The BulleTin • Sunday, auguST 7, 2022 B3
MOTOR SPORTS | NASCAR CUP SERIES
FOOTBALL
Tony Boselli becomes 1st Jaguars
player enshrined in Hall of Fame
BY ROB MAADDI
associated Press
CANTON, Ohio — Tony
Boselli looked out at all the
teal-colored jerseys in the
crowd and screamed: “Du-
uuuval!”
Finally, the Jacksonville
Jaguars have a player in the
Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Boselli, the first pick in Jag-
uars history, was among eight
members of the Class of 2022
enshrined Saturday at Tom
Benson Hall of Fame Sta-
dium.
“I thank God for football,
and I thank God for the peo-
ple of Jacksonville,” Boselli
said before shouting the fans’
rallying cry, the name of their
county.
The Jaguars played the Las
Vegas Raiders in the NFL
preseason opener Thursday
night, so No. 71 Boselli jer-
seys filled the seats.
A five-time Pro Bowl selec-
tion and three-time All-Pro
left tackle in seven seasons
in Jacksonville, Boselli saw
his career cut short by inju-
ries. But his dominant per-
formance earned him a gold
jacket. “It’s a profound honor,”
Boselli said.
Linebacker Sam Mills, de-
fensive back LeRoy Butler,
defensive linemen Bryant
Young and Richard Seymour,
wide receiver Cliff Branch,
coach Dick Vermeil and long-
time head of officiating Art
McNally joined Boselli in a
class of guys who waited sev-
eral years — some decades —
to get the call.
Young delivered the most
emotional speech when he
broke down honoring his
son, Colby, who died of pedi-
atric cancer at age 15 in 2016.
Young, who excelled at de-
fensive tackle in an era filled
with talented players at the
position, had 89½ sacks and
earned four Pro Bowl selec-
tions in a 14-year career spent
entirely with the San Fran-
cisco 49ers.
Vermeil gave the longest
speech, blowing past the
david Richard/aP
Former NFL player Tony Boselli speaks Saturday during his induc-
tion into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
8-minute limit by 15. The for-
mer Philadelphia Eagles, St.
Louis Rams and Kansas City
Chiefs coach seemed to thank
everyone who helped him
reach the stage. He credited
players for his success and
specifically pointed out fellow
Hall of Famers Kurt Warner
and Isaac Bruce, who were on
Vermeil’s “Greatest Show on
Turf” Super Bowl champion-
ship team in St. Louis.
Vermeil wrapped up the
ceremonies. Butler kicked ev-
erything off. The four-time
All-Pro safety leaped in with
the same enthusiasm he cel-
ebrated big plays at Lambeau
Field.
“DJ Khaled said it best:
‘God did,’ ” Butler began, ref-
erencing the song. “When
you play for the Green Bay
Packers, a lot of doors open
up. When you win a Super
Bowl, more doors open up.
When you’re picked for the
Hall of Fame, football heaven
opens up. It’s rare company.”
Butler helped restore
Green Bay’s glory days during
a 12-year career. His versatil-
ity as a safety set the standard
for a new wave at the position
and earned him a spot on the
league’s All-Decade team of
the 1990s. Butler originated
the “Lambeau Leap” and had
a key sack in Green Bay’s Su-
per Bowl victory over New
England. He fell just short of
becoming the first player in
league history to finish his ca-
reer with 40 interceptions and
20 sacks.
Mills, the 5-foot-9 line-
backer nicknamed “Field
Mouse” during his 12-year
career with the New Orleans
Saints and Carolina Panthers,
and Branch were inducted
posthumously. An inspira-
tional figure, Mills overcame
tremendous odds to even
reach the NFL. Mills played
Division III college football
and was not drafted. He was
cut by the Cleveland Browns
and Toronto Argonauts of
the CFL and began his pro-
fessional career with the
USFL’s Philadelphia Stars. Jim
Mora, who coached the Stars,
brought him to New Orle-
ans in 1986 and Mills never
looked back.
“He was told he wasn’t
good enough to play college
football or big enough to play
professional football and at
the age of 27, he wasn’t young
enough to play in the NFL
and yet here we are today cel-
ebrating,” said Melanie Mills,
Sam’s widow.
Mills became an assistant
coach with the Panthers after
his retirement. He was diag-
nosed with intestinal cancer
Relay
Continued from B1
Teams of 12 runners, split
into two vans, take turns run-
ning portions of the course
that range from three to 11
miles. For the 36-leg run,
each participant completes
three different legs (each does
two legs for the 24-leg events)
at all hours of the day and
night.
From start to finish, the
runners gain 8,108 feet of ele-
vation throughout the course.
“It was really hard,” said
16-year-old Neftali Menen-
dez, of Vancouver, Washing-
ton. “The first leg was really
hard because it was super hot
and there were a lot of hills.
My third leg was really hard
because there were a lot of
hills, but I didn’t want to let
my team down, so I ran fast.
But it was a lot of fun to hang
out with the team and just
run.”
The 216-mile race started
Friday at Diamond Lake,
just north of Crater Lake Na-
Bird
Continued from B1
Members of Seattle’s previ-
ous championships teams are
expected to be in attendance.
There will be a pregame cere-
mony. And the largest crowd
in Storm history — more
than 18,000 at Climate Pledge
Arena — is expected.
“What she’s been able to do
in her career, on and off the
court, has been phenomenal
and I don’t think they’ll ever
be anyone like her,” former
Seattle teammate Lauren Jack-
son said this week. “I think
the legacy that she’s left on the
sport, and that she’ll be leaving
on the sport, is enormous. But
I’m really excited to see what
she does next.”
The 41-year-old Bird, the
oldest player in the WNBA,
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin
The crowd cheers after Dmitry Dukhovny catches a piece of candy
in his mouth while running past his teammate Laura Waagmeester,
second from the right, during the Cascade Lakes Relay on Saturday.
tional Park, then took run-
ners east toward Silver Lake
before heading north through
La Pine. The final third of
the race took runners along
Wickiup Reservoir, Lava
Lake, Elk Lake, Sparks Lake
and down Century Drive,
ending at Riverbend Park in
announced in June that this
would be her final season be-
fore retiring. The decision was
expected, especially after Bird
flirted with the idea of step-
ping away after last season
before returning for a 19th
season on the court and 21st
overall with Seattle, missing
two seasons due to injuries.
She’ll conclude her ca-
reer as one of the most deco-
rated players of all-time: four
WNBA titles, five Olympic
gold medals, countless WNBA
records that may never be
matched and recognition as
one of the great women’s play-
ers during a golden generation
for the league.
“If you want to talk the
best generation (the league)
is still pretty young, so we can
revisit that conversation in
like 20, 30, 40, 50 years,” Bird
Bend. The 24-leg events start
at Buck Creek Ranch near Sil-
ver Lake and follow the same
path to the finish.
“I really enjoyed the scen-
ery,” Menendez said. “Having
that scenery when you are
running is really nice.”
The 36-leg race takes more
before the 2003 season but
kept coaching during his
treatment and made what is
known as his “Keep pound-
ing” speech on the eve of the
club’s Super Bowl matchup
with New England at the end
of that season. Mills died
in April 2005 at age 45. His
“Keep pounding” remains the
Panthers’ tag line.
Branch, who died more
than three years ago at age 71
of natural causes, was one of
the best deep threats of his
era with some of his biggest
performances coming on the
game’s biggest stages, helping
the Raiders win three Super
Bowls. Branch made the first
of his three straight All-Pro
teams in his first season as a
starter in 1974 and scored 67
touchdowns through the air.
“Clifford was delayed. He
was not denied,” said his sis-
ter and presenter, Elaine An-
derson.
In a year with no first-bal-
lot candidates, the inductees
endured long waits to make
the Hall. Defensive tackle
Richard Seymour didn’t wait
too long to taste success in
the NFL. He was part of three
Super Bowl championship
teams in his first four seasons
with the New England Pa-
triots.
Seymour had 57½ career
sacks in 12 seasons, the first
eight in New England before
finishing his career with the
Oakland Raiders.
“I’m overwhelmed with
humility because it’s not
about what this says about me
but what it says about we and
what we can do together,” he
said. “I’m overwhelmed with
gratitude because I didn’t get
here alone. None of us did.
None of us could have.”
The 42-year-old Seymour
choked up thanking his wife,
Tanya. “Football is what I do,
but family is who I am,” he
said. “Thank you for every-
thing you added to my life.
This day belongs to my fam-
ily. Scripture teaches your
riches are in your family.”
than a day to complete. The
Fellowship Of The Run team
nearly eclipsed the 24-hour
mark, finishing 216 miles
first in 24 hours, 21 minutes
and 28.9 seconds, an hour
and 42 minutes ahead of sec-
ond-place Cascade Cakes,
which finished in 26:04.18.5.
The fastest team to com-
plete the 24-leg running relay
was Just a Couple of Dudes,
who finished in 17:18:19.2,
while Enlightened Soles had
the fastest walk, finishing in
29:00:27.5.
The Cascade Lakes Relay is
a longer relay than the Hood
to Coast Relay — which starts
the final weekend in August
— by about 17 miles. But it
also has far fewer participants
compared to Hood to Coast.
But for Dalke, that is part of
its charm.
“We like the smaller size,
the intimate setting — it is
less than a boondoggle all
around,” Dalke said. “We are
Cascade Lakes fans.”
█
Reporter: 541-383-0307,
brathbone@bendbulletin.com
Ted S. Warren/aP
Seattle Storm’s Sue Bird stands on the court during Wednesday’s
WNBA game against the Minnesota Lynx in Seattle.
said. “But as it stands right
now, I do feel really lucky that
I played in the generation I
played in, and I do think a
huge chunk there is probably
going to go down as the best,
most talented.”
Last year when Seattle’s
Paul Sancya/aP
Kyle Busch watches during NASCAR Cup Series qualifying Saturday at
the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.
Kyle Busch thankful family
escaped mall shooting
BY LARRY LAGE
associated Press
Busch said.
Bubba’s breakthrough
Bubba Wallace won his first
career pole Saturday, becom-
ing the only driver to break
190 mph in the Next Gen car
during qualifying this season.
Wallace also gave 23XI Rac-
ing, formed by Charlotte Hor-
nets owner Michael Jordan
and Denny Hamlin in 2020,
its first pole.
“With the speed that we
have, there’s no reason that
we can’t go out and win,” said
Wallace, who became the sec-
ond Black driver to win a Cup
race 10 months ago at Talla-
dega Superspeedway.
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Kyle
Busch’s tumultuous year took
another turn.
Busch, his wife and their
two children escaped the Mall
of America in Minnesota af-
ter shots were fired, three days
before racing at Michigan In-
ternational Speedway.
“If you look at that dark
cloud that’s over me lately,
hence the other day, we’re in
the wrong place at the wrong
time a lot of times,” Busch said
Saturday.
When shots were fired
Thursday, Busch and his son
Brexton were waiting in line
to ride a roller coaster while
his wife, Samantha, and their
daughter, Lennix, were shop-
ping elsewhere in the largest
mall in the country.
“It’s a lot to process as an
adult but really hard as a par-
ent to explain to your child
what happened,” Samantha
wrote in a post on Instagram.
Bloomington Police Chief
Booker T. Hodges said no
one was struck by the gunfire,
adding on Friday that the de-
partment was still searching
for two people involved in the
shooting.
The harrowing experience,
though, did not appear to give
Busch a newfound perspective
on his life and career. A two-
time NASCAR champion, he
does not have a contract for
next season and that appears
to be his chief concern.
“This is a perfor-
mance-based business,” said
Busch, who will start third in
the FireKeepers Casino 400 on
Sunday. “So it is life-or-death
fear if you’ve either got a job
and you’re working and you’re
making a living, or you’re at
home figuring out what your
next steps are.
“I’ve kind of thought about
that like, ‘OK, what are my
next steps? What do I do if I
don’t continue to race? And I
have no idea. I have no clue.”
Busch, the 2015 and 2019
NASCAR champion and win-
ner of 60 career Cup races, has
one victory this year and is
ranked 11th in points. During
the last seven races, Busch
has failed to finish within the
top 10. That stretch includes
a 36th-place finish at Pocono
two weeks ago after he and
Joe Gibbs Racing teammate
Denny Hamlin, who won the
race, were disqualified because
their Toyotas failed inspec-
tions.
“It’s a matter of luck, and
there is absolutely none fol-
lowing the 18 car right now,”
Ford’s tough stretch
Chevrolet has 13 victories,
including points leader Chase
Elliott’s series-high four wins,
leaving Toyota (five) and Ford
(four) searching for answers.
Ford is hoping its previ-
ous success on the track in its
backyard will provide a much-
needed boost. The manufac-
turer has won seven straight
Cup races, including last year
with Ryan Blaney, on the two-
mile oval about 50 miles west
of its world headquarters in
the Motor City.
This season, though, Ford
has gone two months without
a victory since Joey Logano
won his second race in 2022.
Logano said he plans to
compete aggressively. “If
you’re not the one making the
move, a move is going to be
put on you,” he said.
season ended at home with
a playoff loss to Phoenix and
Storm fans chanted “one more
year!” the passionate plea res-
onated with Bird. She’s cited
that moment numerous times
over the past year as a partial
reason for her decision to re-
turn.
But in a sign of how at
peace Bird is with her deci-
sion, she said when hearing
the chant now, her primary
thought is, “nice try. See you
later,” she joked.
Another sign that Bird
knows she made the right de-
cision came after she pressed
the button to announce her
decision. Instantly, the ques-
tion of whether she’d play
again was gone and with it an
unknown weight that hung
over her. That’s led to more
open and honest conversa-
tions with competitors, former
teammates and fans without
dancing around the uncom-
fortable unknown as the final
days of her career have ticked
closer.
“There were these other
nice byproducts I didn’t ex-
pect. Most of it comes in the
form of people being able to
share moments with me, or
memories with me. Probably
the most meaningful is your
peers,” Bird said. “Players on
the other team sharing things
with me, whether it’s an actual
moment or how I’ve inspired
them, how they looked up to
me, ‘how the WNBA won’t be
the same without you.’ I didn’t
do it to get that. But that has
been really nice. And it really
does help. It’s part of my own
closure and it’ll help me move
on when it’s all said and done.”
Playoff push
Four races remain in the
regular season, creating a
sense of urgency to qualify for
the playoffs. That’s true even
for some drivers who have
won a race.
NASCAR has had 14 differ-
ent Cup winners this season,
closing in on the playoff-era
record of 16 set last year. If a
new mark is made and there
are three new winners over
the next four races, one driver
with a victory would be elim-
inated from the 16-car play-
off with a tiebreaker based on
points.
Chase Briscoe, who has
one victory and is No. 12 in
points, is confident his post-
season bid is safe if there is not
a new winner at MIS, though
he would love to seal a spot on
his own.
“Another win would be the
easiest way to take the pres-
sure off 100%,” said Briscoe,
who will start 23rd in the 37-
car field in the No. 14 Ford for
Stewart-Haas Racing.