They Had a Hard Time Putting Together His Coffin

Billionaire IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, who turned a business he launched as a teenager into one of the world’s best known furniture brands, has died at the age of 91, the Swedish company said on Sunday.
IKEA’s simple but sturdy designs and self-assembly products are now familiar in homes around the globe and the retailer is aiming to generate 50 billion euros ($62 billion) in annual revenues by 2020.
Kamprad started IKEA in 1943 when he was just 17, but his big break came in 1956, when the company pioneered flat-pack furniture.
He got the idea when he watched an employee taking the legs off a table to fit it into a customer’s car and realized that it could be developed to save money on transport, storage and sales space.
The business now has around 400 stores, many of them cavernous warehouses in out-of-town malls and roughly 1 billion people visited them last year.
“One of the greatest entrepreneurs of the 20th century, Ingvar Kamprad, has peacefully passed away, at his home in Smaland, Sweden, on the 27th of January,” the company said.
Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven praised Kamprad as an inspirational figure whose influence had reached far beyond his native land.
“Ingvar Kamprad was a unique entrepreneur who had a big impact on Swedish business and who made home design a possibility for the many not just the few,” national news agency TT quoted Lofven saying.
Born on March 30, 1926, in southern Sweden, Kamprad started off selling matches to neighbors at the age of five and soon diversified his inventory to include seeds, Christmas tree decorations, pencils and ball-point pens.
Despite his wealth, Kamprad prided himself on being frugal, driving an old car and encouraging staff to write on both sides of a sheet of paper to avoid waste.
Kamprad was also controversial figure.
He was forced to apologize for his time as a member of the New Swedish Movement, a nationalist, far-right group that supported fascist parties around Europe, in the 1940s.
His decision to live abroad, mainly in Switzerland, to avoid Sweden’s high income taxes was also widely criticized.
In recent years, Kamprad had stepped away from the day-to-say running of the empire he created, though he remained an advisor.
His sons -- Peter, Jonas and Mathias -- still sit on the boards of various IKEA entities, but the family is no longer at the helm.
“Ingvar Kamprad was a great entrepreneur of the typical southern Swedish kind - hardworking and stubborn, with a lot of warmth and a playful twinkle in his eye,” the company said.
“He worked until the very end of his life, staying true to his own motto that most things remain to be done.”

Something That Really Cooks

Chuck Berry, who has died aged 90, was rock’n’roll’s first guitar hero and poet. Never wild, but always savvy, Berry helped define the music. His material fused insistent tunes with highly distinctive lyrics that celebrated with deft wit and loving detail the glories of 1950s US teen consumerism.

He is survived by his wife, Themetta “Toddy” Suggs, whom he married in 1948, four children, Ingrid, Chuck junior, Aloha and Melody and cousin Marvin.

Song of the Week

"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" - Wham!

I know some people prefer the edgier, solo George Michael, but I love the youthful, poppy version. It was a more innocent time for all of us, and particularly George who was only 20 when this song sent him to stardom.

Hope

Carrie Fisher died at the age of 60 after suffering a massive heart attack on a plane.

She will be best remembered for playing Princess Leia in the original Star Wars movies and reprising that role in "The Force Awakens."

Two enduring images, as a hologram in "A New Hope"



and wearing a gold bikini in "Return of the Jedi"

One More Craig Sager Fact

When Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run to pass Babe Ruth, Sager was on the field (in trench coat) trying to get an interview.

The World Just Got Less Colorful

Craig Sager dies at the age of 65 after a long battle with leukemia.

Pour Out a Little Iced Tea, and a Little Lemonade

Arnold Palmer passed away at age 87, after living a full life in which he had a drink named after him.



Nails puts a little shot of vodka in his Arnold Palmer and calls in a John Daly.

Andy Samberg joked that he wanted take the music from Beyonce's "Lemonade" album, and put Ice-T lyrics over it to create a new album called "Arnold Palmer."

They Are Who We Thought They Were

"If you wanna crown em, then crown their ass, but they are who we thought they were, and we let em off the hook."
"Thanks Coach."
Dennis Green died today at age 67, after a heart attack.

There's Some People Even 300 Pounds of Weight Loss Can't Help

Actor Ron Lester died after suffering liver and kidney failure.
Lester became famous as the 500-pound offensive lineman, Billy Bob, in "Varsity Blues."

But as I reported in 2008, Lester had bariatric surgery and lost roughly 300 pounds.

But perhaps the damage was done. Poor Billy Bob.

Song of the Week

"Am I Black Enough For You?" - Billy Paul
I only went with this one because his classic "Me and Mrs. Jones" (SOTW, 1/26/11) already earned this honor. This song was actually the next single released after his first smash hit and, its departure in sound and significance may have prevent Paul's career from really taking off.
Either way, Billy and Paul mourn the loss of Billy Paul, even though his real name was Paul Williams.

Doves Are Crying

Prince died Wednesday at the age of 57 under circumstances that are still unclear. We knew he was on a flight that had to be diverted because of a medical emergency. And we knew he spent a time in the hospital, reportedly for the flu, but we still don't know exactly what killed him.

Prince was an enigmatic figure, whether gender-bending or turning himself into a symbol, or litigiously enforcing his copyrights (which is why no youtube clips will accompany this post).

But there's little debate that he was a musical genius who could not only sing, but play several instruments as well, demonstrated here (in a youtube video I can show you) as he plays along with legendary guitarists for a version of "My Guitar Gently Weeps."

He was a big sports fan and always stayed true to his hometown teams, unlike other front-celebs, and he was often seen on TV and Vikings games.

He also always stayed true to his music, a true artist, always adapting to the times, going from 70s funk to 80s pop to 90s R&B and soul.

My favorite Prince songs are "I Wanna Be Your Lover" (SOTW, 3/28/12), "Call My Name", "Adore" & "7."

Prayers For Pearl

Syracuse legend Dwayne "Pearl" Washington died Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. Pearl was 52.

You saw this year's team wearing shirts bearing his name during their surprising run to the Final Four, as part of the fundraising effort to pay for his medical care.

He played for Syracuse from 1983-1986 and was the first real star the school had. His battles with Patrick Ewing and Georgetown were part of what helped build the Big East into the best conference in the country.

It was Pearl who helped blaze the trail of top recruits like Rony Seikaly, Sherman Douglas, Derrick Coleman and Billy Owens to make their way to cold, snowy Syracuse to play for a curmudgeonly coach.

He never reached his potential in the NBA, playing only three years of the Nets and Heat.

It was with the Nets that Pearl played alongside Duane Washington and due to their similar names, they were often confused.
People thought Pearl had a drug problem, but that was Duane.
In fact, ESPN.com ran a picture of Duane with the article announcing Pearl's death.

Even though he never had the pro career he wanted he was always remembered fondly at Syracuse, and became a fixture around the program.

I saw him once at the bookstore, Dick Vitale was doing a book-signing there ahead of broadcasting a Big Monday game, and Pearl walked in. Vitale stopped his canned speech about young people and began to talk about Pearl as a player and as a person. I skipped class that day.

Song of the Week

"Award Tour" - A Tribe Called Quest
Phife Dawg passed away last week at the age of 45.
I was never a huge Tribe fan, but I acknowledge their place in hip-hop history.

I chose this song for the line "I never let a statue tell me how nice I am."
I take it to be his way of saying he doesn't care about a Grammy Award.
But if you extrapolate that out, you can derive a deeper meaning: "don't let other people influence how you feel about yourself."
Shit is deep.

Paul Amon is Dead

The tugboat crewmember who died after the ship struck a barge and sank in the Hudson River early Saturday was identified as a Bayville man.

Emergency crews recovered the body of Paul Amon, 52, after the crash, near the Tappan Zee Bridge, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino said at a news conference.

Two others on the 90-foot tugboat, named The Specialist, were missing.

At a previous briefing, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the missing crewmembers were believed to be dead and state police were using sonar to pinpoint the location of the tug.

"You have three people who left for work, who aren't going to come home and that's what today is all about," Cuomo said. "Again, our thoughts and prayers are with the families."

Kate Upton Loses Distant Relative

Billionaire nat gas driller and part owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder Aubrey McClendon died in a one-car accident.

He crashed into an embankment while traveling at a "high rate of speed" in Oklahoma City just after 9 a.m., said Capt. Paco Balderrama of the Oklahoma City Police Department. Flames engulfed McClendon's vehicle "immediately," and it was burnt so badly that police could not tell if he was wearing a seatbelt, he said.

"He pretty much drove straight into the wall," Balderrama said.

The day before, McClendon had been indicted for alleged price-fixing.

McClendon went to Duke and actually helped finance the legal defense for the wrongfully accused Duke lacrosse players.

It was at Duke that he met his wife Katie Upton. Her grandfather was one of the founders of Whirlpool. That same man is also the grandfather of Rep. Fred Upton and Jeff Upton.

Jeff Upton is the father of Kate Upton.


Here is a picture of Kate Upton with Aubrey McClendon at an Oklahoma City Thunder game.

Diesel 11 (77)

Diesel, 11 (77), of Fair Lawn, NJ died Thursday, December 10th, under the loving care of the veterinarians at Valley Brook Veterinary Hospital, after a brief battle with cancer.
Diesel, an energetic, loving, black Labrador Retriever, enjoyed long walks in the park, chasing tennis balls (and rabbits and squirrels, too), laying in the sunlight and swimming in the ocean.
A lifelong Mets fan, Diesel was known to get incredibly excited every time he heard those magic words, "Mets win."
Diesel is survived by his parents, Paul and Kate, his brothers, Chase and Julian and a long list of adoring grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
In lieu of flowers, please pet the next dog that you see. Especially if it is your own.

Pour Out a Little Orange Juice

Actor Robert Loggia died at the age of 85.
Loggia is known for his many film roles, but is most remembered for encouraging a generation of kids to drink orange juice.


We should also note that Mr. Loggia is from Staten Island. He went to New Dorp High School and Wagner College.

Poor Diesel

A French police dog named Diesel was killed in the raid on an apartment in a suburb north of Paris.

Diesel is a 7-year-old Belgian Mallinois. The breed is similar to German Shepherd but more athletic. It is the preferred police dog throughout Europe and a breed I would love to own someday.

Good Thing I Didn't Die While Mike Piazza Was on the Mets

85-year-old Helen Fowler of Cranford, NJ passed away recently and in her obituary she (and/or her surviving family members) wanted the world to know how much Helen loved the New York Yankees.

Except for that miserable bum, Alex Rodriguez.
God bless you Helen.

I Better Go To His Funeral

Or he won't come to mine.

Yogi Berra passed away at age 90 and he will best be remembered for his funny one-liners and malaprops.

"My wife said he took my son to see Dr. Zhivago. I said 'what's wrong with him now?'"

"No one goes there anymore, it's too crowded."

"Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

It's like deja vu all over again."

"I didn't say all those things they said I said."

And of course "it ain't over til it's over."

As much as I love a funny quip, I am saddened that his humor overshadowed what was an incredible baseball career.
From 1950 through 1956, Berra posted WARs of 6.0, 5.3, 5.8, 5.4, 5.9, 5.2 and 6.4.
In 1950, he played 151 out of 154 games, making 656 plate appearances and striking out only 12 times. That's 1.8% strikeout rate. In 2015, Daniel Murphy has the lowest strikeout rate in the majors at 6.9%.

But we have a policy here at The Poop to post something ridiculous or trivial about people when they die. So here is Yogi Berra in a Miller Lite commercial from 1987, alongside a young Jason Alexander.