Jay Reatard died he was 29

Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr who was better known by the stage name Jay Reatard, has died he was 29. Reatard was an American garage punk musician from Memphis, Tennessee. Lindsey was signed to Matador Records. He released recordings as a solo artist and as a member of The Reatards and Lost Sounds.

(May 1, 1980 – January 13, 2010)

His recording career began at the age of 15, when a home-made demo tape he had sent in to Goner Records caught the ear of former-Oblivian and Goner Records’ owner, Eric Friedl.^[1] Lindsey's introduction to Friedl and his Oblivians bandmates had come that same year when the Oblivians had returned home to Memphis as an opening act for Rocket from the Crypt. Upon seeing the act live, Lindsey became enamored with their sloppy, lo-fi music and set forth creating his own brand of heavily distorted garage rock music.^[2] Friedl was impressed by Lindsey's demos and signed him to his label, later commenting, “I loved the racket so we did the record, and I've been a fan of everything he's done since. He's a pretty amazing kid.” ^[1]

Lindsey named his first project the Reatards, which at the time included only himself as a member, and adopted an Oblivians-influenced surname,^[2] calling himself Jay Reatard. The Reatards’ first release on Goner was a 7” EP called Get Real Stupid, which featured Lindsey as a solo performer alternating between playing guitar, singing, and beating on a bucket to provide a percussive rhythm. For Lindsey’s second release he recruited a backing band, hiring bassist Steve Albundy and drummer Elvis Wong to accompany him. The Reatards’ first LP as a trio was 1998’s Teenage Hate. This was followed by a second LP, Grown Up Fucked Up, and a number of singles. ^[3] The Reatards' first European tour came in 1998, when Lindsey was just 18.^[2]

In 2001 Lindsey began recording with Alicja Trout and Rich Crook as the Lost Sounds, a side project which would ultimately usurp the Reatards as Lindsey’s primary musical venture. With alternating male and female vocals, as well as prominently-employed synthesizers, the Lost Sounds were a departure from the guitar-driven garage rock of the Reatards, and had a sound more akin to the early punk rock of The Screamers, a synthesizer-heavy punk band that Lindsey had been exposed to by Elvis Wong shortly after the recording of the Reatards’ first LP. Lindsey once claimed that his time in the Lost Sounds “was and is more fun than anything else I have ever done.” ^[4] Yet despite Lindsey’s enthusiasm for the band, the Lost Sounds bitterly broke up in 2005.

Lindsey was a prolific songwriter, often acting as a member and contributing compositions to two or more bands concurrently. One of Lindsey’s first side projects was the Bad Times, a one-off band which also included Eric Friedl and King Louie Bankston. The band recorded an album’s worth of material after only one practice session in 1998, releasing a self-titled LP in 2001. After one live performance the band disbanded, the members returning to their respective solo commitments. ^[4]

While Lindsey was still a member of both the Reatards and the Lost Sounds he joined a side project called the Final Solutions. Lindsey’s association with the future members of the Final Solutions began while he was still a teenager. Fighting problems at home, Lindsey opted to take up residence with members of a local band called the Jackmonkeys. While he was rooming with the band he was conscripted to play drums for them at a battle of the bands which was being held at the school's cafeteria. With Lindsey on drums (under the moniker 'the High and Mightys' the band performed a set of Oblivians covers, earning instant hate in the competition (FS bassist Tommy Trouble's band, the Squirrels earned third place). After separating for a number of years the group reformed under the name the Final Solutions and began touring and releasing albums. ^[4]

In 2004, Lindsey, together with his ex-girlfriend, Alix Brown of Atlanta rock band the Lids, formed Shattered Records, an independent record label that released mainly limited edition vinyl. ^[5] Shattered Records released records for a number of lo-fi punk and rock bands, including: Kajun SS, Jack Oblivian, Tokyo Electron, Reatards, Final Solutions, Terror Visions, Angry Angles, Carbonas, Rat Traps, Digital Leather and the Knaughty Knights.

In 2007 Lindsey put Shattered Records on hold while he promoted his solo records.^[2] Then in 2009 Lindsey revived the label with the "Shattered Record Club" and the announcement of his final solo album, Watch Me Fall .

Out of this partnership came another musical endeavor for Lindsey, the Angry Angles. Together with Brown, and alternating between drummers Paul Artigues from Die Rotzz and Ryan Rousseau ('Elvis Wong') from Tokyo Electron, the band began touring the U.S. in the Fall of 2006. Before the band had even released its second single, Lindsey and Brown began a short European tour. The Angry Angles disbanded after releasing a number of vinyl singles. ^[6]

By 2005 both the Reatards and the Lost Sounds had broken up, and Lindsey focused his attention on a handful of side projects, working with and releasing material as Terror Visions and Destruction Unit. Though after he began focusing on his solo career in 2006, Lindsey said he has no desire to reform his previous bands. "I'd just feel like I was going backwards if I worked on anything else," Lindsey said. ^[7]

2006 saw the release of Blood Visions (In the Red), Lindsey's first solo album under the moniker Jay Reatard. After a lengthy tour supporting his solo album, in 2008 he signed a multi-album, exclusive deal with the New York-based indie label Matador Records. He released six, limited, 7" singles throughout 2008 with Matador. Soon after the release of the first single and write-ups in NME, Spin Magazine and Rolling Stone, Lindsey began playing larger shows and various music festivals all over the world. ^[7]

In October 2008 Reatard's Matador Singles '08 LP compiled all six of the 2008 singles on one LP/CD. Lindsey again hit the road to support the album with a second, extensive 2008 tour. Lindsey's later records sound drastically different from his early punk records. He said writers often misinterpret his newer sound. "I just think it's noisy pop music," Lindsey said. ^[7]

Lindsey's final album, Watch Me Fall (his first proper studio album with Matador), was released in August 2009. He described this collection of songs as more melodic and twee-inspired. In a 2009 interview, Jay said "these new batch of songs feature organ, some mandolins, a cello, a lot more back-ups and harmonies." ^[7] In that vein he's also noted that he's "become a little bit more about the melodies... I think I stripped away a layer of the fuzz; I might have been challenging people before to find them and this time I might be making them a little bit more obvious." ^[8]

While he claimed Watch Me Fall was more mellow than his previous works, Jay said his live show would remain energetic. "I just want it to be like an assault live, and softer on records," he said. ^[7]

Lindsey also contributed to a tribute album for New Zealand rock and roll musician Chris Knox, with whom he was to collaborate until Knox suffered a stroke in June 2009. All proceeds from the album will go towards Knox's recovery. ^[9]

Lindsey's band (that consisted of members of another Memphis band, The Barbaras) quit playing with Jay around Oct. 5, 2009, although specific details were not released. He did find replacement players to finish the dates he had previously booked. ^[10]

Lindsey was found dead in bed at his home in Midtown, Memphis around 3:30 a.m. on January 13, 2010. A death investigation has been opened by Memphis police. A statement was posted on the website of Goner Records, that Reatard had died in his sleep. Friends of Lindsey stated that he had recently complained of flu-like symptoms.^[11]

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Steve " Dr. Death" Williams died he was 49

Steven Williams ^[1] died he was 49. Williams better known by his ring name "Dr. Death" , was an American professional wrestler and former collegiate football and wrestling star at the University of Oklahoma.

(May 14, 1960 – December 29, 2009)

Williams graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1981 after a football career that saw him named an All-American. He also competed as an amateur wrestler, losing in the finals of an NCAA tournament to future Olympic medalist Bruce Baumgartner. Already interested in professional wrestling, Williams had a ready-made nickname which dated back to an incident in junior high where he had to wrestle in a hockey goalie's mask and was jokingly labeled "Dr. Death" by one of his school's coaches.Williams, trained for professional wrestling by Bill Watts and Buddy Landel, started wrestling in 1982 in Watts' Mid-South Wrestling. In 1985, he formed a team with Ted DiBiase and feuded with Eddie Gilbert and The Nightmare. In 1986, Mid-South was renamed the Universal Wrestling Federation and Williams went on to win the UWF Heavyweight Championship from Big Bubba Rogers. When Jim Crockett Promotions bought the UWF in late 1987, he was one of the few UWF wrestlers to receive an initial push in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).

Williams became involved with Jimmy Garvin's war with Kevin Sullivan's Varsity Club in 1988, often teaming with Jimmy and Ron Garvin or Ron Simmons in various matches, including a Triple Cage "Tower of Doom" match at The Great American Bash in 1988. Williams, however, turned heel and joined the Varsity Club in late 1988. He and Sullivan won the NWA United States Tag Team Championship at Starrcade. They feuded with the Road Warriors and he and Mike Rotunda won the NWA World Tag Team Championship in the process.

In May 1989, Williams and Rotunda were stripped of the title, and the Varsity Club disbanded. Williams went to All Japan Pro Wrestling where he formed a tag team with Terry Gordy called the Miracle Violence Connection. They went on to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship from the Steiner Brothers. One week after winning the WCW World Tag Team title, they won the vacant NWA World Tag Team title, defeating Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham in the tournament final. Their NWA World Tag Team title win, however, went unrecognized by the NWA. They held onto both titles until September 1992, when they lost them to Rhodes and Windham. At Starrcade in 1992, Williams substituted for the injured Rick Rude to challenge Ron Simmons for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, but lost by disqualification. He left WCW shortly thereafter.

It was during the 1990s that Williams arguably had his most success. He continued to work for All Japan Pro Wrestling and became a main eventer for the company, making him one of the most successful foreign athletes in Japanese wrestling history. He also sporadically wrestled in the U.S. on the independent circuit. Incredibly through his tag team appearances in WCW and success on the independent circuit in the 1990s, Williams went unpinned on U.S. soil for over a decade. That run was brought to an end during one of his appearances in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). After defeating Axl Rotten in approximately 2 minutes, Williams had an impromptu ECW World Title match, but lost to the then champion Raven. The loss happened in February 1997 at ECW Crossing the Line Again.

In 1998, Williams was signed by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) prior to the "Brawl for All" competition which was set up in legitimate fights. He was expected to win the competition, but after beating Pierre Carl Ouellet in the first round, he was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Bart Gunn, suffering a major injury in the process. Following the event, Williams was involved in a brief angle where he was managed by Jim Ross before Williams was released. During his time with Ross he would attack people with suplexes.

In 1999, Williams appeared briefly in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) again with Oklahoma as his manager in a feud with Vampiro, as a result of this feud, he wrestled against Jerry Only from the Misfits on an 1999 episode of WCW Monday Nitro in a steel cage match. He went back to All Japan Pro Wrestling in 2002 and wrestled a couple of matches for WWE in 2003 against Lance Storm. In late 2003, he was involved with the independent promotion Major League Wrestling (MLW) and also wrestled for the new NWA Mid-Atlantic, where he won their title in one of the first professional wrestling events in China.

In 2004 he was beaten in an MMA match by Alexey Ignashov in just 22 seconds at a K1 event in Japan. This defeat ended Steve Williams brief MMA career.

In 2004, Williams underwent surgery for throat cancer and was declared cancer-free the next year. He made an appearance at a SmackDown! brand house show on March 11, 2006 in Alexandria, Louisiana, after which he was signed to help train up and coming WWE wrestlers in its Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) developmental territory. While acting in that capacity he made a few appearances on OVW television "helping out" fellow Oklahoma wrestler Jake Hager and briefly working as his tag team partner. He also made an appearance at an August 30 Raw brand house show, sitting ringside, during which he addressed the crowd and announced how happy he was to be "four years cancer free."

In 2007, he appeared at a taping of Harley Race's World League Wrestling in West Plains, Missouri, signing autographs and giving a brief speech about his battle with cancer and his newfound Christian faith.

Later, he made appearances for Oklahoma based independent federation Sooner World Class Wrestling (SWCW).^[2] He also worked for Southwest Airlines in Colorado.^[3]

After the death of longtime rival and friend Mitsuharu Misawa in June 2009, Williams made the decision to retire from the ring after 27 years. Williams' final American match took place August 15 in Colorado Springs, Colorado for Asylum Championship Wrestling. He defeated Franco D'Angelo for the ACW Heavyweight Championship, which he vacated after the match.^[4][5]

His final match was held on October 25 in Tokyo.

The throat cancer eventually returned and Williams' health gradually worsened. His last public apperance was at the K&S Wrestlefest Wrestling Convention on December 12, 2009, in Carteret, New Jersey. On December 29, 2009, Williams died at St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver from throat cancer.^[6] He was 49 years old.

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Percy Sutton died he was 89

Percy Sutton died he was 89. Sutton was a civil-rights activist, entrepreneur and lawyer.^[1]

(November 24, 1920 — December 26, 2009)

Sutton was born in San Antonio, Texas, the last of fifteen children born to Samuel and Lillian Sutton. Both of his parents were educators with his father being one of the first blacks in Bexar County, Texas. His father, born into slavery, also served as principal of three high schools. S. J. Sutton, an early civil rights activist who did not use his first name for fear it would be shortened to Sambo, farmed, sold real estate and owned a mattress factory, funeral home and skating rink — in addition to being a full-time principal. All Percy Sutton's siblings graduated from college. His brothers included G. J. Sutton (the first black elected official in San Antonio^{[citation needed]}) and Oliver Sutton (a judge on the New York Supreme Court).

Percy milked cows and rode around San Antonio with his father in the same Studebaker that was used for funerals, distributing milk to the poor. He liked to attach strings to cans to pretend to be a radio broadcaster.

Sutton joined the Boy Scouts of America and attained the rank of Eagle Scout in 1936 and was recognized with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award as an adult. Sutton stated that scouting was a key factor in shaping his life.^[2]

At 12, he stowed away on a passenger train to Manhattan where he slept under a sign on 155th Street. Far from being angry, his family regarded it as an adventure.

His family was committed to civil rights, and he bristled at prejudice. At 13, while passing out N.A.A.C.P. leaflets in an all-white neighborhood, he was beaten by a policeman.

He took up stunt-flying on the barnstorming circuit, but gave it up after a friend crashed. Later, during World War II, he served with the Tuskegee Airmen, the famed all-black unit in the Army Air Forces, as an intelligence officer. He won combat stars in the Italian and Mediterranean theaters.

Sutton attended Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas; the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama; and the Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia. He went on to attend Brooklyn Law School in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, New York.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Sutton became one of America's best-known lawyers^{[citation needed]}. He represented many controversial figures, such as Malcolm X. After the murder of Malcolm X, Sutton and his brother Oliver helped to cover the expenses of his widow, Betty Shabazz.^{[citation needed]} Sutton's civil-rights advocacy took him even further in the minds of many. Being jailed with Stokely Carmichael and other activists endeared him to the Harlem community and showed many that he was willing to be placed in harm's way for his client's sake.

Sutton was a longtime leader in Harlem politics, and was a leader of the Harlem Clubhouse. The Clubhouse has dominated Democratic politics in Harlem since the 1960s. His allies in running the Clubhouse were former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, U.S. Representative Charles Rangel, and former New York Secretary of State Basil Paterson.

He ran for borough president of the Manhattan borough of New York City in 1965, and won with 80% of the vote. He served in that post until 1977, when he ran for the Democratic nomination for New York City Mayor against U.S. Representative Ed Koch, New York Secretary of State Mario Cuomo, New York City Mayor Abraham Beame, former U.S. Representative Bella Abzug, and U.S. Representative Herman Badillo. Koch won the nomination and mayoralty.

In 1971, Sutton cofounded the Inner City Broadcasting Corporation which purchased New York City's WLIB-AM, which became the city's first African-American-owned radio station.

He initiated, December 2009 the revitalizing of the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem. He also produced the successful It's Showtime at the Apollo, a syndicated, music television show, first broadcast in September 12, 1987.

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Vic Chesnutt died from an overdose he was 45

James Victor "Vic" Chesnutt died from an over dose he was 45. Chestnutt was a singer-songwriter living in Athens, Georgia. Injured in a car accident in 1983, the paraplegic artist's first big breakthrough to commercial success came with the release of the tribute album Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation.^[1]

(November 12, 1964 – December 25, 2009)

Chesnutt released several albums during his career, including two produced by Michael Stipe, and a 1996 release on Capitol Records. His musical style is described as "skewed, refracted version of Americana that is haunting, funny, poignant, and occasionally mystical, usually all at once".^[2]

Around 1985, Chesnutt moved to Athens and joined the band, The La-Di-Da's.^[3] After leaving that group he began performing solo on a regular basis at the 40 Watt Club; it was there that he was spotted by Michael Stipe of R.E.M.; Stipe produced Chesnutt's first two albums, Little (1990) and West of Rome (1991).^[3]

In 1992, Chesnutt was the subject of a PBS documentary, Speed Racer. He also had a small role in the 1996 Billy Bob Thornton movie Sling Blade which he later described self-mockingly as a poor performance.^[4]

In 1996, Chesnutt was exposed to a wider audience with the release of the tribute album Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, the proceeds from which went to the Sweet Relief Fund. The album consisted of Chesnutt covers by famous musicians including Garbage, The Smashing Pumpkins (with Red Red Meat), Madonna, R.E.M. and Live.

He recorded with other groups and artists. Most notably he made two albums with a fellow Athens, Georgia group Widespread Panic, under the name of brute. Chesnutt's album The Salesman and Bernadette (1998) was recorded with alt-country group Lambchop as the backing band. The album Merriment was a collaborative effort between Chesnutt and Kelly and Nikki Keneipp, with Vic writing and singing the songs, and the Keneipps playing the music. The 2005 album Ghetto Bells featured famed guitarist Bill Frisell, whom Chesnutt met in 2004 at the renowned Century of Song concert series at the German festival RuhrTriennale. Ghetto Bells also featured the legendary eccentric lyricist and composer Van Dyke Parks on accordion and keyboards. Chesnutt's wife, Tina Chesnutt, would frequently play bass on his albums. His niece, and fellow songwriter, Liz Durrett also appeared on the Ghetto Bells album.

Chesnutt's first four albums were released on the independent Texas Hotel label. He then recorded About to Choke (1996) for Capitol Records, which was his first and only major record label recording. The Salesman and Bernadette (1998) was on PolyGram; Merriment (2000) was on the Backburner Records label; spinART was the label for the self performed and recorded Left to His Own Devices (2001). Vic then found a new home at the New West Records label, who released two albums for him. In 2004 New West also re-released the early Texas Hotel recordings, including expanded liner notes and extra tracks.

In the winter of 2006, he recorded North Star Deserter at the Hotel2Tango in Montreal. It was released on September 11, 2007 by Constellation Records. The record included contributions from Constellation artists Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as well as Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto. The album was produced by documentary filmmaker Jem Cohen. ^[5] He also appeared as a guest musician on Cowboy Junkies' 2007 album Trinity Revisited, a 20^th anniversary edition of their classic album The Trinity Session.

Chesnutt was also a supporter of medical marijuana^[6], which he claimed helped with his medical problems. He contributed the track Weed to the Rescue to the 1998 Hempilation II charity album, with proceeds going to NORML, an American organization dedicated to marijuana legalization.

Elf Power (also from Athens, Georgia) collaborated with Chesnutt on the album Dark Developments, released under the name Vic Chesnutt, Elf Power, and the Amorphous Strums. The "amorphous strums" refers to Curtiss Pernice and Sam Mixon, who also played on the album.

An adoptee, Chesnutt was raised in Zebulon, Georgia, where he first started writing songs at the age of 5. At 18, a car accident left him partially paralyzed, though it wasn't long afterward that he realized he could still play guitar.^[3] After his recovery he left Zebulon and moved to Nashville, Tennessee; the poetry he read there (by Stevie Smith, Walt Whitman, Wallace Stevens, W. H. Auden, Stephen Crane, and Emily Dickinson) served to inspire and influence him.^[3] Chesnutt stated his atheism since age 13.^[7]

On December 25, 2009, Chesnutt died from an overdose of muscle relaxants that had left him in a coma in an Athens hospital.^[1]

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Derek Loux died he was 37

Musician Derek Loux has died after a fatal car accident while he was on a ministry trip, he was 37. The accident had left him seriously injured and later he succumbed to his injuries. The accident happened and Derek Loux could not even meet his parents John Loux and Mini Loux, whom he had to go and visit at the end of his car trip to Nebraska.

Besides being a devout Christian he is also a person who is known well for his social causes. He set up the Josiah fund for social causes, meant for helping out the ignored and the needy children. He along with his spouse Renee Loux, adopted several kids and many people were inspired by their acts. After his death, a void has being felt in the Christian community as well as in the social causes community. His wife Renee and 10 children survive him.

He became immensely popular when he came out with his album ‘Paper Religion.’ His music has always been very famous among the devout Christians. He was a devout follower of Christianity himself. He used to work as the director of Kansas City’s International House of Prayer. He was also a part of the senior leadership team, a worship leader in the House of Prayer, and an IHOP-KC conference speaker.

The cause of the fatal car accident is still unknown, but it is being said that perhaps it took place due to a severe snowstorm in that area.

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Terry Lawless died he was 76

Terry died he was 76. Lawless trained the British boxer Frank Bruno to challenge Mike Tyson for the world title. Although he lost the fight, Lawless won several fans with Bruno's great effort. The London-based manager in fact has a distinction of guiding 4 other English fighters to big titles.

Lawless's world champions were John H Stracey, Maurice Hope, Jim Watt and Charlie Magri. He trained Frank Bruno for many years, and Bruno went on to win the title after leaving Lawless to join the stable of rival promoter, Frank Warren. Lawless also managed Joe Calzaghe early in his career.

"Born in West Ham on 29 March 1933, Lawless first took out a boxing manager's licence after completing his National Service in the mid-1950s," Giller wrote. "During the following 45 years, he managed more than 50 boxers.

"Throughout his managing career, Lawless was based at the Royal Oak gym in Canning Town, close to where he was born. He worked closely with promoters Mickey Duff, Jarvis Astaire, Harry Levene and Mike Barrett when they were the powers in British boxing throughout the 1960s and into the 1980s."

Lawless resided in Marbella, Andalusia, Spain after his retirement and he succumbed after a surgery to his gallbladder at a hospital. Lawless has been known to suffer from longstanding illness.

His career spanned for over 40 years and he managed 50 odd boxers during his active career.

Lawless is known for his knowledge of boxing as well as safety-first attitude. He was extra cautious when it came to protecting his fighters from exposure to dangers. He was also known as a very compassionate managers of his times; who other managers emulate
now.

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George Michael died he was 70

George Michael^[1] died he was 70, Michael was a sportscaster best known nationally for his long-running American sports highlights show called The George Michael Sports Machine. Started as a local show in 1980 called George Michael's Sports Final^[2] and then nationally syndicated in 1984, the nationally broadcast show was distributed for syndication by NBC until it left the air following the March 25, 2007 airing. Michael won a Sports Emmy in 1985 for his work on The George Michael Sports Machine.

George Michaels signed off he was 70
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(March 24, 1939 – December 24, 2009)

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Michael anchored the sports desk at WRC-TV (News 4) in Washington DC from 1980 to 2007. Previously he was a WABC-AM disk jockey known as "King" George Michael, and was noted for his energetic style. Several incidents from his radio stint at WABC in New York City have been chronicled in deejay "Cousin Brucie" Morrow's autobiography.^[3] George Michael replaced Morrow at WABC in 1974. Before that he was the popular evening deejay at Philadelphia's WFIL Radio (560 kHz) from 1966 until his move to WABC. While in New York, he also served for several seasons as a commentator on New York Islanders telecasts, where he was paired mainly with Tim Ryan.

As a sports broadcaster at WRC, Michael was easily one of the most popular media personalities in the Washington area. Michael got significant latitude in his programming, employing a bevy of segments some might consider old-fashioned, including his "Tuesday Replays" and "Wednesday Wrestling." He also had devoted extensive coverage to and was considered a significant influence in the popularity of NASCAR, broadcasting interviews with famous drivers such as Dale Earnhardt well before that sport became what it is today. An avid equestrian himself, Michael also broadcast segments on bull riding and rodeo.

Michael's affable personality had endeared him to the curmudgeonliest of local and national sports personalities and landed rare interviews. For example, Michael's team at WRC had been the only local sportscasters allowed to broadcast from inside the Washington Redskins' FedEx Field during the season.

In November 2005, Michael was seriously injured in a horseback riding accident. He broke several ribs and injured his wrists during the equine mishap at his Comus farm in upper Montgomery County, Maryland. Michael resumed his duties in December 2005.

Michael left his role as WRC's daily sports anchor on March 1, 2007 following a dispute with WRC-TV (News 4) over layoffs of his staff. The George Michael Sports Machine went off the air on March 25, 2007.^[4][5] He continued to host weekend sports panel shows, such as Full Court Press (basketball season) and Redskins Report (football season) as well as interviews at Redskins Park on Mondays with Jim Zorn and Joe Bugel through December 2008. He was completely dropped from WRC due to budget cuts despite the fact Redskins Report was consistently one of WRC's top shows. He indicated at the time of his layoff, he would like to work on a panel show again but not on a nightly newscast.^[6]

Michael died on Dec. 24, 2009, at 70 years old after a two-year battle with cancer.^[7][8]

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