From Kobe to Maradona, a year of staggering losses in sports
FILE - In this Nov. 14, 1993, file photo, Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula is carried on his team's shoulders after his 325th victory, against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia. Not long after came a seismic jolt, the helicopter crash of Kobe Bryant in the fog-shrouded California hills that reverberated across sports and across continents. Football lost a big piece of its heart: Don Shula, Gale Sayers, Paul Hornung, Bobby Mitchell. The losses, of course, came against a backdrop of a pandemic, its number of fatalities rolled out daily on TV screens. Kurt Thomas in 1978 became the first U.S. male gymnast to win a world title but lost an Olympic shot in 1980 because of the boycott.
Investigators search doctor's office, probing Maradona death
Neurologist Leopoldo Luque, Diego Maradona's former personal doctor, talks with journalists at his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020. Dr. Luque's house and offices were raided Sunday in the midst of investigations to establish the circumstances of the death of Maradona. Neurologist Leopoldo Luque told reporters after the searches that he had given investigators all of the records of his treatment of Maradona, as well as computers, hard drives and cellphones. Weeping at times, he insisted he defended his treatment of the troubled soccer star, who died Wednesday of a heart attack following a Nov. 3 brain operation. Maradona had suffered a series of medical problems, some due to excesses of drugs and alcohol.
Argentines bid a raucous farewell to Maradona amid clashes
Mourners embrace as they wait to see Diego Maradona lying in state outside the presidential palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020. The Argentine soccer great who led his country to the 1986 World Cup died Wednesday at the age of 60. Fans waving Argentine flags had gathered along roads as Maradonaโs funeral car drove by under heavy security. The crowd overwhelmed organizers and the violence resulted in injuries and arrests, which led Maradona's family to end the public visitation. He remained idolized in the soccer-mad nation as the โPibe de Oroโ or โGolden Boy.โMany fans proudly displayed Maradona tattoos.
Doctor says Diego Maradona doing well after surgery
A soccer fan stands behind a banner featuring former soccer star Diego Maradona and Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, outside the Clinica Olivos, where Maradona will undergo surgery, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. His personal doctor Leopoldo Luque, who is a neurologist, said Maradona has suffered a subdural hematoma, likely caused by an accident. The 1986 World Cup champion was admitted to a private hospital in la Plata with signs of depression on Monday, three days after his 60th birthday. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)BUENOS AIRES โ Diego Maradona was recovering Wednesday after an operation for bleeding in his skull, his personal doctor said. Maradona, the star of Argentina's 1986 World Cup champions, turned 60 last week.