Sunday, July 14, 2002
Names in the Game
The Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. — Former NBA player Wayman Tisdale said the best move he ever made was becoming a jazz musician.
The former Oklahoma basketball standout and 12-year NBA veteran was in Nebraska this weekend, showing off his musical talents at the Omaha Jazz & Blues Festival.
“It's just been a great, great time for me,” he said. “I think I was born to entertain.”
The 38-year-old Tisdale grew up in rural Oklahoma playing gospel music in the church. His parents, both singers, encouraged his love of music. Tisdale became a proficient guitarist.
In college, he started dabbling in jazz.
But he set aside his musical aspirations to pursue his basketball career. He was selected as a member of “The Dream Team” in the 1984 Olympics and was taken by the Indiana Pacers in the 1985 NBA draft. He also played with the Sacramento Kings and the Phoenix Suns.
He played jazz in clubs in the late 1980s. Teammates started noticing his hobby, and eventually he was recruited to play at an All-Star weekend party in Phoenix.
He released his first CD in 1995, and “Power Forward” went to No. 4 on the Billboard contemporary jazz chart. Another album and a couple of years later, Tisdale turned in his basketball jersey to play music full time.
“I've worked really hard at this craft,” Tisdale said. “My goal is to win Grammy awards and be noted as one of the greatest bassists ever.”
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BOSTON — The owners of the Boston Red Sox will ask the city for permission to sell beer on the street outside Fenway Park, as part of plans to make the street a pedestrian plaza for fans.
The team's concessionaire, Aramark Corp., is expected to make its case for selling beer on Yawkey Way on game days in a meeting with the city licensing board Wednesday.
Some area residents and businesses say they are concerned about the plan.
“The party atmosphere, I don't have a problem with,” Clif Moors, a retired teacher who lives nearby, told the Boston Herald. “It's when it gets too rowdy and I think (outside beer sales) would promote that kind of thing. Let's keep it inside.”
But city councilor Michael Ross, who represents the neighborhood, supports the idea.
”(The former owners) never sold alcohol outside the park. I think a break with tradition is exactly what this team needed.”
The team says beer sales would be a small part of efforts to create a festive atmosphere on Yawkey Way, turning the side street into an extension of the park. Plans could include food vendors, jugglers and clowns, autograph signings and batting cages, according to a permit filed by the team.
The club is asking permission from city officials to place turnstiles in the street for 14 September home games as a trial run.
The new Red Sox owners, led by John Henry, are reviewing whether Fenway, the oldest and smallest stadium in the major leagues, can be renovated and expanded.
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ROME — The feud between South Korean forward Ahn Jung-kwan and his Italian club is intensifying.
Perugia's president, Luciano Gaucci, said Saturday that his club was ready to take disciplinary action, including suspension of salary and suspension from play, if Ahn does not serve out a three-year extension of his contract in Italy.
“He's a Perugia player. He must respect his obligations, return here and put himself at the service of coach (Serse) Cosmi,” Gaucci said in an interview with Rome's sports daily Corriere dello Sport.
Ahn, who became a national hero after he scored the “golden goal” which eliminated Italy from the World Cup, was recently quoted as saying he did not want to rejoin Perugia after Gaucci attacked him for the goal.
Gaucci once again insisted that he did not criticize Ahn, even threatening to dismiss him, for scoring the goal which eliminated Italy but for his allegedly offensive pre-match remarks about Italian soccer.
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MARANELLO, Italy — Four-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher set a lap record during tests of his Ferrari 2002 car at the company circuit in Fiorano.
The German driver, dominating this year's Formula One championship in his quest for a record-tying fifth championship, turned his fastest lap of the 1.85-mile course at 57.476 seconds Friday. That was nearly one second faster than his own previous record.
Schumacher is preparing for the week's French Grand Prix.
Schumacher has a 54-point lead over teammate Rubens Barrichello with seven races to go. He would clinch the world title in France if he comes away with a lead of at least 60 points.
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HOUSTON — The Houston Texans' home opener against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 8 sold out in less than 20 minutes Saturday.
Single-game tickets for Texans games went on sale at 10 a.m., and within an hour, half the inventory was sold.
Tickets for the Texans' season finale against Tennessee Titans — the former Houston Oilers — also sold quickly.
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Names in the Game
