Texas’ Penders recovering from heart surgery
November 11, 1997
University of Texas men’s basketball coach Tom Penders revealed Monday he underwent heart surgery this past week, which will keep him from attending Tuesday’s season-opening game between the No. 22 Longhorns and Princeton University in New Jersey.
The 52-year-old Penders has had a heart ailment in the past, having been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy six years ago. He entered an Austin, Texas, hospital in late October for tests, and when doctors indicated he was at risk of sudden cardiac arrest, Penders decided to have a defibrillator implanted.
The surgery was performed Thursday in a Houston hospital by renowned heart doctor Denton Cooley, a friend of Penders who played basketball at Texas.
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Penders said that as part of his recovery, doctors do not want him to fly for about 10 days. That means he will not be able to accompany his team to New Jersey, and assistant Eddie Oran will direct the team in his absence.
Penders is going into his 10th season with Texas and has a record of 194-93, which makes him the winningest coach in school history. The Longhorns were 18-12 last season and reached the East Regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to Louisville. His record in 26 years of coaching is 464-302.
Seattle’s Kennedy sidelined for season
The Seattle Seahawks will have to play the rest of the season without star defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy. He fractured his left ankle in Sunday’s 37-31 win over the Chargers.
Kennedy was injured on the Seahawks’ second defensive series. It is the second time this season he has been injured, as he missed two games with a sprained knee. It was the first time in his eight-year NFL career he had been sidelined by an injury. Because of the injury, he had been off to a slow start with just two quarterback sacks.
Kennedy, the third player selected in the 1990 draft, had been a Pro Bowl pick in each of the last six seasons. He was picked by his teammates as Seattle’s Most Valuable Player last year when he had 69 tackles, 14 1/2 of them for lost yardage and eight quarterback sacks.
Dumars’ return halted by recurring injuries
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Detroit Pistons guard Joe Dumars returned from the injured list, but he left Sunday night’s game against the Vancouver Grizzlies after just one quarter because of an injured left shoulder. His X-rays were negative, and Dumars is day-to-day with a strained left shoulder.
Dumars had been activated off the injured list before the game, having been sidelined by a pulled left hamstring since the opening contest of the season against Washington.
The 34-year-old Dumars had just three points in that game against the Wizards, and added five more in his 11 minutes of playing time against Vancouver.
A 12-year veteran, Dumars averaged 14.7 points and four assists over 79 games last season. He has played his entire career in Detroit, having scored more than 15,000 points.
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