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Sports

Roger Valdiserri, Notre Dame’s longtime sports information director, dies at age 95

Roger Valdiserri, who helped tell the story of some of Notre Dame’s greatest football teams as the school’s sports information director for three decades, died Thursday. He was 95.Valdiserri’s family said in a statement that he died of natural causes at a retirement community outside Chicago. The family said he was surrounded by his five children at the time of his death.AdvertisementValdiserri was a native of Pennsylvania who graduated from Notre Dame in 1954. His first job at the school was administrative assistant to football coaches Frank Leahy and Terry Brennan.He took over as sports information director in 1966 under coach Ara Parseghian. Notre Dame won the first of four national championships in football during Valdiserri’s tenure that season.AdvertisementValdiserri helped craft the role of the SID in major college football, famously changing the pronunciation of Notre Dame quarterback Joe Theisman when he joined the team in 1967 so it rhymed with Heisman.Valdiserri rose to the title of associate athletic director before retiring in 1995.Last year Notre Dame honored him at its game against Purdue with the dedication of a permanent seat in the press box at Notre Dame Stadium.The Roger Valdiserri Scholarship Award was established to be given annually to a student assistant working in the Irish sports information department.Valdiserri is survived by five children, seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

Sports

Northwestern softball gets blown out 13-2 by top seed Oklahoma in its Women’s College World Series opener

OKLAHOMA CITY — Tiare Jennings and Jana Johns hit grand slams, and No. 1 seed Oklahoma rolled past No. 9 seed Northwestern 13-2 in five innings Thursday on the opening day of the Women’s College World Series.The defending national champion Sooners pounded out 11 hits. Northwestern’s Danielle Williams (31-5) — a first-team NFCA All-America pitcher — lasted just three innings and took the loss.AdvertisementOklahoma (55-2) advanced to play rival Texas on Saturday in the schools’ first World Series meeting. Texas is responsible for one of Oklahoma’s losses this season, though the Sooners won two of three meetings.Northwestern (45-12) will play UCLA in an elimination game Friday.AdvertisementNorthwestern’s Rachel Lewis opened the scoring with a solo blast over the left-field fence in the third inning. It was her 23rd homer of the season.That was the only hit Oklahoma starter Hope Trautwein (19-1) allowed. She struck out seven and walked five in 4⅔ innings to claim the win.Oklahoma took over in the bottom of the third. The Sooners tied it on an RBI single by Johns that scored Rylie Boone. Williams walked Jocelyn Alo — the two-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year — to bring up Jennings with the bases loaded.Jennings, also a first-team All-American, put Williams’ first pitch over the fence in center to give the Sooners a 5-1 lead and control for good. It was Jennings’ 25th home run of the season.Johns’ grand slam in the fourth put the Sooners up 13-1.At OGE Energy Field, Oklahoma CityDouble elimination; x-if necessaryChicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.ThursdayAdvertisementGame 1: Texas 7, UCLA 2Game 2: Oklahoma 13, Northwestern 2Game 3: Florida vs. Oregon State, 6 p.m., ESPNGame 4: Oklahoma State vs. Arizona, 8:30 p.m., ESPNFridayGame 5: UCLA vs. Northwestern, 6 p.m., ESPN2Game 6: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2SaturdayGame 7: Texas vs. Oklahoma, 2 p.m., ABC-7Game 8: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 6 p.m., ESPNSundayGame 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 loser, 2 p.m., ABC-7Game 10: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 loser, 6 p.m., ESPN2MondayGame 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 11 a.m., ESPNx-Game 12: Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 1:30 p.m., ESPNGame 13: Game 8 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 6 p.m., ESPNx-Game 14: Game 8 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 8:30 p.m., ESPNChampionship seriesBest-of-three, June 8-10

Sports

LeBron James is now a billionaire

The latest member of the billionaire club is a slam dunk.LeBron James, the prolific four-time NBA champion whose business ventures include a multi-purpose entertainment company, is officially a billionaire, Forbes reported Thursday.AdvertisementJames boasts pretax earnings of $1.2 billion, according to Forbes, making him the first active NBA player to reach the billionaire threshold.The financial outlet says James’ stake in his SpringHill Company — which has produced films such as “Space Jam: A New Legacy” and the upcoming “House Party” — is worth $300 million, and values his multiple pieces of real estate at $80 million.AdvertisementLeBron James in March 21, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)The Los Angeles Lakers star, who has signed NBA contracts worth nearly $400 over the course of his 19-season playing career, is also said to have $500 million in cash and other investments, while his stake in the Fenway Sports Group is valued at $90 million.In 2014, James told GQ that the prospect of becoming a billionaire was his “biggest milestone.” “I want to maximize my business,” James said at the time.James, 37, has recorded the second-most points in NBA history with 37,062, and the seventh-most assists with 10,045. He won two NBA titles with the Miami Heat, one with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and one with the Lakers.James also starred in “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” which came out last year.