Slopes legend passes away
Robert “Barney” McLean, one of the nation’s most celebrated ski racers, died Tuesday at age 88.
Born in Lander, Wyo., McLean moved to Hot Sulphur Springs at age 4 and emerged as a junior ski-jumping phenom. Converting to alpine racing as a teenager, he won national downhill and combined championships in 1942.
Captain of the 1948 U.S. Olympic Ski Team, he won a major international downhill and combined in Switzerland before the Games. A member of the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, he was honored by Sports Illustrated magazine as one of Colorado’s top athletes of the 20th century.
McLean was named a member of the International Legends of Skiing Hall of Fame in 1996 and was also enshrined in the national and Colorado ski halls of fame. He is survived by his wife Margaret, daughter Melissa and four grandchildren. Services are pending.
Mammoth picks Greer
Defenseman Bill Greer of Whitby, Ontario, got his wish Wednesday when Colorado Mammoth general manager Steve Govett selected the left- hander with the sixth pick of the National Lacrosse League dispersal draft.
“We’re thrilled to get Billy Greer,” Govett said of the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder, one of 16 dispersed members of the defunct Anaheim Storm.
Greer collected 152 loose balls as a rookie and ranked second in the league with 174 loose balls in 2003 as a member of the now-defunct Columbus Landsharks. His numbers dropped in 2004 when he played with a torn knee ligament and in 2005 after surgery.
“Now that my knee is 100 percent, hopefully, I’ll bring good defense and transition to the Mammoth,” said Greer, 24.
Mike Law, a former University of Denver player who held out from the Storm to attend DU law school, was selected with the 14th pick by San Jose.
