Former Bull Selling Championship Rings

Chicago Bulls fans will remember "Downtown" Randy Brown as a solid bench player during the Bulls three-peat from 1995-1998. Brown spent 12 years in the NBA, five of them with the Bulls. He was one of the few players from the Bulls championship teams to stay after the departure of Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. Although Brown averaged only 5.3 points per game during his career with the Bulls, he was a favorite amongst the fans. He retired in 2003.

But the former Bull has fallen on hard times.

On April 23, Brown was fired from his position as assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings, along with three other assistants and interim coach Kenny Natt.

Brown then declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy and was forced to auction his three championship rings. The bidding will begin online from May 19-21, starting at $19,000 for the three ring set. West Auctions, the business in charge of sellling the rings, said that just the jewels and metals alone make the rings worth $40k, which doesn't include collector's value. They anticipate the bidding on the rings to reach $75k or more.

I can't help but feel sorry for the guy. These Bulls teams were a huge part of my childhood and helped me to become the huge sports fan that I am today. I know that people will say that he was a professional athlete and that he should have invested his money better, but I still can't help but feel sorry for him. I hope some of his former teammates will be able to help him out during this difficult time.

Four Hawkeyes Drafted, Four Signed as Undrafted Free Agents, Zero Cyclones drafted!

After dominating on the field on Saturdays, four Hawkeyes will have the opportunity to see what its like to play on Sunday. Here are the Hawks that were taken and the ones that signed with teams after the draft as free agents...

-Running back Shonn Green was taken in the 3rd Round (#65 overall) by the NY Jets

-Cornerback Bradley Fletcher was drafted right after Greene in the 3rd Round (#66 overall) by the St. Louis Rams

-Offensive Lineman Seth Olsen heard his name called in the 4th round (#132 overall) by the Denver Broncos

-Brandon Myers became the 14th Tight End taken in this years draft, drafted in the 6th round(#202 overall) by the Oakland Raiders

Hawks Not Drafted but signed by teams as Undrafted free agents
-Mitch King signed with the Tennessee Titans
-Rob Bruggeman signed with Tampa Bay Bucs
-Matt Kroul signed with the NY Jets
-Andy Brodell signed with Green Bay Packers

I'm also happy to report that not a single Iowa State Cyclone had their named called on draft day, while at least one player was drafted from Abilene Christian, Furman, McNeese State, Monmouth, Nichols State, Norfolk State, St. Paul's College, Stephen F. Austin, Stillman, Weber State, West Texas A&M, Western Illinois, Western Ontario, and William & Mary.

Looking Back at Some of My Favorite Former Cubs: Glenallen Hill

When I look back at some of the Chicago Cubs rosters during my childhood, I can't help but remember Glenallen Hill. Glenallen Hill played for seven different teams during his 12 year Major League career. He had two stints with the Cubs, one from 1993-1994 and then another from 1998-2000. His best season with the Cubs was in 1999, when he belted 20 home runs and drove in 55 runs in 99 games.

But he will always be remembered for the monstrous home run he hit at Wrigley on May 11, 2000. I vividly recall watching this game and was in complete shock by how quickly the ball jumped off of his bat. On that faithful day, Glenallen Hill became the only player to ever hit a ball onto the rooftops across the street from the left field wall.






It was later revealed that Glenallen Hill was mentioned in the Mitchell Report for allegedly using HGH during the 2000 season. Hill apologized, saying that he is "dedicated to helping others avoid repeating [his] mistakes." I will always fondly remember Glenallen Hill when I think of former Cubs of my childhood.

Other interesting facts about Glenallen Hill:

*He suffers from arachnophobia and fell through a glass table after having a nightmare about spiders (see my strange baseball injuries post)

*He currently serves at the 1st base coach for the Colorado Rockies. He was also the first 1st base coach to wear a helmet out in the field, in honor of Minor League coach Mike Coolbaugh, who was killed by a line drive

*He won a World Series Ring with the Yankees in 2000 after being traded by the Cubs midway through the season

*According to Wikipedia, while Hill was a member of the Cleveland Indians, he committed a “phantom steal” of second. This occurred during a game against the Detroit Tigers which was interrupted by a prolonged disturbance in the outfield. When play resumed, no one noticed that Hill had moved from first to second.

*Glenallen Hill holds the distinction of being the first ever National League player to serve as a DH during a regular season game. On June 12, 1997 he was the Designated Hitter when the Giants played the Rangers

*Hill belted 186 homers in his career, 59 of them while with the Cubs

Hawkeye News and Notes

Iowa Football News

-The Hawkeyes will play a home game under the lights next season. The homecoming battle against the Michigan Wolverines will be played under the lights of Kinnick Stadium at 7 p.m. and televised by either ABC or ESPN

-Jewel Hampton is at the top of the depth chart at Running Back thus far during spring practice, but the surprise is former third-string Quarterback Marvin McNutt. McNutt, who moved over to wide receiver at the end of last season, is the #1 receiver on the depth chart, bumping Derell Johnson-Koulianos to #2. "Marvin has really had a good spring," Offensive Coordinator Ken O' Keefe told the Daily Iowan.


-Radio broadcaster and former Hawkeye great Ed Podolak is back from alcohol rehab and will be back in the radio booth calling Hawkeye games next Fall


-The 2009 NFL Draft is April 25 & 26 and quite a few Hawkeyes have the chance to get their named called on Draft day...

Shonn Greene: ESPN and Scouts Inc rank him as the 5th best Running Back in the draft
Rob Bruggeman & Seth Olsen: ESPN and Scouts Inc rank them as the 9th best Center and 23rd best Tackle in the Draft
Mitch King: ranked the 14th best Defensive End in the Draft
Bradley Fletcher: ranked the 33rd best Cornerback in the Draft


Iowa Basketball News

-The Hawkeye basketball team received another verbal commitment, no not from MJ's son, but from Schaumburg (IL) point guard Cully Payne. The 6 foot 1 inch, 180 pound point guard averaged 22 points a game in a senior season that was cut short 16 games into the season due to a stress fracture in his back. Payne signed a letter of intent to play for Alabama, but the Crimson Tide released him from that commitment after the firing of then Head Coach Mark Gottfried.

-Speaking of MJ's son....Sorry Hawkeye fans, he verbally committed to play for the University of Central Florida next season.

First Installment of "Get to Know Your Sports"

There are tons of sports played all around that world that Americans know very little about. I thought it would be interesting to examine some of different kinds of sports that are played around the world in what I like to call "Get to Know Your Sports"

Todays Installment: Hurling

Hurling is an Irish sport similar to field hockey, some consider it to be the world's fastest field team sport. It has been an Irish pastime for at least 2,000 years. There are 15 players (or "Hurlers") on each team, each player has a wooden stick (called a Hurley Stick), the object of the game is to score goals, using the hurley stick to hit the ball (called a sliotar).

The interesting part is that scoring is kind of a mix of soccer and football. There are two types of goalposts. There is a crossbar, similar to football, and if a player hits the ball over the crossbar, their team receives 1 point. However, you can also score under the crossbar. Like soccer, there is a goalie protecting the crossbar, and if a player gets the ball past the goalie and under the crossbar, their team receives 3 points.

Here is the catch about moving around the with ball. The ball can be caught in the hand and carried for not more than three steps, struck in the air, or struck on the ground with the hurley stick. It can be slapped with an open hand for short-range passing. You are allowed to carry the ball for more than three steps, but the players has to bounce or balance the ball on the end of the stick.

Kilkenny seems to be the New York Yankees of Hurling, winning 31 All-Ireland Senior Championships in 54 appearances

Check out this video to get an even better idea of how Hurling is played
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luQ2Vxez2V4

Strange Baseball Injuries

I was watching a Cubs game a week or so ago and Cubs announcers Bob Brenly and Len Kasper were talking about recently released Cubs pitcher Chad Gaudin and how he never recovered from an injury last season. What was that injury you ask? He slipped off of a curb and hit his back on a dumpster.

That got me to thinking about the strangest baseball injuries. I've compiled a list of my personal favorites. Enjoy!

-Tigers Joel Zumaya suffered inflamation in his forearm and wrist from playing too much Guitar Hero

-In 2005, Colorado Rockies shortstop Clint Barmes injured his shoulder after falling down a flight of stairs while carrying his groceries.

-In 2004, former Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa pulled a muscle in his back after a violent sneeze

-Former Cubs outfielder Glenallen Hill, who has arachnophobia, fell out of his bed and onto a glass table while having a nightmare about spiders

-Former Cub outfielder Felix Pie missed some time during spring training last year with a twisted testicle

-More former Cubs...Former Cubs pitcher Kyle Farnsworth sprained his knee after taking out his frustrations on an electric fan in the Cubs clubhouse

-Pitcher Steve Sparks dislocated his shoulder while attempting to tear a phonebook in half

-Astros outfielder Hunter Pence walked through a sliding glass door last season during spring training. Pence and a friend were in his hot tub in Florida, Pence left the tub to go inside and use the bathroom. Thinking the door was open, he walked right through the glass door. He suffered several cuts on his hands and knees

-And then there is Jose Cardenal, he came up with several "injuries" and excuses for not being able to play...
1) One day in 1974, he said he couldn't play because his eyelid was stuck shut and he was unable to blink
2) Two years earlier, he said he couldn't play because the crickets outside his hotel room kept him up all night
3) He allegedly sat out three games because he couldn't find pants that were tight enough for him

Its Been A While...Chicago Bears Notes and a great new website you should check out

It's been a while since I've posted anything to the blog, I've been pretty busy. There are a couple of things I'd like to talk about...

First of all, some good news for me. I will be interning at ESPN Radio 1000 in Chicago this summer. I'm so excited to learn from the best of the best when it comes to sports.

Bear-ly any Legitimate Receivers

I realized I haven't posted anything about the Chicago Bears getting Jay Cutler. First and foremost, I like this trade alot. Cutler is a great QB that can definitely do alot of things that Kyle Orton cannot do.

That being said, this trade means absolutely nothing if the Bears don't follow it up by getting a legitimate big name receiver. The way the receiving corp has been the past couple years, I can't help but agree with Musin Muhammad's assertions that Chicago is where wide receivers go to die. Jay Cutler will be no better than Kyle Orton if he has to throw to group of receivers the bears currently have. If Ron Turner is going to have Cutler do the same things Orton did as QB (ie dump it off to Matt Forte, constantly throw the the Tight Ends), we might as well have kept Orton and never made this trade.
Here are the Bears receivers on the current roster and their career stats.

Rashied Davis: 74 receptions for 913 yards and 4 touchdowns in 4 NFL Seasons. A decent receiver but certainly not a #1 guy.
Devin Hester: 71 receptions for 964 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2 seasons as a wide receiver. Hester continues to improve as a receiver and is probably the best receiver on the team right now. However, his impact as a kick returner has greatly declined since becoming a receiver.
Earl Bennett: A great college receiver at Vanderbilt (236 receptions and 20 TD's), but Bennett has no catches in his rookie season with the Bears. Recently, he told the media that he didn't learn the playbook until Week 7.
Devin Aromashodu: 7 receptions for 96 yards with the Colts last year in his first NFL season
John Broussard: 4 receptions for 126 yards and 1 touchdown with the Jaguars last year in his only NFL season
Brandon Rideau: Played in only 2 games for the Bears last year, accumulating no statistics

Needless to say, the Bears receiving corp is inexperienced at best. Honestly, they are awful, simple as that. Newly signed lineman Orlando Pace is trying to persuade Torry Holt to come to the Bears.

Check out a great new site devoted to Chicago Sports

Lastly, there is a great new website for Chicago sports fans, it will be the best site out there. It just started yesterday. The newly created ESPNChicago.com offers a daily "Chicago SportsCenter" video report as well as columnists covering the Windy City's major sports teams. Columnists on the site include ESPN.com writers Gene Wojciechowski, Scoop Jackson, Wayne Drehs, and Jon Greenberg, as well as Chicago baseball beat reporter Bruce Levine and ESPN Radio's own Jeff Dickerson and Tom Waddle, among others. I've been checking out the site all morning and it is going to be great, I plan on checking it every day to get my daily Chicago sports news.
This is the first website launched by ESPN devoted to a single city or region.

It's Finally Here: Opening Day / Fantasy Baseball

Opening day has arrived. The excitement of real games being played and Baseball Tonight on ESPN. The one day where the slate is wiped clean and every team is on an equal playing field, everyone is 0-0 and everyone has a chance. This is an extremely exciting day and I can't wait to just sit and watch baseball again.

Opening day also marks the beginning of the fantasy baseball season. My team has a good mix of young and old, I like my chances at winning the league. Here's what my roster looks like...

Starting Lineup
C: Chris Ianetta
1B: Jason Giambi
2B: Ian Kinsler
3B: Alex Gordon
SS: Ryan Theriot
OF: Carlos Beltran
OF: Josh Hamilton
OF: Jason Bay

Bench:
OF Jay Bruce
OF Cameron Maybin
OF/INF Carlos Guillen
SS Nomar Garciaparra

Starting Pitchers:
Ryan Dempster
Roy Oswalt
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Mark Buerhle
Gavin Floyd
Randy Johnson
Yovani Gallardo

Relievers:
Jose Valverde
Kevin Gregg

LET THE SEASON BEGIN!
GO CUBS GO!

Cubs Notes: less than a week 'til Opening Day!

We are only a couple of short days away from the start of the 2009 baseball season. Heres some final Cubs notes before opening day.


-For those that don't know, Kevin Gregg was named the closer over Carlos Marmol


-The roster currently stands at 28 players, meaning three players will not make the team. I'm happy to report that Paul Bako was given his release, meaning that Koyie Hill made the team as the backup catcher. Great job Koyie!


-What is really interesting is who those three players are going to be. I've got it narrowed down to the following pitchers...



Jeff Samardzija: Jeff has had a rough spring (8.16 ERA in 14.1 innings), he would probably benefit by being sent to AAA-Iowa.



Chad Fox: Fox has had a good spring, but is coming off an arm injury, so he will also probably start in AAA or stay in extended spring training to continue to strengthen his arm.



David Patton: The real surprise of the spring. The Cubs rule 5 pick has been flat-out phenomenal (0.73 ERA in 12.1 innings). Accoring to baseballreference.com, Patton has never pitched about A-ball, but he looks like a seasoned veteran out on the mound this spring. The way he has performed this spring, he deserves a spot on this team



Angel Guzman: It seems to me that Angel Guzman has been the Cubs top pitching prospect for about 15 years. Guzman has a 8.71 ERA this spring in 10.1 innings.



My Picks: Samardzija and Patton make the team, Guzman and Fox get re-assigned to minor league camp. However, that still leaves one person who won't make the team. I'm not really sure who the odd man out is going to be there. Patton is the guy that I have no doubt will be in a Cubs uniform when they break camp in a couple days.