Tuesday, February 26, 2002

by Shavaugn Lewis
Gazette Sportswriter

May 26, 1926: Renowned Jazz Trumpeter Miles Davis is Born

Miles Davis was born in Alton, Illinois to a middle-class
family. While
still a child, he and his family relocated to St. Louis, Illinois,
where
Davis would learn to play the trumpet before he was ten. He
continued to
play the trumpet in high school and performed in several local
jazz
concerts. At 18, he left home to attend the Juilliard School
of Music in
New York; however, he found it boring and chose to hang out
on the jazz
scene in the city instead. It was there that he met the likes
of Coleman
Hawkins, Rubberlegs Williams, and Charlie Parker, with whom
he would record
in the 1940’s. In 1948, Davis formed his first quintet, but
he left the
group in 1949 to perform in the Paris Jazz Festival and work
with other
musicians. Davis formed another quintet in 1956 that recorded
classic
albums such as “Milestones” and “Kind of Blue.”
He went solo again in the
early ’60’s, and then formed yet another quintet in 1964.
This was the most
flexible of the three quintets he had formed, having the ability
to change
its sound according to musical trends in America. Davis retired
from the
music scene in 1975 due to poor health; he died in 1991 at
the age of 65.

*****

* Danielle Van Dam, the seven-year-old girl who was reported
missing from
her home in San Diego on February 2, is believed to be dead,
says District
Attorney Paul Pfingst. The Van Dams’ neighbor, David Westerfield,
49, a
divorced and self-employed engineer, has been charged with
her murder.
Traces of Danielle’s blood were found in Westerfield’s motor
home as well
as on an article of his clothing. If found guilty, Westerfield
will face
the death penalty or life imprisonment.

* A cure for cancer? Doctors in Singapore think they might
have the answer
– they saved two patients, one with leukemia and the other
with myeloma by
injecting them with blood from umbilical cords before chemotherapy

destroyed their bone marrow. As of last week, both patients
have had more
than 60 percent of their diseased blood cells replaced by
their new bone
marrow. This therapy is the first of its kind in the world,
and although it
will be another three years before the treatment can be confirmed
a
success, doctors are optimistic that it will be able to help
more patients
who have not responded to conventional treatment.

* In Raleigh, North Carolina, one soldier was wounded and
the other killed
by a sheriff’s deputy during the reconnaissance mission portion
of their
final examination of the Special Forces Qualification. The
soldiers were
driving in a truck wearing civilian clothes and behaving suspiciously,

according to Moore County Deputy Randall Butler. Butler noted
that the
truck drove past twice in a thirty-minute period and that
he caught sight
of a duffel bag with a weapon. He pulled the men over and,
when they tried
to assault him, opened fire, wounding one and killing the
other. Chief
Deputy Lane Carter insists that it is all a “tragic mistake”
and does not
think that Butler will be charged.

*****

Lunchtime Lecture: “Landscapes of New Zealand”
with Allison Necaise
Scheuer Room, 12:00 p.m.

Lenten Penance Service
Bond Memorial Hall, 12:30 p.m.

Math and Statistics Colloquium
Kohlberg 116, 4:00 p.m.

Empty the Shelters meeting
Kohlberg 115, 7:30 p.m.

Sexual Health Counselors film series: “LifeStyle: Swinging
in the Suburbs”
LPAC Cinema, 8:00 p.m.

Argentine Tango Lesson
Upper Tarble, 9:00 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

After a tough loss in the Centennial Conference championship
game this past
Saturday, it looked like the women’s basketball team’s brilliant
season was
over. However, the squad was given new life yesterday when
it was selected
to play in the ECAC Division III Women’s Southern Basketball
Championship.

The Garnet (20-7) were named the third seed in the six team
tournament and
will host a first round game tomorrow against #6 Delaware
Valley College
(16-11). The winner of that contest will advance to play top-seeded
Lebanon
Valley (23-4) in a Saturday semifinal match-up.

Tomorrow evening’s first round game begins at 7:00 p.m.

*****

* Jayson Williams, former NBA star and current NBC basketball
commentator,
was taken into custody yesterday on charges of reckless manslaughter.

Williams is accused of killing limo driver Costas Christofi
in his Virginia
mansion on February 14th. Reports have suggested that the
ex-player was
fooling around with a shotgun at the time of the death and
that Williams
was slow in getting help for the victim. Williams’ lawyer
said that
evidence to be presented at his court hearing, scheduled for
March 4th,
will prove that the death was completely accidental and not
due to any
reckless behavior on the part of his client.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Charlotte Hornets
last night,
97-92. It was the Hornets’ third straight loss and to add
insult to injury,
leading scorer Baron Davis was forced to leave the game after
suffering a
chest injury in the first quarter. Davis collided with the
T-Wolves’
Chauncey Billups, but played out the rest of the quarter before
departing –
his status will be determined today.

* Michelle Wie, a twelve-year-old golf prodigy, earned a
spot in the
Takefuji Classic yesterday by placing second in a qualifying
competition.
Wie, a seventh-grader, has already competed in the Pearl Open
and the Sony
Open pro-am earlier this year, although she failed to make
the cut in the
Pearl. The Classic begins this Thursday in Waikoloa, Hawaii
and features
$900,000 in prize money.

*****

Today:
There are no contests scheduled for today.

Tomorrow:
Women’s basketball hosts Delaware Valley, 7:00 p.m. – ECAC
1st Round

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The scientific theory I like best is that the rings
of Saturn are composed
entirely of lost airline luggage.”
–Mark Russell

*****
.
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