www.firekelvinsampson.com

I can only assume it is out there somewhere.

John Junior Feinstein was quoted on Tony Kornheiser’s radio show recently that Indiana AD Greenspan “could always be counted on to do the wrong thing.”

Was this it?

Does Indiana really have a bigger sense of itself that is the reality?

Are the hicks that form “Hoosier Nation” (how I hate X-Nation names) damaging the university’s ability to bring in a Tom Crean, Mark Few, John Calipari, etc.?

Perhaps.

Ted Kitchel, who completely washed out as a color guy on IU TV, was ridiculously harsh, saying that he was a bad coach and this was a bad choice. Must be a pal of Randy Wittman. He sure sounded real bitter and pathetic.

All told, I am keeping an open mind, though the NCAA violations (albeit minor stuff) and the graduation rate do not thrill me, the string of 20 win seasons does.

I love this picture because it is eerily similar to one that the late, departed Coach Davis is in.

I did have to check the bracket to see if Oklahoma was in the tournament, and yeah, there they were, getting bounced by Wisconsin-Milwaukee in what had to be my easiest pick in Vegas.

Also troubling is the fact that IU beat Coach Kel’s Oklahoma team in the 2002 Final Four decisively.

After the way the cutters got on Davis, I do wonder how long the New Guy's honeymoon will be...

Baseball Fever is a Crappy Website

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get bogged down in front of the computer with little to do but be quiet while my pregnant wife sleeps.

I sometimes like to go on various baseball message boards and converse, and occasionally argue.

http://www.baseball-fever.com/ is just one such website. However, for reasons that escape me completely, I have been banned. I believe it is because I repeatedly have argued that Mark Grace is over-rated, and that seems to have peeved the losers that run things there.

I also have a pretty good idea that the guy that banned me is a retail sales manger in South Carolina, and has since checked this site with some regularity. He has never been to a Cubs game in Chicago, and I own season tickets. Could it be jealousy that has led to my banishment?

So, if that is you, lemme back in. If it isn’t, look at the lousy site, and ask why they ban people wanting to debate Cubs baseball.

And, Mark Grace IS overrated. 2000+ hits, sure, but no 100 RBI seasons, and he never made anyone around him better. Let them canonize him in Phoenix, where he is the most cliche-ridden announcer I have ever heard.

9 Days Away

I really dislike Spring Training. I dislike hearing stories about how the team will be and various injuries. Yes, Prior and Wood are alwys hurt. We all understand that. Let's fret about the team once they start playing. When it counts.

The media is not to blame, but they have to write something everyday to justify their existence, but I need not read about it.

Some people in my office are going to Arizona this weekend, in part to see baseball. I know I am in the minority, but what fun is it to see the regulars play 5 innings before heading for Don & Charlie's?

Even the banter with Pat and Ron gets boring.

The stats that come out are completely misleading as well. I just want to see if Carlos Zambrano is as ready as he appears, and if Wade Miller will be a find.

PLAY BALL!

Not Special Enough

Did anyone see One Tree Hill yesterday? It typically has the normal mix of Afterschool Special and 90210, but the oddest thing was the end of this Very Special Episode” with two stars talking about 800 numbers to be available after the episode, was the end.

I figured this would be the typical school shooting episode, with the perpipheral character introduced a few episodes earlier getting gacked, and then the show’s story arc would continue.

Instead, the show did proceed typically, until the final few frames. They used the school shooting to continue the brother’s blood feud between the guy from A River Runs Through It and (one of ) Shannon Doherty’s bad guy boyfriends on 90210.

I was all set to excuse the numerous huge continuity problems and impossibilities in the name of A Very Special Episode, but the shooting by one brother of the other in this context strains credulity.

Of course, I only watch to see the chicks, like Sophia Bush and Danneel Harris (or do you search under Daneel Harris?).

19-12

So, the Mike Davis era is over. Let's all agree to leave him alone. He showed more class than he was afforded, and let's not forget the 2002 Final Four appearance.

No to : Steve Alford, Randy Wittman, and any Duke assistant.

Yes to : Thad Matta, Tom Crean, Rick Pitino, and any Duke head coach.

Let's not forget that Indiana is a traditional basketball power, with Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, UCLA, and Kansas. IU should get a coach of that stature.

Bring on the Aztecs

So, I was looking for a San Diego State logo, and I found one:

Now, I also found another picture, which, while compelling, is not neccesarily to do with the school or much of anything else. See below...

The big problems for Thursday is Robert Vaden's ankle and the big guys on San Diego State.

She looks smart as a marble, but loads of fun...click the link for the rest of the "calendar."

18-10

Even though I was sitting in the basement of the Marquette Inn, chomping on a French Dip while I watched, the victory today was nonetheless stirring.

Bring on the Buckeyes!

Is this woman not stunning?

Yamila Diaz-Rahi

Kirby Puckett dies of Karma

You commit a sexual assault and get away with it, your career gets cut short by a freak disease, and then you get so fat that you have a massive stroke and die at 45.

Click the link for the mug shot.

Here's him towards the end. Look at the size of him.


I bet the ball didn't look that big when he hit the home run off Charlie Leibrandt in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series.

Rest in peace, you piece of crap.

17-10 (9-7)

We gotta be going to the Tournament, even if we lose to Wisconsin on Friday. We should go ahead of the two 8-8 teams, Michigan and Michigan State.

Bubble this!

He is survived by a Magic Flute

LONDON -- Jack Wild, was known to a generation of children as the hero of "H.R. Pufnstuf," a psychedelic TV series about a boy stranded on a fantastical island with a talking flute, a friendly dragon and eerie, chatty trees, has died from cancer, his agent said Thursday. He was 53.

Wild died Wednesday, agent Alex Jay said. The actor was diagnosed with mouth cancer in 2000, and surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy had left him unable to speak.

He appeared in the London stage production of "Oliver!" Lionel Bart's adaptation of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist." Wild was cast in the film as cheeky pickpocket the Artful Dodger, a role that earned the 16-year-old an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor. Wild also earned an Oscar nomination as a teenager for his role as the Artful Dodger in the 1968 film "Oliver!"

A feature film, "Pufnstuf," was released in 1970. He became a teen music idol, releasing three albums — "The Jack Wild Album," "Everything's Coming up Roses" and "Beautiful World."

But Wild struggled with alcoholism and his adult acting career was fitful, although he had a role in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" in 1991.

The actor blamed his cancer on years of heavy drinking and smoking. "My lifestyle had made me a walking time bomb," he said last year.

Back...

Where have I been? No, not at the Olympics.

Crying about the Hoosiers, and getting ready for baseball season. I was also on vacation, which coincided withthe the Hoosiers' tumble.

I went to the Minnesota game, so I got to see the low point. I saw Illinois beat them in Champaign, though they did show some heart. Mike Davis then resigned, but he showed class all the way...

Now, they have won three in a row, and have a legitimate chance at going to the Tournament.

A happier time...

Now, let's hope that Steve Alford doesn't get the job, as he would be another Knight, a guy that cannot be fired. I doubt Greenspan would set himself up like that.

Mike Montgomery apparently wants the job, and I guess his record indicated that he would be a good fit, but I would be interested in who else is available.

Tom Crean would be good, if only so my brother-in-law, a dead ringer, could get me into games....