Matthew Yglesias » Other Famous Alaskans

Oct 23rd, 2008 at 12:12 pm

Other Famous Alaskans

It turns out that more people are from Alaska than I’d remembered, with pitcher Curt Schilling no doubt edging Carlos Boozer out for the title of (pre-Palin) Most Famous Alaskan. Jewel can also put in a strong claim:

Meanwhile, SDG observes:

In “other people who played their high school basketball in Alaska, then played at Duke and were then drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers” news, Trajan Langdon is keeping tabs on Putin for Palin. (she can actually see him playing basketball from her house)

Maybe after the election, Palin can work on convincing basketball defector Becky Hammon to stop working for the Russkies.

Comments
35

Filed under: Alaska, Basketball, Sports

35 Responses to “Other Famous Alaskans”

ananke Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:17 pm
where’s the digby love? she graduated high school in fairbanks and she’s a fellow blogger!
Jasper Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Caught Jewel on a PBS performance a while back. She’s not to everybody’s taste, but I believe she’s a huge talent as well as incredibly attractive.
berger Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Curt isn’t from Alaska – he was just born there….not the same thing.
mistersmed Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Mario Chalmers, recently of the University of Kansas (2008 NCAA champs. Go Jayhawks!), and now playing for the Miami Heat, is from Anchorage.
Njorl Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
What about Tom Bodette? Too good for Motel 6 are ya?
Chris B Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I cannot believe that nobody has mentioned NY Rangers Center Scott Gomez, born in Alaska. As Palin is a hockey mom, she would no doubt have watched his career closely
raincntry Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Yeah, Scotty Gomez is a famous Alaskan, so is former Pro Bowler Mark Schlereth, and Olympic Silver Medalist Hillary Lind
SoI'veHeard Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:44 pm
The porn star April Flowers, also known as April Summers, is from Wasilla.
Tom Hilton Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Yes, many of the worst Americans are from Alaska.
Jayhawk Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:56 pm
This discussion can’t have reached the 10th comment without mentioning Mario Chalmers of the miracle shot. It just can’t have. I think he’s arguably the most accomplished Alaskan ever.
godoggo Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Are all these people really more famous than Paul Shaffer?
godoggo Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Oh. Alaskan. Never mind.
Kent from Juneau Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:07 pm
OK, I lived for 10 years in Juneau during the time Boozer was in HS. He was definitely the dominate HS player of the decade in Alaska on a HS team that won back to back championships. Other famous Alaskans or people who lived there that no one has mentioned yet:

Hillary Lindh and Tommy Moe (Olympic skiers and medalists)
Corey Flintoff (NPR’s All Things Considered Anchor)
Wyatt Earp and Soapy Smith (from the Klondike Gold Rush days)
tinisoli Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Curt Schilling is from Alaska in the same way that John McCain is from the Panama canal. Both were brats, and their place of birth was incidental and meaningless.

Both are also tremendous assholes who are quite fond of one another.
Simon Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Jewel doesn’t count anymore. She has abandoned this state completely and fixed her teeth, so she’s out.
Will Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:56 pm
A quick look at the global popularity of basketball and the global popularity of baseball would indicate that Carlos Boozer is more widely known than Curt Schilling.
Joe Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:03 pm
As raincntry mentioned, Scott Gomez is a native Alaskan and the first Latino player to play in the NHL. He was rookie of the year back in 2000, and now plays for the New York Rangers.

FYI, when the NHL lockout led to the 2004-05 season being canceled many NHL players went to Europe to play, Gomez instead chose to play minor league hockey for the Alaska Aces of the ECHL (think Double A baseball) where he led the league in scoring, and earned MVP honors. I only mention this because I’m a Bakersfield Condors fan, and it was WAY cool to see Gomez playing in our league….unfortunately, during the playoffs, Ashlee Langdone of the Condors checked Gomez into an open bench door breaking his pelvis and ending his ECHL season…fortunately he has recovered and it doesn’t seem to have slowed him down at all.
Nat Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Hannon plays for San Antonio during their seasonably inappropriate schedule and for Moscow during the ‘off’ season in a Russian league that pays a lot more money and employs a number of very talented Americans. Hannon wanted to play ball at the highest level instead of being a couch potato when her country did not give her the call. What’s not to love with that?

Plus she is a lot better looking than Palin and has a better jump shot than Obama.

But you knew all this.
Adam Villani Says:
October 23rd, 2008 at 7:24 pm
A quick look at the global popularity of basketball and the global popularity of baseball would indicate that Carlos Boozer is more widely known than Curt Schilling.

??? Size of fish does not equal size of pond. Also, the worldwide baseball pond is not as small as you think it is. A Google Search on “Carlos Boozer” returns 534,000 responses. Googling “Curt Schilling” gets you more than twice that, 1,160,000.
Richard Steven Hack Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 12:49 am
Ah, Jewel!

Jewel Kilcher’s Legs; Various Events
http://forums.superiorpics.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/1056604938/an/0/page/0#1056604938

Perverting Matt’s blog for months now!
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Other Famous Alaskans

35 Responses to “Other Famous Alaskans”

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