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Appreciation: Bill Russell lived a life like very few others

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Appreciation: Bill Russell lived a life like very few others

Invoice Russell hated autographs. Noticed no level to them. If he was out eating and acquired approached by somebody asking for his signature, Russell’s typical response was to as a substitute ask the individual to affix him on the desk to have a dialog about life.

The autograph-seekers nearly at all times declined.

Oh, the tales they missed.

Russell, the best winner within the historical past of group sports activities, died Sunday at 88. The basketball legacy is past well-known: 11 championships in 13 years with the Boston Celtics, first Black coach within the NBA, first Black coach to win an NBA title, Corridor of Fame participant, Corridor of Fame coach, Olympic champion, NCAA champion, member of the league’s seventy fifth anniversary group, and the namesake of the NBA Finals MVP award which, had it existed when he performed, he would have received at the very least a half-dozen instances.

But when these memento hounds had taken Russell up on the possibility to take a seat with him for a meal, they may have heard about his obsession with golf. Or the mating habits of bees, one thing he penned a column about as soon as. Or costly automobiles with souped-up sound programs so he might blare the music of Laura Nyro, Janis Ian, or Crosby, Stills and Nash — a few of his favorites.

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“His thoughts was greater than basketball,” creator Taylor Department, who spent a couple of yr dwelling with Russell close to Seattle within the Nineteen Seventies whereas working with him on a ebook, mentioned Sunday. “And so was his persona, as nice as he was in basketball.”

Take away all of the on-court accomplishments, and Russell nonetheless lived a life.

He stood side-by-side with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. within the Nineteen Sixties, the peak of the civil rights motion. He was within the viewers when King delivered the “I Have A Dream” speech in Washington in 1963. He marched in Mississippi after the slaying of civil rights chief Medgar Evers. He supported Muhammad Ali when the fighter refused to go to Vietnam. He helped begin the Nationwide Basketball Gamers Affiliation. President Barack Obama — at about 6-foot-2, a taller-than-average particular person — needed to stretch a bit when draping the Presidential Medal of Freedom round Russell’s neck in 2011, even after Russell crouched all the way down to accommodate the second.

“He endured insults and vandalism, however he saved on specializing in making the teammates who he cherished higher gamers, and made attainable the success of so many who would observe,” Obama mentioned that day. “And I hope that someday, within the streets of Boston, youngsters will lookup at a statue constructed not solely to Invoice Russell the participant, however Invoice Russell the person.”

Russell as soon as acquired requested a query about being a Black star in Boston, a metropolis with an advanced historical past in relation to race. The premise was that it needed to be tough for Russell to reside in such a spot, to play for followers in such a metropolis.

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“What I ascribed to do, and I did fairly properly, is each time I got here into an adversarial scenario, I made a decision to take management of it in order that if a man got here as much as me and tried to offer me a foul day, I made certain that he was the one who left with the dangerous day,” Russell mentioned. “And so, to do that took thought, planning and discretion and intelligence. That was the way in which I carried out my life.”

Living proof: The obvious invasion of raccoons into Studying, Massachusetts, round 1958.

In his second season with the Celtics, Russell purchased a home in Studying. He left for a street journey and his rubbish cans acquired turned over. Identical factor occurred through the season’s second street journey. Russell went to the police, who surmised that raccoons should be the culprits. Russell requested for a gun allow.

“The raccoons heard about that,” Russell mentioned. “By no means turned the trash cans over once more.”

The gun by no means acquired bought, both.

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It might be a disservice — an insult, actually — to take a look at Russell as solely a basketball participant, whilst one of many biggest ever. He’s nonetheless second on the NBA’s all-time rebounding listing, behind solely Wilt Chamberlain, and can most likely be in that spot eternally since no person has come remotely near him within the final 50 years. He received 5 MVP awards, tied for second-most with Michael Jordan, one behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s league file.

“That’s what I did,” Russell mentioned in 2009. “It wasn’t who I used to be.”

That’s the lesson. He didn’t shut up and dribble. He stood for what he believed, stood with who he believed in. Being fearless on the basketball courtroom was straightforward. Being fearless in the actual world — even when coping with issues of race in a few of the nation’s darkest instances on that matter — was by some means even simpler.

“He had such curiosity about human nature, about psychology,” Department mentioned. “It was a treasure for me to be round Invoice and see how he seen the world in all of its dimensions.”

The world has lots of them. So did Russell. And on Sunday, the world misplaced an absolute legend.

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Oh, the tales we’ll miss.

___

Tim Reynolds is a nationwide basketball author for The Related Press. Write to him at treynolds(at)ap.org

___

Extra AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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New Lonely Island Song ‘Sushi Glory Hole’ Premieres on ‘SNL’; Raps About Secret Sushi Spots Around NYC

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New Lonely Island Song ‘Sushi Glory Hole’ Premieres on ‘SNL’; Raps About Secret Sushi Spots Around NYC

In the first Lonely Island song of the 50th season of “SNL,” the beloved trio of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer debuted “Sushi Glory Hole,” a humorous take on a fictional app where you can find sushi in a hole in a bathroom around New York.

“SNL” alumna Maya Rudolph, who has been portraying presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris during the new season, was on hand for the video. “Gentleman, what do you have for us today?” she asked in the video opener.

“Sushi glory hole,” rapped Samberg. “Imagine that. Instead of getting strange [expletive] you’ll be getting a snack.” A long refrain of “Hear us out, hear us out, hear us out,” played on loop as the trio tried to get others on board with their idea.

Dressed as 1980s businessmen, the Lonely Island members, and Bowen Yang, rapped about sushi in bathrooms, with suggestive lyrics, singing, “So drop to your knees and get ready for some fish.” The digital short featured funny evocative imagery of slices of sushi being presented through holes in bathroom walls. The trio rapped, “Hit the bathroom stall, and find a sushi-sized hole in the bathroom wall.”

“Hit the map,” they said, showing a phone with a lit-up map with “SGH” locations all around Manhattan, where one could find a sushi glory hole. They rapped on, defending the unorthodox food-related business idea, saying, “You got nothing to fear. It’s not weird. It’s sushi being through a hole in the wall.”

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They rapped about the different ideal circumstances for a “SGH.” Samberg sang about sushi glory holes in nightclubs and how it’s better than eating in the middle of a street. “Make a wish and prepare for some shockingly high-grade fish.”

“Don’t leave, hear us out. No substitutions or special requests,” they said.

Stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze was this episode’s guest and musical group Coldplay was the musical guest.

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Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei defends missile barrage against Israel in rare sermon

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Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei defends missile barrage against Israel in rare sermon

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared in a rare sermon Friday that his country’s ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier this week was “legal and legitimate” and that the “resistance in the region will not back down even with the killing of its leaders.” 

The public address from Khamenei was his first during Friday prayers in Tehran in nearly five years, according to the AFP.  

Khamenei said Iran will not “procrastinate nor act hastily to carry out its duty” in going after Israel, Reuters reports. 

The news agency cited him as saying that Tuesday’s barrage of nearly 200 missiles fired by Iran at Israel was “legal and legitimate” and the minimum punishment for Israel’s “crimes.” 

IRAN WARNS OF ‘DECISIVE RESPONSE’ IF ISRAEL CROSSES ‘RED LINES’ 

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during Friday Prayers and a commemoration ceremony of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Tehran, Iran, on Oct. 4. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)

“The resistance in the region will not back down even with the killing of its leaders,” Khamenei reportedly added, mentioning recently slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during the speech. 

The remarks came as the Israel Defense Forces announced Friday that Mohammad Rashid Sakafi, the commander of Hezbollah’s Communications Unit, was killed in an airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon. 

“Sakafi was a senior Hezbollah terrorist, who was responsible for the communications unit since 2000,” the IDF wrote on X. “Sakafi invested significant efforts to develop communication capabilities between all of Hezbollah’s units.” 

ISRAEL BANS UN SECRETARY-GENERAL OVER ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIONS 

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Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in Tehran

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday that Iran’s missile attack on Israel this week was “legal and legitimate,” Reuters reports.  (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/West Asia News Agency/Reuters)

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said earlier this week that the Iranian missile attack on Israel was “defeated and ineffective” and that the U.S. military coordinated with the IDF to repel the strikes.  

“U.S. naval destroyers joined Israeli Air Defense units in firing interceptors to shoot down inbound missiles. President Biden and Vice President Harris monitored the attack and the response from the White House Situation Room, joined in person and remotely by their national security team,” Sullivan said during a briefing.  

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system

Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets during the missile attack, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on Tuesday, Oct. 1. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)

 

“This is a significant escalation by Iran, a significant event, and it is equally significant that we were able to step up with Israel and create a situation in which no one was killed in this attack in Israel… We are now going to look at what the appropriate next steps are to secure, first and foremost, American interests and then to promote stability to the maximum extent possible as we go forward,” he added. 

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report. 

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Protests across Europe as Gaza war anniversary nears

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Protests across Europe as Gaza war anniversary nears

The war in Gaza, which started on 7 October last year, has seen more than 41,000 Palestinians killed and decimated the Strip. Almost 100 Israelis are still being held hostage by Hamas, with fewer than 70 believed to be alive.

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Thousands of people have staged protests in capitals across Europe in support of Palestine in the run-up to the first anniversary of the war on 7 October.

Huge rallies took place in several major European cities, with rallies expected to continue over the weekend and peak on Monday, the date of the anniversary.

Italy

In Rome, several thousand demonstrated peacefully until a smaller group tried to push the rally toward the centre of the city, in spite of a ban by local authorities who refused to authorize protests, citing security concerns.

Some protesters, dressed in black and with their faces covered threw stones, bottles and paper bombs at the police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons, eventually dispersing the crowd.

At least 30 law enforcement officers and three demonstrators were injured in the clashes, local media reported.

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The rally in Rome had been calm earlier, with people chanting “Free Palestine, Free Lebanon,” waving Palestinian flags and holding banners calling for an immediate stop to the conflict.

United Kingdom

In London, thousands marched through the capital to Downing Street amid a heavy police presence.

The atmosphere was tense as pro-Palestinian protesters and counterdemonstrators, some holding Israeli flags, passed one another.

Scuffles broke out as police officers pushed back activists trying to get past a cordon.

At least 17 people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences, supporting a proscribed organisation and assault, the Metropolitan Police said.

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Spain

Thousands also took to the streets of Madrid to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.

The protests were peaceful and there were no reported incidents of altercations with police.

“Outrage at this situation, thousands and thousands of people killed in Gaza, now in Lebanon, there are already more than 2,000, more than 10,000 people missing. This has to be stopped one way or another,” said Enrique Quintanilla from the ‘Disarm Madrid’ group.

Germany

In the northern of Hamburg, about 950 people staged a peaceful demonstration with many waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags and chanting “Stop the Genocide,” the DPA news agency reported, citing a count by police.

Two smaller pro-Israeli counterdemonstrations took place without incident, it said.

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Serbia

A smaller protest of around 200 people happened in Belgrade with protesters chanting “Free Palestine” and expressing their anger at their government’s support for Israel.

“The main message is that we, citizens of Serbia and Belgrade, are against arms exports to Israel. The Republic of Serbia is exporting arms to Israel. Since October 7 last year, the value of weapons exported to Israel from Serbia is at least 20 million euros. We are against that,” said protest organiser, Mihajlo Nikolic.

Rallies were also planned in several other countries across Europe including Greece, the Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland.

Increased security

Security forces in several countries warned of heightened levels of alert in major cities, amid concerns that the conflict in the Middle East could inspire new terror attacks in Europe or that the protests could turn violent.

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Pro-Palestinian protests calling for an immediate cease-fire have repeatedly taken place across Europe and around the globe in the past year and have often turned violent with confrontations between demonstrators and law enforcement officers.

A bloody year

On 7 October last year, Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis, taking 250 people hostage and setting off a war with Israel that has shattered much of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed since then in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between fighters and civilians.

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Nearly 100 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, with fewer than 70 believed to be alive. 

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