Iâd heard he recently had a massive stroke. What an enormous loss.
When we shared a platform, he would say âIâll go first. If I speak after you theyâll all go to sleep.â The never did, of course. They heard him in pin drop silence, except once we were speaking to a huge trade-union conference with simultaneous translation. Noam spoke first. After the event, sas we were walking off to dinner I said to him: âYour translator was very boring. Most of these workers went to sleep. Thank God I was there to wake them up.â He laughed. In these last months he was greatly angered by the Israelis and the kicking fields and streets and beaches in Gaza. âIsrael should not existâ was an early reaction. Introducing him at a talk in Santa Fe many years ago I compared him to Bertrand Russell. Over supper he thanked me and said that was the nicest thing anyone could have said about him. âI loved Russell and his picture was ever-present in my office.â Your picture, too, dear departed Noam will also be on many walls for a long time to come.
EDIT: OTOHâŠ
It might be premature? I saw this:
But when I went to click on it, it said the story had been removed?
But seems like he did have stroke down in Brazil last week?
Yeah, I thought a person close to him like Ali might have been told early, but there indeed doesnât seem to be official confirmation yet.
Very sad. 
I donât think itâs specifically stated, but in the DS9 episode âFar Beyond the Starsâ, Michael Dorn played a baseball player in NYC playing for the Giants in the 1950s, who is clearly meant to be Willie Mays (thought I think the characterâs name is Willie Hawkins)âŠ
Although, it looks like the number isnât right⊠not 24âŠ
Still⊠I think it was certainly meant as an homage to MaysâŠ
His wife is saying he is still very much alive.
A lot of ballplayers from that era, including great ones like Mays and Mickey Mantle, relied on getting paid for the use of their name, image, and likeness after their playing days because they werenât paid all that well. I bet Star Trek tried to get his permission to use his name and likeness in that episode, and Mays wanted to be paid for it.
Could be!
In my head canon, though, itâs definitely the great Willie Mays!
Oh Iâm sure thatâs who itâs supposed to be.
Greatly exaggerated one might say?
While Danâs final weeks and hours were spent surrounded by loved ones, there can be no sugarcoating the reality. He suffered during the 18 months after his diagnosis. The real tragedy lies in the abject indifference of the insurance companies and the medical professionals who are counted on to help patients in their time of need. Phone calls were left unreturned, procedures cancelled, and doctorâs orders criminally delayed, giving his cancer the upper hand and expediting his end. Danâs fate, like many patients in the US, was dictated by profit margins. The only solace was provided by his loving sons and by the compassionate team of nurses and volunteers from Home Health and Hospice Care of Merrimack. Sadly, Dan was only one of millions of Americans who find themselves a mere number, fighting for a higher standard of care that should be granted to everyone. We all need to speak up and demand more of our woefully inadequate medical system.
Maybe not a generally-recognized âcelebrityâ, but a major contributor to Computer Science:
I first encountered his work when studying Dataflow languages as a grad student. I still use his material when I teach our programming language design class.
Didnât Jake and Nog have an entire episode where they tried to get a Willie Mays card?
Memory Alpha also says that Willie Mays didnât play for the Giants in 1953 because he was fighting in Korea.
Maybe itâs the Prophets dropping little hints that the vision is not reality, but nothing so big that Sisko rejects it too early.
Oh no! 
Damn, Satan!
