(April 8 marks the 50th anniversary of the first major league game in Padres history. To commemorate the occasion, the Union-Tribune is producing a nine-part series on memorable debuts through the years. Today: Chapter Nine ... In the beginning) San Diego became a major league city 50 years ago today when the Padres took the field against the Houston Astros. While joining the National League after 33 seasons as a minor league team competing in the Pacific Coast League created some excitement, the fans also were realistic abut the expansion team’s prospects in its first season. Hanging from a San Diego Stadium balcony before the team’s debut that night was a sign that read: “Wait Till Next Year.” The fans didn’t have to wait long for a win. Right-hander Dick Selma pitched a five-hitter with 12 strikeouts in a 2-1 victory over the Astros. A crowd of 30,000 was expected for the game, although only 23,370 showed up to the half-filled stadium. … [Read more...] about Padres 50th anniversary: Franchise debuted a half-century ago today
9 years ago today
Detroit Pistons-Rasheed Wallace era began 15 years ago today
Kirkland Crawford Detroit Free Press Published 7:38 AM EST Feb 20, 2019 On this day, 15 years ago, the "Bad Boys" swagger returned to the Detroit Pistons. That's because the final piece of the championship-level contender made his debut at the Palace. Just before the NBA trade deadline that season, the Pistons pulled off a three-team trade that acquired Rasheed Wallace. The then-two-time All-Star with a mercurial game and temperament proved to be the missing link as the team went on to win the 2004 championship. Travel with us down memory lane, as you highlight the good, the fun and the ugly that came with 'Sheed's six seasons with the Pistons. Well, technically If old William Shakespeare was right and all we have in this world is our reputation, then Joe Dumars, Larry Brown and Pistons fans were right to be worried when Wallace was acquired. Fresh off of the first of six straight trips to the Eastern Conference finals, the Pistons had a nice team, but seemed to lack some … [Read more...] about Detroit Pistons-Rasheed Wallace era began 15 years ago today
Babes in the Wood killer Russell Bishop jailed for life for murdering schoolgirls 32 years ago
BABES in the Wood killer Russell Bishop has today finally been caged for life over the brutal murder of the two schoolgirls 32 years ago. The "monster", 52, molested and strangled nine-year-old Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway in Brighton in 1986 but was cleared of the double murder a year later. Just three years after he walked free, the monster was sentenced to life for the kidnap, sexual assault and attempted murder of a seven-year-old girl at Devil's Dyke on the South Downs. He was today jailed for life with a minimum of 36 years at the Old Bailey after being found guilty of murder following just two-and-a-half hours deliberation. In a final insult to the girls' families, Bishop chose not to appear in court this afternoon as his sentence - which means he'll be 88 if he survives to the end of his term - was handed down. Mr Justice Sweeney branded him a "predatory paedophile" who lured the girls to the secluded den where he strangled and sexually assaulted them both. How Russell … [Read more...] about Babes in the Wood killer Russell Bishop jailed for life for murdering schoolgirls 32 years ago
Colorado town overturns ban on snowball fights thanks to 9-year-old boy
SEVERANCE, Colo. — A 9-year-old boy has convinced the leaders of a small northern Colorado town to overturn a nearly century-old ban on snowball fights, and he already knows who his first target will be — his little brother. Dane Best, who lives in the often snow-swept town of Severance, presented his arguments at a town board meeting Monday night, and members voted unanimously to lift the ban. "The children of Severance want the opportunity to have a snowball fight like the rest of the world," Best said during his presentation, according to local newspaper The Greeley Tribune. "The law was created many years ago. Today's kids need a reason to play outside." Best's presentation lasted three minutes. The paper said the presentation included an audience of children and their parents, who cheered upon the ban's reversal. Dane's mother, Brooke Best, told the The Greeley Tribune her son had been talking about snowballs since he found out about a month and a half ago that … [Read more...] about Colorado town overturns ban on snowball fights thanks to 9-year-old boy
First WW1 Remembrance Day saw the unknown warrior returned from France as 1.25m Brits filed past memorial in London 100 years ago
THE guns had been silent for two years as millions of Britons stood to honour their dead at the first ever Remembrance Day. Half way through the two-minute silence a widow, still raw with grief, began to sob. By the time the buglers at the newly-unveiled Cenotaph sounded the Last Post 60 seconds later, nearly 1,000 people were in tears. Tomorrow, exactly a century after the Great War ended, organisers are recreating the extraordinary scenes of the first national service of remembrance in London. The year before there had been a victory parade past a temporary war memorial made of plywood. But in the summer of 1920, the Cabinet decided that Whitehall would be at the heart of national mourning and remembrance throughout the British Empire. As well as a permanent Cenotaph to the Glorious Dead, the body of an unidentified British soldier would represent the 887,858 Tommies killed in the four-year war. His body would be buried in Westminster Abbey, the parish church of the Empire, for a … [Read more...] about First WW1 Remembrance Day saw the unknown warrior returned from France as 1.25m Brits filed past memorial in London 100 years ago