Legendary North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith died Saturday night in Chapel Hill, N.C. He was 83.
With 879 victories in 36 years on the bench with the Tar Heels, Smith is fourth on the all-time wins list in college basketball, including two NCAA national championships and 11 Final Four appearances.
The school released a statement Sunday from Smith’s family. Smith was with his wife and five children when he died “peacefully” at his home.
“We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers, and appreciate the continued respect for our privacy as arrangements are made available to the public. Thank you,” Smith’s family said in the statement.
Smith’s program produced some of the most recognizable NBA talent in the history of the sport, including Michael Jordan, and several of his players went on to become coaches or executives in the sport. Most notably, Larry Brown, George Karl and current Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak.
Day wins Farmers
in four-way playoff
Australian Jason Day clinched the Farmers Insurance Open in a four-man sudden-death playoff, outlasting J.B. Holmes and defending champion Scott Stallings and Harris English at Torrey Pines on Sunday in La Jolla, California.
Day claimed his third U.S. PGA Tour victory and is projected to move to world number four, becoming Australia’s top-ranked golfer by pushing Adam Scott to number five.
Day completed the win with a tap-in par-putt on the par three 16th hole, the scene of a 50-foot birdie in regulation, when Holmes made bogey.
“It sounds good to be the champion,” said Day, winner of the 2010 Byron Nelson and 2014 WGC Match Play tournaments.
“It is an amazing feeling. I just kept visualising myself holding the trophy. I’m really proud of myself.”
Clippers’ Griffin sidelined by infected elbow
Los Angeles Clippers All-Star forward Blake Griffin will undergo surgery for a staph infection on his right elbow and will be sidelined indefinitely, the National Basketball Association team announced on Sunday.
Griffin will have the surgery on Monday and will be re-evaluated after the All-Star break, a major blow to the Clippers.
Griffin is the Clippers’ leading scorer with 22.5 points per game and also averages 7.5 rebounds and a career-high 5.1 assists.
- Reuters/Staff reports
