Former Oilers nose tackle Doug Smith dead at 64

Doug Smith, former Houston Oilers defensive tackle, has died of a heart attack at the age of 64.

The Tennessee Titans are mourning the loss of former Houston Oilers defensive tackle Doug Smith, as first reported by former sports director at KRIV Mark Berman. Smith was just 64.

“It was unexpected,” Smith’s wife, Becky, told Berman. “Two months ago, he got a clean bill of health for his heart. He went to his cardiologist and [the tests] came back his heart was good, but you know, we know even healthy people can have a heart attack.”

Smith started his professional career with the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL. The Houston Oilers selected him in the second round of the 1984 draft, but the two sides could not reach a contract agreement. When the USFL folded before the 1985 season, Smith ended up with the Oilers after all.

As a rookie in the USFL, Smith appeared in 17 games and recorded five sacks and one fumble recovery.

As an Oiler, Smith played in 101 games in eight seasons. He started 77 of those games, recording 14 sacks, one interception and five fumble recoveries.

The Titans family sends their condolences to the Smith family during this difficult time.

On this day: Boston guard Si Green passes; forward Doug Smith signs

Former top pick Si Green left us on this day in 1980, and big man Doug Smith inked a deal with the team 11 years later.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics point and shooting guard Sihugo “Si” Green passed away after a long battle with cancer in 1980 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Born in New York City, New York in 1933, Green would play his college ball for the Duquesne University Dukes between 1953 and 1956, with the New York native getting selected first overall in the 1956 NBA draft by the (then) Rochester Royals (now, Sacramento Kings).

Green would play for the then-Royals, the (then) St. Louis (now, Atlanta) Hawks, a pair of currently defunct teams (the Chicago Packers and Zephyrs) as well as the (then) Baltimore Bullets (now, Washington Wizards) before joining the Celtics via trade.

Famous for being the top overall pick in the draft that the Celtics landed iconic center Bill Russell second overall in the 1956 NBA draft, Green averaged 3.2 points and 1.1 rebounds per game with Boston.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 34

Today’s installment focuses on the 11 players who wore No. 34 over the years as of August 2023.

The Boston Celtics have more retired jerseys than any other team in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean the rest of their jerseys have little history of interest tied to them.

In fact, with 17 titles to their name and decades of competitive basketball played in them, their unretired jersey numbers pack in some of the most history not hanging from the rafters of any team in the league. To that end, we have launched our accounting of that history, with every player in every jersey worn by more than one Celtics player in the storied franchise’s history accounted for.

Today’s installment focuses on the 11 players who wore No. 34 over the years as of August 2023.

At the PGA Works Collegiate Championship at Shoal Creek, Doug Smith is having a full-circle moment

“I’m going to go from holding the trophy to holding the mic.”

Doug Smith got into broadcasting by accident.

He started off doing a podcast with Cheyenne Woods. That led to meeting Golf Channel’s Will Lowery. That got his foot in the door to meet plenty of golf personalities across the country.

Then, as PGA Tour Live started up with its partnership with ESPN+, Smith was approached about joining as a commentator. He eventually signed on and is a part of the broadcast team, even calling action at last week’s Mexico Open at Vidanda.

Come Monday, Smith will call an event as a past champion.

The PGA Works Collegiate Championship begins Monday at Shoal Creek in Alabama, southeast of Birmingham, and it’s a full-circle moment for Smith, who won the championship in 2005 when he played collegiately for Louisville. The championship annually hosts student-athletes enrolled in Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and other Minority-Serving Educational Institutions.

“It’s wild for me,” Smith said. “I’m going to be an expert on the broadcast as a past champion. I’m going to go from holding the trophy to holding the mic.”

The PGA Works Collegiate Championship, originally named the National Minority Collegiate Championship, was created in 1986 to highlight golf programs at the most underserved and underrepresented minority-serving institutions on a national stage, and educate and inspire student-athletes to pursue career opportunities in the business of golf.

The PWCC is a 54-hole, stroke-play event contested across five divisions including: Division I Men’s Team, Division II Men’s Team, Women’s Team Division, Men’s Individual Division, and Women’s Individual Division.

The individual competition is open to all minority women and men student-athletes playing collegiate golf at the Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA and NJCAA level, or minority women and men enrolled in one of the PGA of America’s PGA Golf Management University Programs.

And, in 2023 for the first time, Golf Channel will have TV coverage of all three days of competition.

Golf Channel and Peacock together will present all three championship rounds at Shoal Creek Club on Monday through Wednesday from 4:30-7:30 p.m. ET.

“I get to use words to paint pictures to show what this championship does to your validity as a player,” Smith said. “It’s going to be full circle. It just shows people even if you don’t make it professionally, there’s other avenues in the game.”

Having the tournament at Shoal Creek is also a big milestone, considering the club’s history.

Shoal Creek hosted the 1990 PGA Championship, and it made plenty of headlines around hosting the tournament because club founder Hall Thompson defiantly said the club would not be pressured to accept Black members.

He told a reporter: “We have the right to associate or not to associate with whomever we choose. The country club is our home, and we pick and choose who we want. I think we’ve said that we don’t discriminate in every other area except the Blacks.”

Smith said he hopes it’s a turning point for the club and the PGA of America, which sponsors the championship, not just trying to check a box and be inclusive.

“We can do one of two things: we can keep the status quo or we can work together, have uncomfortable conversations and move forward in a way that’s amicable and representative of the future that we want to be a part of,” Smith said.

“I’m hoping it’s the second part.”

Fran Charles, Smylie Kaufman, Steve Berkowski and Julia Johnson will also be on the broadcast team.

“We are very excited to have the PWCC broadcasted live on Golf Channel and Peacock this year,” Shoal Creek Club president Greg King said. “We look forward to showcasing Shoal Creek as one of the premier golf clubs in the country. More importantly, this opportunity will allow us to highlight the student-athletes, colleges and universities on a national level.”

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Ryan Alford builds on solid first day to win APGA tournament at TPC Scottsdale

Ryan Alford recorded the first professional win in his golf career on Tuesday, taking the APGA Tour Scottsdale at TPC Scottsdale’s Champions Course.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Ryan Alford recorded the first professional win in his golf career on Tuesday, taking the APGA Tour Scottsdale at TPC Scottsdale Champions Course.

It’s the third APGA event in a row that someone new came out on top. Alford, of Shreveport, Louisiana, shot a three-under 68 for a two-day, nine-under 133 to beat Marcus Byrd of Knoxville by 3 strokes.

Alford, 24, said the key for his success was his renewed mental state. He was among the leaders last week in Las Vegas before blowing up with a six-over performance on the back nine.

“I changed my mindset,” Alford said. “Told myself to erase the bad and keep going with the good. Talent is not the issue. It’s just a matter of getting it done.”

Alford entered the second round just one stroke ahead of Byrd. But a tap-in birdie on the 17th hole provided a cushion, and he went on to claim the first-place prize of $7,500 from the $25,000 purse that the APGA offers at every event.

The two-day, 36-hole tournament Monday at the Champions Course was the sixth event on the APGA’s 10-tournament season. The tour’s mission is to bring greater diversity to the sport of golf.

The other first-time APGA winners this year are Jarred Garcia, who took the Black History Month Classic at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and Rovonta Young, who won the APGA Tour at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida.

Tim O’Neal, the 2020 APGA Tour Player of the Year, was third at 5 under, with Tommy Schaff of Ridgeland, South Carolina another stroke back in fourth. Willie Mack III of Flint, Michigan, and Aaron Beverly of Fairfield, California, tied for fifth at 3-under. Mack is headed for Korn Ferry Tour’s Huntsville (Alabama) Championship next week.

Phoenix resident Doug Smith led a group of five players tied for seventh at even par. Kamaiu Johnson of Orlando finished in a tie for 12th (1 over) after winning in Las Vegas last week.

The next stop for the APGA Tour is Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, set for May 23-25.

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On this day: former Boston Celtics big man Doug Smith signed

On this day in 1995, the Boston Celtics signed power forward Doug Smith as an unrestricted free agent.

On this day in 1995, former Boston Celtics power forward Doug Smith signed with the team as an unrestricted free agent.

A product of the University of Missouri — where he won Big Eight Player of the Year two seasons straight — Smith would be drafted with the sixth overall pick of the 1991 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks.

The Detroit, Michigan native would play four seasons with the franchise that drafted him before he was selected from that team by the Toronto Raptors in the 1995 NBA Expansion Draft, held to populate the rosters of the newly-formed Canadian teams of the Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies.

Smith didn’t stick with his new team, and, after being waived and free to join another squad, picked the Celtics.

The former Mizzou standout would play just one season for Boston, his last in the NBA.

The 6-foot-10 big man would appear in 17 games for the Celtics in the 1995-96 season, scoring 1.9 points and 1.3 rebounds per game with the team.

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