Slammin' Sam on Sports Media Links

Happy Thursday, Free Keon and Slammin' Sam Readers!

You would think with football fervor in full swing, according to the media, that is, that the NFL Draft is next weekend or something. Actually, it's April 22, but what's the difference? Plenty of football stories - We'll focus on Da' (Dud) Bears with these two local reports.

While Bears fans hope for their team's resurgence, Cubs fans are eager for Alfonso Soriano to come around.

Sticking with baseball, no need to wait for the Yankees to return to form. The Bombers won their first Spring Training contest yesterday. Here's an inpiring story about the man who connected on the walk-off winner vs. the Pirates. This story transcends baseball, whether or not you are a Yankees fan.

Next up, everybody seems to be talking about Manny Pacquiao, so here's a story about his upcoming fight that may be his last.

Finally, Hank Gathers' legacy continues to live on 20 years after his life was cut short.

Thanks for taking time out to visit Slammin' Sam's links today!

Sam Miller/Free Keon

Illini Player Ratings: @ Ohio State

Mike Davis: 3
Mike spent most of the game watching David Lighty drive right past him.  The Illini's lack of depth (we have one bench player) really hurt them in this game.  They were not able to go to the bench to match up with the smaller Buckeyes.
And Davis not being able to post-up a 6-5 player (because he is weak) and take advantage on the other end compounded things.

Demitri McCamey: 7
D-mac came back after the Minnesota debacle and shot the ball well.  Just in case you are wondering if he is important to his team, when he came out for 3 minutes after picking up his 2nd foul OSU went on a 10-0 run.

Had 7 assists and 0 turns, and did a pretty good job of running the team and getting people involved for the first 2/3 of the game.
D-mac did play worse defense than Soriano (it's almost that time of year) and was a main culprit in allowing Jon Diebler to go nutso.

This Week in Golf

PGA Tour – The Florida Swing kicks off with the Honda Classic this week at Jack Nicklaus’s PGA National Champion Course in Palm Beach. The field is packed with elite international players including defending champion Y.E. Yang.

Lazenby Comes up Clutch with Jerry West

Slammin' Sam on Sports Media
Jerry West is the epitome of the NBA. (You can change the tense of that statement if deemed necessary.) His silhouette remains the NBA logo – sewn, printed and emblazoned on every piece of official merchandise – but why West?

Maurice and Freddy: A Tale of Two du

For the past two years I have patiently dreamed for a World Cup U.S. lineup that would include a diamond midfield formation with Maurice Edu as a defensive mid and Freddy Adu as an attacking mid. Aside from the marvelous surname aesthetics, I believe both players bring a youthful spark and imagination that the U.S. squad has been lacking of late (aside from the three confederations cup games where a temporary bliss was achieved and Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, and Charlie Davies all played to their potential).