he task and broke Murray in the fifth for a 3-2 lead. That lead | Forum

LOS ANGELES -- Howard Bingham, longtime personal photographer, confidant and perhaps the closest friend of boxing great Muhammad Ali, has died at age 77. Bobby Clarke Jersey .Harlan Werner, Binghams agent and longtime friend, told The Associated Press the photographer died Thursday.No cause of death was given, but another friend, sportswriter Mohammed Mubarak, said Bingham had been in failing health in recent months after undergoing two surgeries.During a friendship that spanned more than half a century, Bingham took literally hundreds of thousands of photos of Ali that ranged from the three-time world heavyweight champions many ring triumphs to quiet day-to-day moments with his family.He captured the young, handsome champion preparing for his first heavyweight championship fight against Sonny Liston in 1964 and, years later, the aging Ali, hands shaking from Parkinsons disease, preparing to light the flame opening the 1996 Olympic Games.He photographed Ali greeting everyone from former President Bill Clinton to South African President Nelson Mandela to black Muslim leader Malcolm X. And he was there with his camera when throngs of awe-struck fans surrounded the champ on the street.Although known largely as Alis photographer, Bingham also had a distinguished career as a freelancer.He photographed the 1967 race riots in Detroit and was at Chicagos Democratic National Convention in 1968 when violence exploded between protesters and police.In the 1960s he developed enough trust with the fledgling Black Panther Party that its members gave him free reign to photograph them -- and their weapons stash -- for a feature Life magazine had planned.After the story was not published -- They got scared, he later told the Los Angeles Times -- he included the photos in his 2009 book, Howard L. Binghams Black Panthers 1968.He was one of the greatest storytellers of our time, said Werner. You look at the history in his photos. And the photos themselves, theyre just amazing.The public has never seen some of the best of Ali, Werner added, because the unfailingly modest Bingham never wanted people to think he was cashing in on their friendship. But he did publish a book including some of them in the acclaimed 1993 photo memoir, Muhammad Ali: A Thirty-Year Journey.Bingham started off his career in 1962 as a fledgling photographer for the small African-American Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper, and was assigned to cover a fight by an up-and-coming young boxer then known as Cassius Clay.He would tell Ali years later he had no idea who he had been sent to photograph, but when he saw him and his brother wandering around downtown after the fight he offered to show them around. Later, he invited them to his mothers house for dinner.It was the beginning of a friendship that would endure until Alis death in June.The eldest of seven siblings, Bingham was born in Mississippi on May 29, 1939, and moved to Los Angeles as a child.He eventually enrolled in Compton Community College, where he failed a photography class. He blamed it on spending too much time having fun and not enough studying.But he applied to be a photographer at the Sentinel a few years later and, after repeated inquiries, he was finally hired.I went off on jobs, came back with underexposed film, blurred film, no film -- and I always had an excuse for what went wrong, he told the Times.Eventually he learned enough about photography on the job to land the Ali assignment.Bingham is survived by his wife, Carolyn, and son, Dustin. Another son, Damon, preceded him in death. Claude Giroux Flyers Jersey . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. Bernie Parent Flyers Jersey . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. http://www.flyersteamstoreonline.com/ . "It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium. Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna subdued Britains Andy Murray and Heather Watson with remarkable ease to breeze into the mixed-doubles semifinals at the Rio Olympics. The fourth-seeded Indian pair dominated the quarterfinal contest, winning 6-4 6-4 in just 67 minutes.One more victory will ensure India a silver medal and even a defeat in the semifinals - against USAs Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram - would give Sania and Bopanna a chance to fight for the bronze.Murray came into the contest after winning his singles quarterfinal that lasted more than two hours, and he was a pale shadow of himself.Murray, the world number two, winner of three Grand Slams and the singles defending Olympic champion, seemed to be conserving his energy for the bigger battle ahead. His heavy legs and stifled movement on the court made the task easier for the Indians.Watson, too, did not look like the player who won the Wimbledon mixed-doubles title this year, struggling with her serve and ground strokes in the opening set.Bopanna was solid with his booming serve while Sania played superbly from the back of the court. Bopanna began with a double fault and Sanias consecutive volley errors meant that the Indians were first to blink.However, the Indians immediately got the break back as Watosn dropped serve at love. Custom Philadelphia Flyers Jerseys. A flurry of unforced errors from her set the Indians up nicely with three chances, and Bopanna found a backhand winner on the first break point. Sania saved a breakpoint in the next and held to make it 2-2.A nervous-looking Watson struggled with her serve and was again down 0-40, allowing India to seized the advantage. Murray failed to put across a strong forehand return from Sania, putting the Indians ahead 4-3. Sania came out serving solid in the next set as India led 5-3. Bopanna served out the first set without fuss, hitting two aces.Murray and Watson played better as a team in the second set, but the Indians were up for the task and broke Murray in the fifth for a 3-2 lead. That lead stayed with the Indians and Bopanna sealed the issue on the third match point with an overhead smash.In 2012, Murray had won silver in the mixed-doubles, alongside Laura Robson. India have won only one tennis medal in their entire Olympic history, through Leander Paes, who won a singles bronze at 1996 Atlanta Games. ' ' '