their fans.
In Portugal and Italy, they know it’s easy for French players to be gracious because all the calls go their way.
Every run counts
Minnesota’s David Ortiz walked with the bases loaded and hit two sacrifice flies Monday night, giving him three RBIs without an official at-bat in an 11-8 loss to Boston.
The last word …
“Green is famous for still being celibate at 36, but after what the Lakers did to him, I don’t think he qualifies as a virgin anymore.”
- Alex Kaseberg to Tom FitzGerald of the San Francicso Chronicle after the Los Angeles Lakers cut A.C. Green and replaced him with a draft choice.