Chasing A Dream

Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Jack Nickalus, Adrian Gonzalez

Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah

What do all of these people have in common?

Yes, they are all famous and they make millions (if not billions), but more importantly they all skipped a portion of their college experience in order to pursue a greater goal.  Each of these individuals made the decision to skip out on college, but nobody seems to be suffering from their decisions.

Robbie Hummel: Passion on and off the court

It's March and for many college basketball fans that means it's Christmas.  68 team started on the road to the final four and just 16 remain.  Oh, how sweet it is.  Millions of brackets were filled out and just about all of them were busted (thank you Missouri and Duke).  People have their hopes dashed as they watch their team bow out of the tourney while other fans celebrate joyously as their team moved on.  As a Notre Dame fan, March feels like the Bubonic Plague.  Having a dark cloud loom over the head of your beloved Irish isn't easy to deal with.  For the first time in my life, I cried following their loss to Xavier on Friday night.

This leads me to the point I want to make.  While fans can live and die with their team (or teams), players face the reality that their dreams may come to an end.  Case in point, Robbie Hummel.

MLB Wild Wild Card

Wednesday, September 28th, a day that I will remember as a rejuvenation for baseball.

1 night, 6 teams, 2 wild card spots...

By the time August rolls around and September is on its way, most sports fans have turned their attention to NCAAF or the NFL.  The small minority of fans who keep an eye on the MLB are the fans that have a rooting interest in a potential playoff candidate.  Being a Cub fan, I knew our season was over the minute we let Ryne Sandberg get away... last November.  So my interest in the playoff picture was, at best, remote.  I was aware of the contenders and as far as I could see, the playoff picture was pretty clear to me at the end of August.

NL: Phillies, Braves, Brewers, D-Backs
AL: Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Rangers (The Angels were still relevant)

Then September hit.

Irish Eyes Aren't Smiling

Two weeks through the college football season, two painful losses for my Fighting Irish.  For the sake of my own health, mental and physical, I'm not even gonna discuss the South Florida meltdown.  Instead I'm turning my full attention to the delightful and historical Michigan game.

114,000 people + The Big House + Night Game = Rocking Atmosphere

By far one of the most exciting crowds I have ever seen.  The energy in the stadium appeared to challenge the likes of an SEC rivalry game.  Watching on television was awesome, I can only imagine what it was like in the stadium.

Brining The Salt (and hopefully pepper) to Wrigley

Jim Hendry, thank you for the time you spent with the Cubs organization.  You were a very likable person and always brought a positive demeanor with you to the ballpark.  I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

Now that I have maxed out my emotional potential it's time to address Hendry's replacement.  As everyone who exists on God's green Earth knows, the Chicago Cubs have been "lovable losers" for 103 years (soon to be 104).  Being a faithful Cubbie for my entire baseball fandom I have a vested interest in the future of the organization.  The firing of Hendry is a prime opportunity for the Cubs to make a turn in the right direction.

The NCAA

Everywhere I turn I can't seem to get away from the constant University of Miami scandal.  Boats, booze, and babes... Obviously punishment will follow the "extensive" investigations by the almighty NCAA governing body.  While "The U" is about to be pushed to the brink of the death penalty, my issue is with the NCAA.