Musik » Fla. An Australian weightlifter has already won silver

SAN FRANCISCO -- Nate Thurmond, the tenacious defensive center who played with Wilt Chamberlain and was an iconic figure in two cities, died Saturday after a short battle with leukemia. He was 74.The Golden State Warriors announced the death of one of the teams most respected players less than a month after they lost the NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games. Both franchises previously retired Thurmonds No. 42.Thurmond, an Akron, Ohio native, played 11 of his 14 seasons with the Warriors and retired after the 1976-77 season, one year after leading the Miracle Cavaliers to an improbable trip to the Eastern Conference finals.?Without a doubt, he is one of the most beloved figures to ever wear a Warriors uniform, Golden State owner Joe Lacob said.Current Cavalier and Akron native LeBron James?posted a tribute to Thurmond on his Twitter account, as did current Warriors star Stephen Curry.?The 6-foot-11 Thurmond is considered one of the most dominant centers in NBA history. He was voted one of the NBAs 50 Greatest Players in 1996 and was No. 92 on ESPNs All-Time #NBArank Top 100.?He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985.Nate Thurmond was a giant of his era and one of the greatest players in the history of our game, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.Thurmonds play and numbers werent flashy, but he earned the respect of his peers and knowledgeable basketball fans for his consistency, defense and strength.Looking back, he was as ferocious as any player in the history of the game on the court, but one of the kindest and nicest souls in his everyday life, said former teammate and coach Al Attles.Thurmond recorded the first official quadruple-double in NBA history as a Chicago Bull when he had 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocked shots against the Atlanta Hawks in 1974. He is one of only four players to grab more than 40 rebounds in a game.Thurmond starred at Bowling Green, averaging 17.8 points and 17.0 rebounds in three seasons. He was selected third overall by the Warriors in the 1963 draft.Thurmond apprenticed under Hall of Fame center Wilt Chamberlain until the Warriors traded Chamberlain to the Philadelphia 76ers in the middle of the 1964-65 season. Thurmond went on to average 15 points and 15 rebounds a game during his career and still holds the Warriors franchise records for career rebounds and minutes.We have lost an incredible person and someone whom I admired as much as any player I ever went to battle against on any level, Hall of Famer Jerry West said. Nate Thurmond was, without a doubt, one of the fiercest competitors that I played against during my entire career. He played with unbelievable intensity and was simply a man among boys on most nights, especially on the defensive end.The Warriors traded Thurmond to the Bulls prior to the 1974-75 season. The Bulls traded him after 13 games the next season to his hometown Cavaliers, where he closed out his career in style.He played a key role in the Cavaliers playoff run his first year in Cleveland. The Cavaliers beat the Washington Bullets in dramatic fashion in seven games to get to the Eastern Conference finals. The Cavaliers lost to the Boston Celtics in six games in the finals, but Thurmonds leadership that season made him a local legend.Cavaliers teammate Campy Russell said Saturday that the Cavaliers franchise will always love and respect him as a true Cavalier legend.Though he played less than two seasons for the Cavaliers at the end of his career, his jersey number was the first retired by the team.After the seven-time All-Star selection retired, he worked for the Warriors as a community liaison and broadcast analyst until his illness sidelined him earlier this year.Nate brought the same passion to his longtime community-relations role with the Golden State Warriors, who benefited from his deep knowledge of the game and warmth and kindness to everyone he encountered for more than 30 years, Silvers statement said.Thurmond also opened a popular barbecue restaurant in San Francisco called Big Nates BBQ, which he sold in 2011.The Associated Press contributed to this report. Clearance Custom Jerseys Shop . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Cheap Custom Jerseys From China . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. http://www.customjerseyschina.com/ . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. Discount Custom Jerseys Online . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. 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An Australian weightlifter has already won silver two weeks out from the Rio Olympics.While other Olympians are completing final preparations in their chosen disciplines, Tia-Clair Toomey competed at the world championships of an entirely different sport.Toomey placed second at the World Crossfit Games in California on Sunday and said she never considered pulling out of the gruelling event, despite the scheduling conflict.Crossfit and weightlifting complement each other, and there was never a time where I felt as though my weightlifting suffered because I was also training for the Crossfit Games, Toomey saiid.dddddddddddd.The 23-year-old discovered weightlifting through her background in Crossfit.Ever since I decided to take crossfit and weightlifting to the next level, I always wanted to compete at the Olympics and Crossfit Games in the same year, she said.Toomey, Australias only female weightlifter at Rio, said the disappointment of missing out on gold had motivated her for a strong performance at the Olympics.It has fired me up represent my country at my very best, Toomey said. 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