Celebrate Life Celebrate Winners

As we celebrate the life of the late Luther Vandross, let us also celebrate the life of the late Renaldo "Obie" Benson, a member of the legendary Motown singing group the Four Tops. Benson passed away on Friday, July 1^st 2005. Benson, 69, died of lung cancer. There are now two surviving original members of the group, Levi Stubbs and Abdul "Duke" Fakir, which sold more than 50 million records. Lawrence Payton, the fourth original group member, died of liver cancer in 1997. The quartet began singing together in the 1950s and had hit songs such as "Baby I Need Your Loving," "Reach Out (I'll be There)," "I Can't Help Myself" and "Standing in the Shadows of Love." The Four Tops were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

There is exciting news from the world of tennis. After nearly three hours of play between two American female tennis players making a comeback try, Venus Williams was victorious over Lindsay Davenport. This is Venus Williams’ third Wimbledon singles title. (This was the longest women's final in the history of the tournament.) Congratulations to the 25 year old champion who learned the game on the public tennis courts of Compton, California.

Congratulations are also in order for Tony Stewart the winner of this year’s Pepsi 400. Saturday’s NASCAR race was rain delayed for about three hours, but once the race began, around 11PM, Stewart simply dominated by leading the whole way to win his very first race at Daytona.

The Tour de France began yesterday with Lance Armstrong making a very decisive showing on the first day of the three-week tour, which will end in Paris on July 24^th. Armstrong described himself as “hungry” to win; and although he says he will retire after this year’s competition, Armstrong states, “I didn’t come to ride a retirement race. I came to win.”
Way to go, Lance. We wish you success.