Brandon Weeden (April 22)

It is always a strange thing to see a professional athlete change their sport; Brandon Weeden stated that it was a moment that he had and he knew he was on his way to being an NFL quarterback. Weeden recalls his last days on the baseball field and 6 years later his NFL draft stock is heating up. The only hesitations coaches have are his age; he’s a bit older than other players and he has a lack of mobility that is also a concern. Many are saying that he won’t make it passed the third round, that he’s just not quick enough and that he needs to be six years younger. It will be very interesting to see what the outcome of the draft will be for him.

Michael McDonald (April 20)

Michael McDonald loves boxing, but he insists that boxing does not define who he is. He enjoys each and every warm up and fight, but knows that boxing is not all that he is. As he was facing his biggest competition, former World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight Miguel Torres, McDonald had a smile on his face. He was excited for the fight, but was well aware that Torres was a dangerous opponent. McDonald, only 21 years old, was facing the biggest name he had fought to date, and it was going to be aired to millions. McDonald stated that Torres was good, but he himself was better. He believes that being in a calm state of mind going into a fight is most important and that is just what he was doing. As McDonald’s fighting career is taking flight, he’s still making plans for his future… one’s that do not involve hanging around night clubs night after night. He stated that he loves fighting, but it won’t be his lifelong career; he wants a job in the future that will provide for his family without having to be knocked around. 

Boxing

DRAMA (April 18)

There is always drama going on in the world of sports and this time its juicy. The NFL Players Association filed a lawsuit against the NFL Coaches Association asking for upwards of $650,000. The NFLCA was stunned as just a year ago they were showing support for the player’s during the NFL lockout. It was stated that this was a move that would create much turmoil and destruction between the players and the coaches. NFLCA executive director David Cornwell stated that the NFLPA was challenging his authority and he was not happy at all. DeMaurice Smith, the executive director who also has power over the coaches’ association, and Cornwell have had a rocky relationship for years. Back in January Cornwell wrote a paper critiquing Smith’s handling of the collective bargaining agreement negotiations, which sparked a whole lot of drama between the two. 

Brittney Griner (April 1)

Brittney Griner is a baller’ in women’s college basketball; she is Baylor’s All-American post player. Griner is quite the basketball player, but is not one to flaunt it. She is highly athletic, a great team player and has the ambition of a strong well-rounded athlete. She can dunk and block shot after shot like it is going out of style. Kim Mulkey, Baylor’s women’s basketball coach has stated that Griner is a coaches’ dream. Mulkey stated that players with the talent Griner has are usually hard to coach because they know they are good and therefore don’t want to take direction from anyone, Griner isn’t like that, she is truly a team player. Griner was even named the Associated Press’ women’s college basketball Player of the Year. Baylor is lucky and happy to have such a promising athlete on their team and believe Brittney Griner is just about as good as it gets.

Sweet 16 (March 19)

Some may think it sounds like an all-American story that seven of the Sweet 16 schools are all located within a two hours drive of each other, but it is more than that. In fact those seven schools all agree that they “hate” each other; they have been rivals for years and years so it is no wonder they have distaste for one another. The seven schools are comprised of Indiana, Lousiville, Kentucky, Xavier, Cincinnati, Ohio State and Ohio University. Each of the schools has a history with one another, whether they lost to the other, or they had rivalry for whatever reason, so when they all found out that the seven of them were in the Sweet 16, it wasn’t a good surprise. 

Sweet 16

Patty Mills (March 17)

The final touches on Patty Mills contract agreement with the San Antonio Spurs are being made. His contract will take Derek Fisher out of the running, but his contract will most likely be bought out by t he Rockets or the Lakers. Mills was on the Trail Blazers team from 2009-20011 and now he’s going to be playing for the Spurs. Mills plays as point guard and graduated from Saint Mary’s high school, which just happens to be a couple cities over from my own hometown. Mills is originally from Australia, so he has come a long way, both in distance and in his career.

Trades (March 15)

James Dolan, owner of the New York Knicks, traded Carmelo Anthony who was Dolan’s franchise player. This trade caused quite the turmoil and tons of finger pointing. Anthony was known for his passive-aggressive nature and his lack in championship-winning ways. He was a great player, just not great enough. Being a franchise player entails caring about the franchise, making his teammates better, caring about the outcomes of the team and having a good attitude toward other players; Anthony just didn’t have those qualities. 

Trades