Famous person is dead. R.I.P. [R]

https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/13/entertainment/scott-adams-death-cec

A wild, winding career of a mind that just couldn't stop trying to find the next way to subvert norms.

 

Rocco Commisso, former New York Cosmos owner, dead at 76

 

Yes.

For those who missed it, Rocco Commisso has passed away.

Fiorentina Announces the Passing of Rocco B. Commisso.

Statement: https://t.co/cA7A5nE4S7 pic.twitter.com/rkFus4gnqS

— ACF Fiorentina English (@ACFFiorentinaEN) January 17, 2026

They loved Commisso in Florence but that was drastically changing this year as Fiorentina is in relegation mode since Rocco became ill.
With Joe Barone's death in 2024, there is now no one in charge of La Viola,

I heard maybe Roby Baggio will be their president but I doubt that will happen.

Riposa In Pace Rocco!

 

Darren DeVivo: Radio Show Host and DJ And Beatles Video/Podcaster
Drummer Gary Burke has died. Unfortunately, details are minimal.
Burke's first major gig was playing with Bob Dylan during the latter part of Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour of 1975-76. Check out Dylan's 1976 live album, "Hard Rain". By 1984, he had joined Joe Jackson's band for the albums "Body And Soul", "Big World", "Will Power", part of "Live 1980/86", the soundtrack to "Tucker", "Blaze Of Glory", "Night Music", "Symphony No. 1", "Summer In The City Live In New York" and "Night And Day II". Up until recently, Burke was a member of Professor Louie and the Crowmatix.

 

Valentino Garavani, Regal Designer and Fashion’s ‘Last Emperor,’ Dies at 93

Valentino, as he was called, created one of the most durable and fashionable labels and became an equal of his high society customers.

Valentino's Wiki entry takes us on a tour of modern fashion design:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentino_(fashion_designer)​

 

White Sox knuckleballer Wilbur Wood, 84

https://archive.ph/YgIKL

He was the ace for the White Sox when we first got cable in the early 70s. Watched a lot of his outings. There was a time when it looked like he would become the first pitcher ever to win 30 games while losing 40.

4 straight 20 win seasons. 4 straight seasons with 20 or more complete games. 5 straight seasons with over 40 starts (maxing out at 49) and 4 straight seasons of over 300 innings pitched (making out at 376 and 2/3rds: this year's leader pitched 207 and also led the league with 34 starts). Glad I got to see that when I was a kid. No one is ever going to see anything like that again, I think.

 

Valentino, fashion designer to the jet set, dies aged 93 in Rome

 

Happens I saw him start both ends of a doubleheader, Misummer, I had just finished a major paper, my best friend was tending bar at night and off during this day. We made a huge batch of fried rice and went to drink a six pack and watch baseball on hid Cable.

Wood started the first game and had nothing-- his knuckler didn't flutter at all, and without its, threat, his other pitches were substandard that day. IIRC he got a handful of outs and left way in the hole and visibly angry. He went to the bullpen and threw knuckleballs for several innings until he got a little bit tired-- and suddenly it started to flutter nicely. Meanwhile the Sox used up their staff trying to catch up fruitlessly. So when the second game started Wood was back on the mound, throwing mostly knucklers, and getting the win eventually

Fat man now free to float like his best pitch. FIP.

 

I don't remember anything about their games, but he was the Niners' QB when I started paying attention to the game. I can probably name the starter for a lot of teams I didn't really watch much. RIP

 

My wife just said something similar. She didn’t really watch, but there are a lot of guys from that era whose names she can recall because her dad and brother were watching the games. I don’t think she’s watched a whole game since Super Bowl XX, but she remembers Daryl Lamonica and Fred Blilentikoff ((sp), not to mention the voice of Curt Gowdy.

 

RIP...really was a legend 'round these parts:

Uncle Floyd, legendary NJ comedian and TV personality, dies

 

Awwww, man.

RIP

Definitely remember her skits on Second City that was played here in my youth.

 

Grady Demond Wilson, 79, Lamont from Sanford and Son.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/worl...d-and-son-star-die-at-79-101769869734584.html

 

The Big Dummy finally kicked the bucket.

 

Are there any active knuckleballers today?

I’m going to throw out a dissenting opinion.

Given the pitch limits we see today, how valuable would a bang-average MLB level starter who could start 40 games and give you a complete game (if he is having a good game) be? Such a pitcher would be like having an extra roster spot, maybe 1 and a half. He’d reduce arm injuries for the “real” pitchers on the staff.

All it takes is one “proof of concept” and things could quickly change. Bruce Sutter was the proof of concept for the splitter. There was an era of submariner pitchers ca. 1980 who induced ground balls (that won’t come back unless the big stadiums come back, which they won’t.). I recently saw a YouTube short about Charley Lau teaching George Brett the “helicopter swing.”

But thanks for making a random comment that made me think…almost everything I read that’s an assertion, my reaction is, is it true? And I try to imagine what might make the assertion not true. And here, I think I’ve found it. An old fashioned innings eating knuckleballer would be extremely valuable even if his quality was that of a #4 starter.

I don’t know of any knuckler who didn’t learn and/or master the pitch in his mid to late 20s. So maybe somewhere out there is a 25 year old AA or AAA pitcher who can’t break through, is one year from being released, and working on the knuckler this offseason in desperation.

 

I don't think any active today.

i believe RA Dickey was the last knuckleballer. He even won a Cy in 2014 I believe before the Mets traded him to the Blue Jays. His walk out song was the theme song to Game of Thrones.

I saw RA Dickey on Letterman (YouTube probably still has it up) where he explained how he had to convert to a knuckleballer. He and many of the US baseball team that were getting set to pitch at the Atlanta Olympics were on the cover of SI. The team doctor noticed something was off with RA's arm angle in the picture. Soon after he made the switch to K'baller.

Beh. Not sure it would make a difference. These guys are all about 3rd time the order regardless if Pitcher is dealing.

 

Chuck Negron, Three Dog Night Co-Founder Who Took Cover Songs to the Top, Dead at 83

 

Maybe.

But since with the knuckleball even the pitcher doesn’t know where it’s going, and knuckles don’t get tired, that probably wouldn’t apply.

 

Dave, you are underestimating several things when you say that:

1.Even the poor hitters in MLB are better than anybody you ever saw outside of the bigs. You show those guys the same delivery over and over and over it don't matter where it goes-- sooner or later they'll start nailing it.

2. Any knuckleballer who throws 100 flutterballs in a game is going to throw 3 or 4 which don't flutter, but just come in dressed up as Pat Benatar. Tim Wakefield it was more like 10 or 15, but his delivery had something else about it that bewitched hitters, so he got away with a bunch.

3. And lastly, knucklers do tire, They broil in the sun same as anyone else, get a tad dehydrated, lose track of how little force to throw it with, whatever. After a while comes two or three in a row that spin, and there goes the ballgame.

Oh, and 4: your fielders get relaxed standing around with nothing to do, and when somebody does get hold of one they boot it or throw it away or throw to the wrong base or whatever. Plus they breed wild pitches and passed balls like fungus in agar.

Rich Gedman was a fine defensive catcher for half a career or so-- until he had to catch a knuckleballer-- somebody like Joe Niekro-- in an all-star game, and simply could not do it. It broke his confidence in his own abilities, and he was never the same player again...

 

Chuck Negron died today ( lead singer for three dog night)

 

Fellow bandmate and co-lead singer Danny Hutton spoke of Negron in a touching recent reunion.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink....4HLKLDVUdeg2KZ7SVJvgedfCbEl&id=61579306804628

 

My Little League coach, Jim Sundberg, won six Gold Gloves in a row. Then he stopped winning them when he started averaging 12 or more passed balls. 99% of them any given season would have been pitched by Charlie Hough. Which leads to another reason that there aren’t any up and coming knuckleballers in high school and college: it would be an absolute nightmare for high school and college catchers.

QUICK EDIT. I was wrong about Sunny. He won Gold Gloves even while catching Hough. Some years, he won the Gold Glove while also leading the league in most passed balls allowed.