Dunking deity 'The Hawk' dies

PHOENIX - Connie Hawkins, basketball's dazzling New York playground legend who soared and swooped his way to the Hall of Fame, has died. He was 75.

His death was announced on Saturday by the Phoenix Suns, the team with which he spent his most productive NBA seasons in a career delayed for years by a point-shaving scandal that led to the league blackballing him, even though he was never directly linked to any wrongdoing.

The Suns did not disclose the cause of Friday's death. Hawkins, who lived in the Phoenix area, had been in frail health for several years and was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2007.