R.I.P. Celebrities(Non Wrestlers) 2022

[jimsteel]

Christian Saulsberry, a running back in the CFL, passed away at the age of 25 on December 18th. Saulsberry played his college football at West Alabama. He was twice named to the All-Gulf South Conference team. During his senior year in 2019, he led the team with 1,223 all-purpose yards. In 2022 he made the roster for the Elks. during the 2022 campaign, he played in 8 games for the Elks.

[on_the_edge]

To be clear, Saulsberry was shot. It was not natural causes.

[jimsteel]

Dino Danelli, Founding Drummer of ‘Good Lovin’ Rockers the Rascals, Dead at 78

Musician also played with Steven Van Zandt's band the Disciples of Soul

[TTX]

ahh The Rascals...a band name I haven't heard in a while. RIP.

[jimsteel]

College Basketball Player Phil Urban Dead At 20, Shot & Killed At Nature Preserve

[TDalton]

Dec 18, 2022 23:48:24 GMT -5 jimsteel said:

Dino Danelli, Founding Drummer of ‘Good Lovin’ Rockers the Rascals, Dead at 78.

Sad news. He was a very underrated drummer from that era.

[jimsteel]

Tom Browning, a former pitcher in the MLB, passed away at the age of 62.

Deputies found a man, identified as Browning, unresponsive on the couch inside the home. Subsequently, deputies and EMS attempted life-saving measures but were unsuccessful. No foul play is suspected in connection with Browning’s death. As a rookie, Browning went 20–9 with a 3.55 ERA for the Reds, becoming the first rookie to win 20 games since the Yankees' Bob Grim in 1954. Browning finished the season with 11 consecutive wins—the longest streak by a Cincinnati pitcher in 30 years—and was named The Sporting News' NL Rookie Pitcher of the Year. He also finished second (behind Vince Coleman) in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

Browning was superstitious and did not shave between starts. As a result, he was often photographed with a four-day stubble. He also wore red underwear on the days he pitched.

Browning would go on to post double-digit win totals for seven straight seasons and consistently ranked among the league leaders in starts, innings pitched and shutouts. One of his best seasons came in 1988, when he went 18–5 with a 3.41 ERA and teamed with 23-game-winner Danny Jackson.

On September 16, 1988, Browning pitched the 12th perfect game in baseball history. In a 1–0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Riverfront Stadium, Browning threw 70 of 102 pitches for strikes and did not run the count to three balls on a single batter. The first left-hander to pitch a perfect game since Sandy Koufax's perfect game in 1965, Browning remains the only Reds player to pitch a perfect game. Three months earlier, on June 6, 1988, Browning had a bid for a no-hitter broken up by Tony Gwynn, who singled with one out in the ninth.

Browning just missed becoming the first pitcher to hurl two perfect games, taking another bid into the ninth on July 4, 1989, against the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium; a lead-off double by Dickie Thon broke up this attempt. In 1990, the Reds went to the postseason for the first and only time in Browning's career. He won 15 games that season and picked up a key win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. The Reds would meet the heavily favored Oakland A's in the World Series that year, but thanks in part to Browning's victory in Game 3, the Reds pulled off an unlikely sweep to become champions. "That 1990 season was, without a doubt, the most enjoyable season of baseball I have ever been a part of," he said.

Browning's wife went into labor late in Game 2 of the World Series. Browning left the stadium to be with his wife at the hospital. However, as the game entered extra innings and Piniella realized his pitcher was absent, the Reds called the announcers and had them issue a statement on radio and TV asking Browning to return to the ballpark in case he had to pitch. When Browning did hear the message, he stayed with his wife. The Reds won in the 10th inning.

Browning battled injuries from 1991 to 1993—going 27–26—but earned a spot on the 1991 All-Star team after a 10–4 start to the season. Two years later, on July 7, 1993, he sneaked out of Wrigley Field during a Reds-Cubs game and spent one-half inning with fans on the rooftop of 3643 North Sheffield Avenue in full uniform in one of baseball's most legendary pranks. The gag earned Browning a $500 fine from Reds manager Davey Johnson.

Browning entered the 1994 season healthy. However, during a start in San Diego on May 9, 1994, Browning's arm broke while delivering a pitch to Archi Cianfrocco. The injury was gruesome, with spectators and television viewers able to see Browning's arm separate from his shoulder and hearing a "pop!" sound simultaneously. The injury was extreme, and he was done for the season. He attempted a comeback with the Kansas City Royals in 1995, pitching in two games at the major-league level, but decided to take the season off and continue rehabbing his arm. He entered camp with the Royals again in 1996 but retired before the season began.

Browning retired with a 123–90 record, a 3.94 ERA and 31 complete games. His 123 wins as a Reds player rank 12th on Cincinnati's all-time leaders list.

[legend]

Rip Tom. Met him this summer at the bar I used to own. My step son owns it now. Goodguy.

[TTX]

RIP Tom

[jimsteel]

Mean Girls musical star Stephanie Bissonnette dies at age 32 from brain cancer

Mean Girls musical star Stephanie Bissonnette, who played the character Dawn Schweitzer in the Broadway show, has died at age 32.

Bissonnette was diagnosed in 2019 with medulloblastoma, a cancerous brain tumor, when she sought medical help after feeling a 'two-second twinge' during a dance move in Mean Girls.

She had surgery in February 2019 and was able to return to the show that October after radiotherapy and recovery, according to SurvivorNet. She later featured in a documentary about how Covid shutdowns had affected Broadway.