In a story that is absolutely not funny, a Canadian parachuting instructor died when he went for a solo jump after a day of taking out first-timers. Investigators aren’t sure exactly what happened to him.

“Everything was good, parachute opened great. He was doing the John [Scott] thing — he flies a very small, fast parachute — and he just missed on the bottom end,” said [skydiving site] Eden North owner Lyal Waddell on Sunday.

Zazulak said that the RCMP are still investigating the cause of Scott’s death and have seized his equipment to determine whether there was any sort of malfunction. They are also speaking to witnesses.

“Nothing appears suspicious at this time,” she said. “However, we do want to find out what happened. With any sudden, unexplained death we need to totally rule out that there might be anything suspicious at play.” (via CBC News)

While “a skydiver died skydiving” is sad news, it’s not the kind of thing we normally write about at With Leather. “Did someone involved do or say something stupid,” you may be asking, “to justify this story’s inclusion on the same day as a Ryan Lochte bonerjam?”

Yes. Someone did.

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Brad Lesley only spent four years in the Major Leagues as a relief pitcher; three years in Cincinnati, one in Milwaukee. He only racked up six saves in those four years, and a lifetime win-loss record of 1-3. He passed away at a hospital in Marina Del Rey on Saturday night. Kidney failure. He was 54 years old.

You may not remember him from his baseball career (unless you’re a Reds fan, and even then it’s iffy), but if you’re like me and spent a chunk of your childhood growing up in the 1990s, you’ll remember his film work. Lesley appeared in a handful of baseball movies in the 90s, including a role in Tom Selleck’s Mr. Baseball and his memorable turn as John ‘Blackout’ Gatling, aka “the mean guy with the goatee” from Little Big League.

Various obits mentioned that he had a role in Space Jam as himself, a role hand-picked for him by Michael Jordan, but it’s not listed on his IMDB page and I can’t spot him anywhere on my … uh, friend’s Space Jam DVD. I can confirm his appearances on ‘Takeshi’s Castle’/'Most Extreme Elimination Challenge,’ though, which makes him amazing whether your remember his movie career or not.

Rest in peace, Animal. We won’t forget you, and I’m sorry about Perez Hilton putting watermarks on baseball cards to claim them:

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Here’s some tragic news I never expected to have to report: Reid Flair, the 24-year old son of legendary wrestling champion “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, has passed away at the age of 24. You read that correctly. 24 f**king years old. PWInsider has confirmed it, although details are sketchy.

If you aren’t familiar with Reid, he’d been training for a while, and had just returned from a tour of All Japan Pro Wrestling. He had a solid amateur wrestling pedigree, including a win in the AAU National Wrestling Tournament, and had even been slated to debut for independent promotion Ring Of Honor a while back until personal issues (including a series of arrests including assault and battery, DUI and possession of heroin) put him off track. Things were seemingly moving in the right direction for him, and now … this.

Reid never had much of a chance to make an impact in the wrestling world, but fans who grew up watching in the 90s might remember him from his appearances as a 10-year old on WCW Monday Nitro, wherein he shot a takedown on Eric Bischoff at the behest of Arn Anderson:

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“The Mad Duck” Alex Karras, former Detroit Lions lineman, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 77.

Karras, who had recently suffered kidney failure, died at home in Los Angeles surrounded by family members, said Craig Mitnick, Karras’ attorney.

Diagnosed with dementia, Karras in April joined the more than 3,500 former NFL players suing the league for not protecting them better from head injuries, immediately becoming one of the best-known names in the legal fight.

Detroit drafted Karras with the 10th overall pick in 1958 out of Iowa and he was a four-time All-Pro defensive tackle over 12 seasons with the franchise. (via AP)

Alex Karras isn’t a household name, but you know who he is, in one form or another. Let me put it to you this way … very infrequently does the passing of one man touch so many UPROXX Network sites. For Kissing Suzy Kolber, Karras spent 12 years in the NFL, where he was a 4-time Pro Bowl selection. Fans of Warming Glow might remember him as George Papadapolis, Webster’s dad on the 80s sitcom ‘Webster,’ and Gamma Squad readers might know him as the guy who convinced their parents to go out and buy Transformers now, while the stores have a good selection. FilmDrunk gets my favorite Alex Karras, the one who played Mongo and punched out a horse in 1974′s Blazing Saddles. Hell, he was even a pro wrestler, so I can write about him. Also, the football stuff.

That’s a man who led a full life. After the jump, I’ve included some random videos and moments from Karras’ career. Check them out, and never forget the one guy in the world who knew Slim Pickens, Emmanuel Lewis and Dick The Bruiser. Rest in peace, sir.

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According to a continually updating report from TMZ.com, former San Diego Chargers linebacker and NFL 1990s All-Decade Team member Junior Seau has been involved in a possible shooting and may be dead. Whoa.

The report:

Cops in Oceanside, CA are investigating a possible shooting involving former NFL star Junior Seau … law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

We spoke with an investigator in the coroner’s office .. who told us they got a call to respond to the scene … though the details surrounding the situation are still unclear.

Cops are currently at a residence where 43-year-old Junior is believed to be staying.

People in law enforcement are telling us Junior Seau is dead … but we are unable to confirm that right now.

And the update:

11:06 AM PDT — A man just came out of the house appearing extremely distraught … and he is now talking with law enforcement.

This is obviously the worst kind of sports news, and I think I speak for everyone when I hope it’s not as bad as it seems.

UPDATE:

Ugh, now it’s official. TMZ says Junior Seau is dead.

NFL legend Junior Seau was found dead in his home in Oceanside, CA … and a law enforcement source at the scene tells us cops believe he shot himself.

Seau was 43-years-old … and leaves behind 3 kids and an ex-wife.

Every imaginable condolence goes out to Seau’s family.

Gary Carter died on Thursday.

He was, to most people, The Kid. A Hall of Fame catcher, a coach for Palm Beach Atlantic University, the guy with the most important single in New York Mets history in the 1986 World Series, a man who’d been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor last May. He was an 11-time All-Star, a 21-year veteran, a 3-time Gold Glove award winner, it’s hard to find a picture of him without a smile on his face and he died at a hospice.

I want to extend my condolences to Gary’s friends and family, but who am I to do that? I do wish them well. I wish death didn’t have to happen like this. Hell, I wish death didn’t have to happen. It’s mean. It doesn’t make sense, even when a doctor says “yeah, this is what’s happening to your brain” and you’ve got a year to plan for it.

The goal, I guess, is to be remembered. Gary Carter won’t have trouble with that. 78.02% of his peers made sure of that back in 2003. But right now — in the days immediately following the realization that he’s gone — how should we remember him? A paragraph of stats? Pictures?

It’s not a thing I figured out, but the memories are what matter most. I’ve been reading our goodbyes to him all morning … Marty Noble at MLB.com, Jeff Pearlman talking through Ed Hearn at The Wallstreet Journal, Jason Fry, a guy who loves the Mets more than anyone I’ve ever met, at Faith And Fear In Flushing. I make baseball players pretend to curse at each other for a living, so I found it hard to find my own words. I couldn’t. I looked for a video, because I’m a guy on the Internet.

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