Dungy Says Vick Deserves Another Chance

Tony Dungy, the Super Bowl-winning coach who visited suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick in prison recently, told a group Wednesday that the troubled baller deserves another chance in the NFL. “I think Michael is just like so many other guys that I have seen, so many other people who are nameless, faceless in that environment,” Dungy said. “It’s a young man that made a mistake and is looking for a chance to recover and move forward. That’s where he is and that’s where so many of the men who are here today are.” Dungy, who visited Vick a few weeks ago at the federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan., was speaking to a group at a workshop for ex-offenders seeking jobs. He has also been involved in several other outreach activities since announcing that he was done with coaching. “I’m doing way more than I thought I would be, and maybe more than I should,” Dungy told The Associated Press. “That’s one of the fun things about not being tied down to an NFL schedule. You have time to take a day to go wherever. To be able to say I can go here on this day and work on this project, that’s been the fun part of it.” Dungy is the first African American coach to win a Super Bowl, the first coach to make 10 straight playoff appearances and the first to win at least 12 games in six straight seasons. His regular-season winning percentage of .668 is fifth all-time among coaches with at least 100 wins and his 10.7 regular-season wins per year is tops among that group.

 
Hundreds Pay Tribute to NBA Great Chuck Daly Hundreds of mourners – including a group of the original infamous “Bad Boys” of basketball – turned out to pay their final respects to Chuck Daly, the longtime NBA coach who was laid to rest Wednesday. Standing side by side were behemoths Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn, along with former shooting sensation Joe Dumars and ball wizard Isiah Thomas and Vinnie Johnson, all members of the team Daly led to the NBA Promised Land in both 1989 and 1990. “He was coaching all of us until the day he died,” Thomas said. “He was a wonderful, wonderful human being and a great mentor, a great friend.” Also among those in attendance were other respected sages of the game, such as former Philadelphia Sixers championship coach Billy Cunningham and Villanova University national championship coach Rollie Massimino. Daly, 78, died Saturday in Jupiter, Fla.,. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year. “Coach. Daddy Rich. Prince of pessimism. Hall of Famer. Champion,” Daly’s daughter, Cydney, told mourners. “He went by many different names to many people, but there was only one person who called him daddy.”

Jimi Hendrix legacy is subject of nationwide performances. Rock legend Jimi Hendrix will be saluted in a five-week tour by artists including Mato Ninji from Indigenous, Chris Layton from Double Trouble and Brad Whitford from Aerosmith. Widely acclaimed as the greatest rock guitarist ever, Hendrix has been remembered in numerous tributes since his 1970s death, including a biopic starring Wood Harris. Scheduled tour stops include Detroit’s Fox Theatre in October, where some of Hendrix’s favorite stars once performed during the Motown era.

T.I., Estelle, Cassie among celebs endorsing tribute shoe. Adidas will launch a limited-edition shoe line next week in recognition of Vibe magazine’s 15^th anniversary. Performers including Cassie, T.I., Estelle, Pepa and Musiq Soulchild have signed the Forum Mid XVibe, which retails for $125, pairs of which are available through a Vibe.com charity auction until Sept. 25. Only 1,500 pairs of the Mid Xvibe will be sold in select nationwide markets.