Latest news with #Parky
Leader Live
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Leader Live
WREXHAM AFC: Hislop's praise for 'great guy' Parkinson
There's been success after success for Parkinson at the helm at the Racecourse, with him leading the club to back-to-back-to-back promotions from the National League all the way to the Championship. Hislop, the former Reading, Newcastle and Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper, says a fourth consecutive promotion is a possibility. Asked if the Reds can go up again, Hislop told ESPN FC: 'Yes, they can. I'm forever hopeful. 'I know Phil Parkinson well. Parky and I signed for Reading at the same time. 'Great guy, great guy. I don't think I've played with anybody who's more different on the field than off it. 'That's Parky, nicest man you've ever seen off the field. On the field, he just turns into some(one) totally different.' Looking at any potential business the Reds will make over the summer, Hislop said: 'If he has any say (in recruitment), it's not going to be any kind of big-headed superstar, because... there's nothing about Parky that says that and I'm not sure that Parky would go for anybody who, kind of, in any way emulates that.' Added problems will be coming the club's way with another step-up and Hislop says this is something that Wrexham will relish. 'They've been having to build this squad for some time,' he said. 'You just wonder how much more they need to do to be able to compete. But these are problems that players, managers, the ownership group want to have, want to try to figure out. 'We know all eyes will be on them, not just because of who they are and what they've done, but also, I think a lot of people have bought into this story. 'Bought into how they've progressed through leagues and want to see where they go, and maybe they are able to put together the kind of financing that will see them compete with the big spenders. 'They've shown that they can compete physically with those from lower down. So, it's an interesting prospect for them at this point.' Ben Foster has also been bragging up his former boss Parkinson claiming the best changing room he has been inside is Wrexham. Former England keeper Foster had two spells at the Racecourse to bookend his career, helping the Reds to win the LDV Vans Trophy at the Millennium Stadium during a loan spell back in 2005 and he returned in 2023 as Wrexham clinched the National League title in record-breaking fashion. Foster told Fozcast: 'The way the manager is... allowed total autonomy, total freedom to identify and sign a player. You don't get jobs like that anymore. 'Managers don't get jobs like that where you are the manager, you get to manage everything about the football club. 'Every player that comes in, he has identified them. He knows that person. He knows what their character is. 'He knows they're good at football, obviously, first and foremost, like he's done with everybody he's brought in. 'The best changing room I've ever been in, because everybody is just so down to earth and so respectful, and... I feel like that's the football club in general.'
Los Angeles Times
14-06-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
Letters to Sports: Bill Plaschke is taking the fight to Parkinson's disease
Bill Plaschke, thank you for your very informative column about Parkinson's disease and your boxing exercise program. I was diagnosed with Parkinson's about five years ago and joined Rock Steady boxing in Burbank six months ago. We do Tai Chi, dancing, speech, the gym machines and boxing. We also work on stretching and floor exercises. My family has noticed a difference in my gait and my endurance. I hope that everyone with Parkinson's will take heed and find an exercise program specific to their needs. I never had a right jab before, but I have a good one now. Sandy KaufmanNorth Hollywood I'm often in the mood to punch him after reading one of Plaschke's columns, but after reading Sunday's column I wanted nothing more than to give him a hug. It reminds me that everyone is fighting a battle none of us can see. Be kind. Bill HokansSanta Ana Years of using Bill Plaschke's notoriously incorrect Super Bowl predictions for betting guidance has led me to believe that Bill owes me, as well as his many devoted readers, a significant debt. His brave and inspiring column revealing his ongoing battle with Parkinson's disease repays that debt, and then some. Rob FleishmanPlacentia Don't mind admitting I was in tears reading about Bill Plaschke's advancing Parkinson's and the therapy that might slow the 'motion-melting nightmare' down. A 78-year-old former rugby player with arthritis and a bum knee, I'm fortunate in not having to face the dreaded Parky (yet?). If it happens, I know where to go. Rock on, Bill, and your truly inspiring gym mates. Kudos, also, to staff photographer Robert Gauthier … every picture, indeed, tells a story. John D.B. GrimshawLake Forest I too am living with Parkinson's disease. Plaschke's column helped to remind me that I am not alone and this dreaded disease indeed takes no prisoners no matter who you are. I wanted to thank Bill for his column bringing awareness, insight and hope to those of us diagnosed with Parkinson's. Bill's humanitarian columns with a tie-in to the world of sports showcase his best writing. Bill, your observations as a Parkinson's suffer truly hit the mark and deeply resonated with me. I wish you, and all of us afflicted with this condition, the willingness and determination to move forward and to use the power of sport and exercise to combat this devastating disease. Mike FeixChino Hills Champion Bill Plaschke goes toe to toe against challenger 'Parky!' Plaschke delivers a vicious uppercut to his opponent. 'Down goes Parky, Down goes Parky!' Rob ParraRowland Heights 'Calm' is exactly right and what I admire most about Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. Not unlike his most illustrious predecessor, Walter Alston. Bob WietingSimi Valley Is the grass really greener if you can't see it? What poetic justice it would be if the Knicks had to end up rehiring Tom Thibodeau and have to give him more money and more authority? If it ain't broke don't fix it. Russell MorganCarson It's been a minute since we've seen an outfielder with an arm like Andy Pages. I've taken to calling him the 'Cuban Cannon.' As for Hyeseong Kim, he has been a sparkplug for the offense. I am trying hard to figure out why he doesn't command more playing time. John TsutsuiHurricane, Utah Kiké 'The Closer' Hernández. Who needs Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell or Tyler Glasnow? Brent MontgomeryLong Beach The Los Angeles Times welcomes expressions of all views. Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times. They may be edited and republished in any format. Each must include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms will not be used. Email: sports@
Los Angeles Times
08-06-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
Fighting Parkinson's one punch at a time
They pull giant boxing gloves over aging, sometimes shaking hands. They approach a black punching bag on weary, sometimes wobbly feet. Then they wail. Lord, do they wail. They hit the bag with a left-handed jab, a right-handed reverse, a hook, another hook, an uppercut, another jab, bam, bam, bam. They end the flurry with kicks, side kicks, thrust kicks, wild kicks, their legs suddenly strong and purposeful and fueled by a strength that once seemed impossible. Outside of this small gym in a nondescript office park in Monrovia, they are elderly people dealing with the motion-melting nightmare that is Parkinson's disease. But inside the walls of Kaizen Martial Arts & Fitness, in a program known as Kaizen Kinetics, they are heavyweight champs. Ranging in age from 50 to 90, spanning the spectrum of swift strides to wheelchairs, they are the most courageous athletes I've met. They show up here every couple of days hoping that they'll move enough to keep the evil Parky at bay. They're trying to punch him out, kick him off, scare him away, and they'll endure more than an hour of sometimes painful exercise to make this happen. They are frail women screaming, 'Jab!' and shaky men screaming, 'Hook!' and everyone counting with clenched teeth through 75 minutes that stretch the shrinking muscles and test the weary optimism. I am in awe of them, perhaps because I am one of them. I, too, am living with Parkinson's disease. The irony, huh? I've spent my entire career writing triumphant stories about athletes overcoming illness and adversity, only to reach the home stretch struggling to find a similar triumph in a story about me. It's not easy. Now I know what all those subjects of all those feel-good stories understood about the truth behind my positive prose. Degenerative disease sucks beyond any inspirational adjective. Incurable illness stinks beyond any hopeful headline. I've got Parkinson's, and it hurts to even say it. I'm still mobile, still active, I don't have the trademark tremors that distinguish the famously afflicted Michael J. Fox or the late Muhammad Ali but, damn it, I've got it. I was diagnosed four years ago after complaining of weakness in my right arm. That weakness has disappeared, but it's a constant struggle to keep everything else from slowly going to hell. Every day it feels like I've just run a marathon. I move well, my balance is fine, but I'm always tight, always creaking. The amount of medication required to keep me active is so immense, my pills come in gallon jugs and I spend entire Dodger games trying to discreetly swallow them in the press box. I move slower now. My fiancee Roxana qualifies for sainthood because whenever we go out, she must patiently wait for me to get dressed, which takes forever and is accompanied by the unholy sounds of struggle. I don't smile as much now. It's harder to smile when afflicted with the trademark Parkinson's masked face. When I FaceTime with my darling Daisy, I worry she won't see past my dour expression and never know how much her granddaddy loves her. Until now, my condition has only been known to my family. Not even my bosses knew. I didn't look like Parky, I didn't act like Parky, so why should I publicly reveal something so personal and embarrassing? Yeah, I was embarrassed. I felt humiliated in a way that made no sense and total sense. To me, Parkinson's implies frailty, Parkinson's implies weakness. But let me tell you, a 72-year-old woman pounding the living hell out of a punching bag ain't weak. And that's why I'm writing about this today. If my boxing classmates can have the strength to sweat through their tremors and wallop through their fears, then I can certainly have the strength to celebrate them without worrying what sort of light it casts on me. I'm proud to be one of them, and the purpose of this column is to reflect that pride and perhaps make it easier for other folks afflicted with Parkinson's to come out swinging. Officially, Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative disease impacting both motor and non-motor systems. Translated, the brain slowly stops producing dopamine, which is crucial for movement, and the loss of this neuro-transmitter affects everything from your stride to your speech. Roughly one million people in the United States have it, and there's no cure for it, and it generally gets worse as one gets older. As Michael J. Fox himself once said, it's the gift that keeps on taking. You don't die from it, but it can be hard to live with it, yet there is one thing that unquestionably helps slow its progression. Exercise. Movement. Pull your achy body off the couch every day and work those quivering muscles, stretch those tight joints, perhaps join one of the many Parkinson's programs in town that involve everything from dancing to hiking. 'For people living with Parkinson's disease, regular exercise can reduce symptoms, help treatments work better and potentially even slow the disease progression,' Rachel Dolhun, principal medical advisor at the Michael J. Fox Foundation, wrote in an e-mail. 'For some, exercise can look like participating in boxing classes. For others, it's water aerobics, dancing or playing pickleball. Just remember that any type of and amount of exercise can positively support your journey.' If you're like me and you just want to punch Parky in the face, boxing works best. The 83 tough souls who t pay $179 a month to battle in the Kaizen Kinetics program agree. 'I hit the bag really hard like I'm hitting Parkinson's,' said Rich Pumilia, 66, a lawyer from Monrovia. 'Hitting it back for what it's doing to me.' I became aware of Jody Hould's program, which she leads with the help of husband Tom, son Zac and Anthony Rutherford, shortly after I was diagnosed. I kept seeing their pamphlets in doctors offices and rehab centers. At the time, they were part of the popular Parkinson's-battling Rock Steady Boxing program that has several locations through southern California. By the time I worked up the courage to fully face my illness and call the number on the pamphlet two years ago, Kaizen had become an independent program with a similar focus on boxing. 'Boxing is balancing, posture, turning, pivoting, extension, range of motion, using your core, everything that's important to fighting the disease,' said Hould, who started the program nine years ago in memory of her late mother, Julie, who died of complications from Parkinson's. 'Plus, it's fun to punch something.' Hould and her team run a fast-moving program, barking out a series of punches and kicks while offering gentle reminders to those who hook when they should jab. 'Parkinson's doesn't take any vacations, it doesn't take any days off, we have to be on top of our game, we have to be proactive in our fight,' Hould said. 'Not only is it good for the spirit, it's good for the mind.' But it can be tough on the ego, as I quickly learned when a frail white-haired woman out-punched me one day while screaming at the bag. Another time an aging man with tremors and shuffled steps pounded the bag so hard it skidded into my feet. I once showed up with a cut on my left hand and informed Hould that I would not be boxing that day. 'You still have your right hand, don't you?' she said. 'So you box one-handed.' The 75-minute sessions are hard. Every exercise and maneuver are seemingly designed to do something I now have difficulty doing. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes you want to be anywhere else. But it works. It can't kill Parky, but it can quiet him. Hould never promises a cure, but she sees some relief in those who join the battle. There was one boxer who eventually abandoned her walker. Others have seen a reduction in their tremors. Throughout the windowless gym there is real hope that this disease can be slowed. Pumilia is convinced his condition has improved after attending classes for eight weeks. 'When I was diagnosed, my doctor said you have five good years left before your life is going to be impacted,' said Pumilia. 'Now my doctor is basically saying, 'I don't know what you're doing, but keep doing it.'' Sharon Michaud, 65, a retired insurance executive who has also come to class for eight years, agrees. 'Without a doubt, it's helped me,' said Michaud, who is noticeable in the class because she moves like a gymnast. 'With Parkinson's it's easy to get into a funk and get depressed. You come here and it's nice to know there are other people like you. I'm amazed more people don't know there's places like this out here.' Maybe this story will shed some light on that. Maybe this story will inform a closeted Parkinson's patient about programs like Kaizen Kinetics and empower them to pick up the phone and join. If you decide to come to Monrovia, I'll be the breathless guy in the back still unable to deliver a knockout punch but continually inspired by fellow fighters to keep trading blows with my hardest of truths. I leave that gym sweaty and sore but uplifted with the reminder that I am blessed to still lead a wonderful active life filled with family and friends and work and travel and so, so much hope. I have Parkinson's. But, by God, it doesn't have me.
NZ Herald
09-05-2025
- Health
- NZ Herald
Sir Dave Dobbyn shares health update, how Parkinson's has changed his performing
Appearing today on RNZ's Afternoons show to play an acoustic session, the Welcome Home singer reflected on receiving his diagnosis, telling host Jesse Mulligan it was 'kind of a relief'. 'It was a relief to find out what it was, because my family couldn't really recognise me. During Covid I went right down the rabbit hole somewhere, I got quite lost. 'And there can be a slight personality change, it can become quite pronounced in some people. 'Thankfully for me, it wasn't too bad. I was rescued by my family, shall we say, and I was able to tackle it head-on.' Dobbyn said almost three years on from that life-changing diagnosis he was 'thrilled with my progress'. 'It does change you, it makes you more receptive, and humble, you find your place in it.' Dobbyn is also 'literally' fighting the progressive neurological disorder by taking up boxing. 'Twice a week I go and do my boxing with some other Parky people, that's what we call ourselves – the Parkies,' Dobbyn told Mulligan. Dobbyn said the combat exercise has helped him counteract many of the physical symptoms of the neurodegenerative disease. 'It [boxing] does wonders for your balance, because your balance is shot with Parkinson's. 'You get all these things that are taken away from you, your balance, the strength of your voice in terms of loudness, things like that become difficult. 'But if you're fighting it and you're doing some exercises, it's the best way to deal with it.' Dobbyn was in good spirits during the performance. He said he considers himself in 'good shape' at the moment but admitted his musicality has been affected by the disease. 'I play less. I can't shred anymore, not that I ever did really... things get taken away. I do less on the piano, which is probably a good idea, I do less on the guitar and focus on the vocal. 'Eventually, it takes your voice, so you sound like a slurring drunk. But I think I'm a few years away from that. I've already done the slurring drunk bit, and it didn't involve Parkinson's.' Dobbyn was knighted in 2020 and appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2003 for services to music. He is set to perform a show at the Auckland Town Hall on June 4. He said the thought of the performance 'scares the hell out of me right now, but I'm sure in doing it on the night it will just be glorious'.
Leader Live
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Leader Live
Wrexham fans would like to see Phil Parkinson get a statue
The Wrexham fairy-tale has often seen co-chairmen Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney steal the spotlight - and rightly so, for their contributions to club and community. The pair's influence has been so great on the football club and the city that they were awarded the 'Freedom of Wrexham' honour back in December 2022. But, there is another man who perhaps deserves even greater credit for having guided the football club and its players to three promotions in a row. Phil Parkinson took over as Wrexham manager in July 2021, having previously been with the likes of Sunderland, Bolton Wanderers and Bradford City. Since then, he has taken the Reds from the wilderness of the National League to playing in the second tier of English football next season. A 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic on Saturday (April 26) meant that Wrexham will be moving on up to the EFL Championship for 2025/26. And that level of success led us to asking our readers/Wrexham fans; 'Is it time for Parkinson to receive some sort of honour for his achievements with Wrexham?'. Here's what some of them had to say... Andy Smith said: "He needs a statue!" Cath Morris added: "Statue of Parky in the town centre." Rob Jones agreed, saying: "Or to the entrance of the new stand, no one will ever achieve this again." Jay Mansell said: "He should be given a knighthood. Not that I think that matters but if Gareth Southgate got one for winning nothing, Parky should be in with a shout." RELATED READING Paul Jackson said: "He's got legend status now whatever happens. But, his win rate in the championship is just 18 percent, it's going to be interesting to see how he does next season." Ian Evans added: "He has achieved what many people thought was impossible. His management of the players and belief in them has been proven right. "Great manager and deserves all the respect and recognition we can give him including the Freedom of the City!" Bryan Pritchard said: "Definitely name the the new Kop Stand after the man who made it happen." Speaking after the historic win on Saturday, Parkinson said: 'Everybody has been talking about making history all season, and right at the start, we knew what was at stake, and nobody can ever take that away from us. 'Every supporter, the owner and everybody connected with the club, such as the staff and players, these medals mean a lot and they're worth a lot. 'We created history today with these three promotions, and hard work has to go in. I go into every season thinking we can go in and achieve promotion, but to do it is amazing. 'The trajectory has been a rapid one. We have had to evolve continually, and I think this season we have evolved as a team.'
