Paul Luvera Journal

On January 24, 2002, William “Bill” Taylor died in Anacortes. He was one of Anacortes’s most successful basketball coaches in the history of the school.  As a coach & teacher, he was also a positive influence in so many students’ lives, including mine. He was a great coach and mentor to me. I’ve published a full account of my high school relationship with this great coach and his profound influence in my life: https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2013/01/william-taylor.html . In addition, I published a background…

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LaDainian Tramayne Tomlinson is a former professional American football player who was a running back in the National Football League for eleven seasons. He played the majority of his 11-year career with the San Diego Chargers, who selected him with the fifth overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft. Tomlinson was selected to five Pro Bowls, was an All-Pro six times, and won two rushing titles. At the time of his retirement, he ranked fifth in career rushing yards, seventh…

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The New York Times reports that Tommy Lewis has died in Huntsville Alabama. He was 83 years old. Who was he that the NY Times would carry his obituary? He was infamous for one sudden, spontaneous decision he made when he was playing football for Alabama many years ago. Thomas Lewis was a senior and the captain of the University of Alabama's South Eastern conference championship team at the time of the the 1954 Cotton Bowl Classic. The Alabama Crimson…

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i'm writing this on Super Bowl Sunday so here are some facts you could easily live without ever knowing about them, but I'll share them anyway. Did you know that in the 1960s Congress granted the NFL a tax exempt status? Section 501 (C) (6) of the Internal Revenue Code provided a tax exemption. It applied to "business leagues, chambers of commerce, real estate boards, and professional football leagues." According to the Arizona Republic newspaper Pro football is the most popular…

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William Tatem Tilton, known as “Big Bill” is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time.  Born into wealth he dominated the world of tennis in the 1920’s. He was the world’s number one player for seven years. He won fourteen majors including ten Grand Slams and four Pro Slams.  During his eighteen year amateur period of 1912-1930 he won 138 of 192 tournaments. His winning record was 93.6 percent. William “Little Bill” Johnston was born in San…

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Lita and I are finally back in Gig Harbor. While I am still getting antibiotic therapy for my knee and unable to drve, it's great to be home. This long neglected blog needs attention. We watched a wonderful film about a famous race horse which inspires this posting. I don't follow the races or go to the track, but there are champion horses worth hearing about. A couple of famous horses have ties to Washington state. Real Quiet was the name…

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Baseball great Harmon Killebrew died this month at age 74. Twincities.com has an interview with Hall of Fame member Harmon Killebrew's son Ken talking about the family gathering at his dad's Scottsdale home the night before he died. He said all of the family and children were there. They played a DVD of the David Letterman's show called "Harmon Killebrew night." Letterman dedicated the entire February 1986 Letterman show to him after he had been bumped as an invited guest when Bette Midler…

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Allan Barra wrote a book, The Last Coach, about Alabama coach Bear Bryant. I thoroughly enjoyed it and enjoyed reading about this football coaching great. Here are few notes about the contents you might find of interest. • In the 1951 sugar bowl, Bryant's team made a spectacular upset against Bud Wilkinson’s ranked number one Oklahoma team. Afterwards in the locker room, in the middle of the shouting and cheering, Bud Wilkinson, the Oklahoma coach, walked in and the room…

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CBS and Turner Broadcasting decided they would experiment with a three person announcer presentation of the Final Four games. Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr were selected for a three man booth. Kerr had been a NBA analyst. Kellog replaced Billy Packer who had been a lead college basketball analyst for CBS for 27 years. Kellogg has done game and studio analysis for CBS for 16 years. He was to partner with Jim Nantz. So, how was the coverage?…

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Probably the greatest golfer who ever lived is someone you are not likely to have ever heard about. Murray Norman was born July 10, 1929 and died at age 75 in Canada September 4, 2004. Known throughout his life by his nickname "Moe" he was brought up in Canada and played golf his entire life. This is a man who won fifty five Canadian tournaments, was the Canadian PGA champion two times. He set thirty three course records. His records include three  scores…

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