Briefs
ESPYs change format for award
The ESPYs are breaking tradition for this year’s Best Coach Award, awarding it posthumously to three Florida high school coaches who died shielding their students from gunfire.
The ESPN network announced Wednesday that family members of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School heroes Aaron Feis, Scott Beigel, and Chris Hixon will receive the award during the show July 18.
The award has previously gone to coaches who have shown extraordinary leadership of their teams – not for heroism off the field. Previous recipients include Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson and New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
ESPN’s Vice President Alison Overholt said the men are being honored for “their immeasurable bravery in the face of danger and for their ultimate sacrifice to protect the lives of countless students.”
Anne Donovan
dies at 56
Anne Donovan, the Basketball Hall of Famer who won a national championship at Old Dominion, two Olympic gold medals in the 1980s and coached the United States to gold in 2008, died Wednesday of heart failure. She was 56.
Donovan’s family confirmed the death in a statement.
“While it is extremely difficult to express how devastating it is to lose Anne, our family remains so very grateful to have been blessed with such a wonderful human being,” the statement said. “Anne touched many lives as a daughter, sister, aunt, friend and coach. Anne was a person with strong faith, courageous spirit, a giving heart and love for everyone. We are so proud of her accomplishments as a women’s’ basketball player and coach, but even more proud of her character, integrity, humility and kindness.”
Donovan was at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn., last weekend.
At The Meadows
Barn Girl thwarted the late challenge of Ready Any Time and went on to capture Wednesday’s $20,000 Filly & Mare Preferred Trot at The Meadows, her eighth win in 11 starts this year and the 50th victory of her career.
Barn Girl endured a demanding opening quarter – three wide in 27.1 – before reaching the front, a trip that could have made her vulnerable. But in characteristic fashion, she dug in for Aaron Merriman when Ready Any Time loomed boldly and defeated her by 3/4 lengths in 1:54. The pocket-sitting Expose Yourself finished third.
Bill Bercury trains Barn Girl, a 6-year-old daughter of Cash Hall-Turquoise Sweetie who lifted her lifetime bankroll to $683,668, for Renee Bercury. It was one four wins on the 13-race program for Merriman.
Nickname debate continues
In the latest round in a recurring fight, a Cincinnati-area high school whose teams have been called the Redskins for over 80 years will keep that mascot.
A committee heard heated debate and decided against recommending any change of the mascot name at Anderson High School.
People pushing to change the name argue it’s offensive and inappropriate to use the racial reference. Advocates of keeping the name contend that it is part of school tradition and that changing the branding would be an unnecessary expense of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The clash echoes debate in professional sports over the NFL’s Washington Redskins’ moniker and the Cleveland Indians’ Chief Wahoo logo. The Indians’ logo is being removed from players’ uniforms but not from other merchandise.