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Obituaries In The News

The Associated Press

Norman Brinker

DALLAS (AP) — Norman Brinker, a restaurant mogul who popularized the salad bar and built a worldwide casual dining empire that includes Chili's Grill & Bar, died Tuesday. He was 78.

Brinker died at a hospital in Colorado, said Robin Rymer at Swan-Law Funeral Home in Colorado Springs. He suffered complications related to pneumonia while on vacation, Brinker International Inc. spokeswoman Stacey Sullivan said.

Before retiring as chairman of Dallas-based Brinker International in 2000, he had built the chain of more than 1,000 casual-dining restaurants. The company now has 1,700 restaurants in 27 countries, according to its Web site.

Brinker was born in Colorado and grew up in Roswell, N.M. He moved to Dallas in the 1960s and started a coffee shop before developing the concept for Steak & Ale restaurants — a chain he established in the mid-1960s where he's credited with popularizing the salad bar and casual dining.

He sold Steak & Ale to Pillsbury Co. in the early 1970s and went to work for Pillsbury's restaurant division. During his time at Pillsbury's restaurant division, he created the Bennigan's chain and became known for creating a chain concept of upscale eateries intended to attract singles.

In 1983, Brinker purchased Chili's, which had started as a single restaurant in Dallas and now has about 900 company-owned restaurants and more than 550 franchises. He took Chili's public and in the 1990s renamed the chain Brinker International.

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Pio Sagapolutele

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts (AP) — Pio Sagapolutele, a defensive lineman who played five years for the Cleveland Browns and started in the 1997 Super Bowl for the New England Patriots, died Saturday. He was 39.

His death was confirmed by the Patriots on Tuesday. The Plain Dealer of Cleveland said he died of an aneurism in Chandler, Ariz., where he lived.

Sagapolutele, born in American Samoa, also played for the New Orleans Saints during a seven-year NFL career. The Patriots lost to Green Bay 35-21 in his Super Bowl start. He played 97 games in the NFL, starting 34.

Sagapolutele was drafted in the fourth round in 1991 from San Diego State University, and played defensive end and tackle for the Browns under current Patriots coach Bill Belichick. He signed with the Patriots in 1996, where Belichick went as an assistant. His final season was 1997 with the Saints.

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