Rick Reilly’s article, “A man walks into a pro shop wearing underwear on his head.  No joke,“  tells the tale of three golfers, a library custodian, a real-estate agent and a groundskeeper, and a brave assistant gold pro who were able to take down a masked robber.  And by masked, he means the man wore underwear on his head.

The story was reported on by ksl.com and can be watched on their webstite here, “Underwear-wearing robber may have hit before.“  The story includes the actual surveilence videos that caught the struggle on tape.

The BCS National Championship game concludes the 2008-09 college football season and will take place on Jan. 8, 2009. (Photo from/the Bleacher Report)

As another season of college football comes to an end, the BSC has left players, coaches and teams upset…again.  A sign to another successful topsy-turvy season.

Pat Forde, senior sportswriter for ESPN, has pin-pointed the plays and teams that made this BCS selection difficult as always.  His article, “Controversy constant along annual twisting BCS path,” does a good job of discussing not only the controversial decision to leave Texas out of the championship game, but also the teams that failed to live up to the hype and those that went above it.

December and January will be full of excited bowl games, beginning Dec. 20 at 11 a.m. ET when Wake Forrest takes on Navy in the EagleBank Bowl.  The final conclusion of the season will take place on Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. ET with a battle between the Florida Gators and the Oklahoma Sooners for the BSC National Championship.

View the full 2008-09 Bowl schedule

This video gives a brief overview of the career of ESPN columnist Rick Reilly while emphasizing some of his bigger accomplishments.  (By/ K. Storaci)

In an effort to defend the naive McNabb, Rick Reilly put together a little quiz to test the collective knowledge of NFL players.  His article, “Don’t hate Donovan.  He’s not the only player drawing a blank,” exposes just how well these players know the game they play.

Turns out Donovan isn’t the only one a bit rusty.

Phillip Fulmer celebrates the Tennessee Volunteers

University of Tennessee head football coach Phillip Fulmer, after posting a 152-52 career record, ended that career on Nov. 29, 2008.

The Volunteers kept their 23-game winning streak against the University of Kentucky alive, recording a 28-10 victory.  It was the last game in which Fulmer would be standing on the sidelines for UT.

Unfamiliar with Coach Fulmer and his legacy at UT? Gene Wojciechowski, sports columnist for ESPN, wrote an article about Fulmer’s last day as Tennessee’s head coach. The article, “In his final 24 hours at Tennessee, Fulmer ran gamut of emotions,” points out some of the highlights of Fulmer’s career, some of the players he coached and the people he touched.

One response to the article (posted by starfishwhaleboy) stated, “I didn’t know much about Coach Fulmer, but after reading this article he seems like a man I would want to meet and play football for.”

Fulmer not only coached for Tennessee, but played for them as well. From 1969-1971, he was an offensive guard for the Volunteers, helping them to a 30-5 record overall those seasons. To read more about Fulmer’s football and coaching career, visit “Biography of Phillip Fulmer.”

After negotiations with University of Tennessee officials, it was decided that Fulmer was going to step down as head coach, rather than be fired.  Fulmer made his official announcement on Nov. 4, 2008.  The coaching job will be taken over by Lane Kiffin (read more about Kiffin in an article posted by knoxnews.com, “Kiffin Brings New Shade of Orange“).

Fulmer has stated that he is currently unsure of his future as a coach.

Michael Vick began serving his sentence after turning himself in last November. (Picture from www.doggienews.com)

brought to light in July when he filed for bankruptcy.

Just how the former most highly paid player in the NFL went from riches to rubble so quickly can found in Rick Reilly’s article “Mike Vick went bankrupt sitting in prison. How did that happen?”

His column highlights some of the most expensive investments and purchases Vick made, both before and after he began his sentencing.

But the list doesn’t end there.

To see the full-length statement of financial affairs from Oct. 23, 2008, The Smoking Gun’s article “Michael Vick’s ‘Chump Change,’” supplies every grim detail.

Vick was sentenced at the end of 2007 for financing a dog fighting ring and assisting in the killings of about eight dogs that didn’t “fight aggressively.” To review the case, read the Washington Post article “Vick sentenced to 23 months for dog fighting.”

Here are some of the key stories Kriegel alludes to:

• Philedelphia Eagles quarterback, Donovan McNabb, admits he didn’t know an NFL game could end in a tie.  Watch the video from youtube. 

• MLB pitcher CC Sabathia has been offered contracts by the Yankees and the Mets (See “Battle for CC Sabathia turns into turf war between Yankees and Mets“).  Neither team made an appearance in the 2008 post season.  Maybe that’s why they aren’t too worried about Sabathia’s record in his previous four postseason starts, as Kriegel points out.
• Kriegel predicts that President Elect Barrack Obama will have an easier time dealing with the economy than the BCS this year.  Why?  Check out the BCS standings as of Nov. 16, 2008.
• And the funniest comment of all:  “Jim Fassel contacted Al Davis regarding the soon-to-be vacant Raiders head coaching job.  Suffice to say that we now know the true identity of the most desperate man in sports.”  Oakland is 2-8 in the 2008 season, coming off a 4-12 record in 2007, and a 2-14 record in 2006.  For more information about the situation surrounding the Raiders coaching job and Fassel, check out the mercurynews.com article, “Raiders downplay report about Jim Fassel.”

Fans of the 07’ World Series Colorado Rockies saw their bloody-chinned hero leave Colorado for Oakland this month.  Left fielder Matt Holliday will be added to the Oakland Athletics roster while the Rockies acquire starting pitcher Greg Smith, closing pitcher Huston Street and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.

Rocky Mountain News sports columnist Dave Krieger sites the Major League Baseball system as the major reason behind this inevitable trade.

In his article, “System to blame for loss of Holliday,” Krieger explains that the MLB’s lack of salary caps is the reason small market teams like the Rockies cannot keep big players like Holliday on their rosters.

Other sports, football and hockey in particular, have salary cap, allowing teams to be relatively equal in terms of who they can afford.

• NHL Salary Cap (2008):  $50.3 million per team ($34.3 million = floor)  -from ESPN article, “NHL salary cap rises to $50.3 million next season.”
• NFL Salary Cap (2008):  $116 million per team – from ESPN article, “NFL salary cap rising by $7 million for 2008 season.”
  

For more information about the players joining the Colorado Rockies, check out the press release “Rockies acquire RHP Huston Street, LHP Greg Smith, OF Carlos Gonzalez from Oakland in exchange for OF Matt Holliday.”

kstoraci_bball_audio.mp3

Rick Reilly’s article “Jay Cutler didn’t plan on being a role model.  Now he has to be,” is an article of inspiring messages for children everywhere who are stricken with diabetes but now have hope.  Cutler has helped many kids realize that they can keep their dreams of playing football alive, while living with the disease.