Bleacher Report - Articles by Leroy Kleimola

What's in a Name? Will The Real Milton Bradley Please Stand Up

Leroy Kleimola — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:15:10 -0500

After the Cubs signed Milton Bradley to a three-year contract, I started thinking about other baseball players with hilarious names.

Tim Spooneybarger: Spooneybarger, a relief pitcher with the Florida Marlins, started pitching with the Atlanta Braves. He hasn't gotten much playing time. However, with a name like Spooneybarger, he certainly makes my list.
Coco Crisp: Crisp, who's full name is Covelli Loyce Crisp, did take his name from the cereal, although Covelli isn't that much better. He has spent time with both the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, and Kansas City Royals. He is best known for the brawl that he got in with Rays pitcher James Shields after getting hit by a pitch.
Seem Studley: Studley, a pitcher for the Washington Nationals...err...the 1872 Washington Nationals, had a .095 batting average and only played five out of the 11 games in the season (imagine if the season was that short now!)
Rusty Kuntz: Russel Jay Kuntz, was drafted by the White Sox. He had a .236 overall batting average and played for the White Sox, Twins, and finished up his career with the Tigers.
Urban Shocker: A pitcher, who played from 1916-1928, had a 187-117 W/L record. He spent time with the New York Yankees and St. Louis Browns.
Pete LaCock: Not going to even touch that, but his fathers name was Peter (LaCock) Marshall, the original host of Hollywood Squares. LaCock, played for the Cubs (picked 20th in the first round), and finished his career with the Kansas City Royals.
Harry Colliflower: Colliflower, pitched in 1899. He pitched for the Cleveland Spiders, a team that won 20 games and lost 134. He only won one game and lost 11. It's no wonder he only pitched one year. He does have a cool name though.
Heinie Meine: Meine, who was also referred to as the Count of Luxembourg, played most of his career for the late 1920's Pittsburgh Pirates, although in his first year he played for the St. Louis Browns. Meine, won 66 games in his career and had an ERA of 3.99.
Orval Overall: Overall, got drafted by the Reds, but played most of his career with the Cubs. He is the famous pitcher who got the last win to clinch a Cubs World Series Championship back in 1908. (Another interesting statistic? He got traded from the Reds to the Cubs for 2000 dollars and Bob Wicker!)
Creepy Crespi: Crespi, played for five years with the St. Louis Cardinals. He played shortstop and second base. Crespi had a .263 batting average, and helped the Cardinals to their 1942 World Series win.

Interesting huh? Most of these I had never heard of! I know there are plenty I left off the list. I had fun working on this little project though. Lots of interesting names. Special thanks to www.baseball-reference.com for help!

Northwestern '08: A Look Back at a Great Season

Leroy Kleimola — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 14:53:19 -0500

As I sat back and thought about the Northwestern Wildcats-Missouri Tigers Alamo Bowl, and yes, I shed a tear or two, I thought about the season that had unfolded and the magic that Wildcats fans watched.

Northwestern vs Syracuse: Northwestern opened up the 2008 season against Syracuse. They got off to a great start as they jumped out to a 9-3 lead, thanks to a safety and a 16 yard touchdown pass. The Wildcats played sloppy football but played better as the game went on.

Running back Tyrell Sutton had a fumble in the third but quickly recovered as he also came back and caught a 12 yard pass from quarterback CJ Bacher to make it 16-10. Northwestern won easily as the Wildcats beat the Orangemen 30-10.

Northwestern @ Duke: After one of the most toughest losses of the 2007 season, the Wildcats came into Durham, North Carolina hoping for a better game. Northwestern jumped to a 17-10 lead. But Duke battled back. CJ Bacher threw for 226 yards. Tyrell Sutton scored two rushing touchdowns and Omar Conteh scored the go ahead points as the Wildcats scooted past the Blue Devils 24-20.

Northwestern vs. Southern Illinois: Northwestern, going for it's third win of the season, jumped to an early lead against Southern Illinois. The Salukis answered back with a touchdown to lead 7-6 at the end of the first, but that would be it for them. Amado Villarreal kicked four field goals, and Tyrell Sutton rushed for three touchdowns.

The Salukis' Larry Warner, scored a touchdown and ran for 55+ yards. The Wildcats were too much for the Salukis' as Northwestern won easily 33-7.

Northwestern vs. Ohio University: Northwestern got all they could handle when Ohio came to town. Amado Villareal kicked 3 field goals, and Ohio kicker, Barrett Way had two field goals blocked and one field goal missed to the right wide.

Bacher threw for 133 yards, and Tyrell Sutton ran for 76 yards before leaving midway during the third. Northwestern held off Ohio for it's fourth win of the year, and being undefeated in non-conference play, as they won 16-8.

Northwestern @ Iowa: Playing its first tough game of the season Northwestern came into Iowa City winners of four straight. Iowa came in blazing, jumping up to a quick 17-3 lead, however a fumble late in the second quarter gave the Wildcats life, as CJ Bacher threw a pass to Rasheed Ward, to cut the deficit to seven.

Northwestern would come storming back, as Eric Peterman would score two touchdowns, and stop Iowa on fourth down with less than a minute left. The Wildcats eased on by the Hawkeyes 22-17, for their best start since 1962.

Northwestern vs. No. 23 Michigan State: After beating MSU in overtime last year, Michigan State came in seeking their revenge. They got it early. MSU took advantage of Northwestern mistakes, as the Spartans capitalized on turnovers to jump up to a 17-0 lead at the end of the first. Javon Ringer, MSU's running back, ran for two touchdowns, rushed 35 times for 124 yards.

Northwestern didn't "wake up" till the third quarter but by that time it was too late. The Wildcats lose a heartbreaker, 37-20, to drop their record to 5-1.

Northwestern vs. Purdue: Northwestern, coming off their stinging loss to MSU a week prior, came up against a Purdue team hurting. Purdue jumped up 6-0 off a pair of fieldgoals, but Northwestern came back strong. Bacher threw to Peterman for a 45 yard touchdown pass. Eric Peterman then threw a touchdown pass himself.

CJ Bacher threw for over 230 yards. Purdue quarterback, Curtis Painter, threw for 273 yards but had three interceptions. Penalties hurt the Boilermakers, as they had one penalty after another. The Wildcats handed the Boilermakers, their fifth loss of the season, as they clawed their way to a 48-26 victory.

Northwestern @ Indiana: Coming off a huge win against Purdue, Northwestern went to Bloomington looking to capitalize off a Indiana team that was missing it's starting quarterback, Kellen Lewis. However, replacement quarterback, Ben Chappell, had other plans. He threw for 219 yards passing and threw for a touchdown.

Indiana jumped up to a 7-3 lead, when Tyrell Sutton scored a rushing touchdown to make the score 9-7. However, late in the third quarter Tyrell Sutton would break his wrist and be out of the game, it would later be relieved that he would need surgery and it wouldn't be clear when he would play again.

Northwesterns' CJ Bacher threw for 155 yards but the Wildcats couldn't keep up as Indiana matched them score for score squeezing past the Wildcats 21-19.

Northwestern @ No. 20 Minnesota: Northwestern coming off their hurtful loss to Indiana faced Minnesota at their homecoming game with yet another loss. It appeared CJ Bacher was suffering from a hamstring injury and would be out for the game but would be on the sidelines if necessary.

The Wildcats would have their most memorable game of the year. Northwestern jumped out to a 10-0 lead at the end of the first. Mike Kafka would run the option all day most times carrying the ball himself. Eric Decker, the wide receiver from Minnesota answered back with a touchdown. And at the half the score was tied 17-17.

Kafka would do his part as he would rush 27 times, breaking the schools record with 217 rushing yards. The most by a quarterback since Zak Kustok. With six seconds left, the Gophers instead of running the clock down and going into overtime decided a desperation hail mary pass. As the ball flew up in the air, Northwestern defensive men, David Oredugba deflected the pass into Brenden Smith's extended hands.

Smith took a couple of blocks and ran the ball back all the way for a 48 yard interception return, as a stunned Minnesota crowd watched Northwestern celebrate in the endzone. The Wildcats won their seventh game of the season upsetting the Gophers 24-17.

Northwestern vs. No. 12 Ohio State: Northwestern, came home feeling pretty good about their victory against Minnesota. Ohio State came to Ryan Field after suffering a humiliating loss too Penn State. After taking a much deserved week off, the Wildcats faced the Buckeyes at home. It wasn't a pretty game as Ohio State had way too much firepower for the Wildcats to compete. After the end of the first, Northwestern was tied with Ohio State 7-7. That tie was short lived.

Ohio State responded back off mistakes by Northwestern, as quarterback Terrelle Pryor threw for 197 yards. The Buckeyes scored twice in the fourth quarter and destroyed the Wildcats 45-10.

Northwestern @ Michigan: On a day when temps stayed in the mid-20's and freezing rain fell most of the day, Northwestern struck deep in the heart of Ann Arbor. Michigan jumped to a 14-7 lead at the half, and for a while it looked like the Wolverines were finally going to win a game. However, Northwestern responded with 14 points in the third quarter. Michigan, couldn't answer back.

Michigan, who lost their eighth game of the season, were assured of a losing record with that loss, their first since 1967. Northwestern won at the Big House, for the first time since 1995. The Wildcats froze out the Wolverines 21-14.

Northwestern vs. Illinois: The Northwestern Wildcats, trying to get a better bowl game, also looked to keep the Illini out of bowl contention. Only a year after they went to the rose bowl. Northwestern came out early throwing jumping to a 13-0 lead at half. Illinois fought back and was down 16-10 in the fourth. However a touchdown pass to Eric Peterman, who had 111 receiving yards, sealed the Illinis' fate. Northwestern pulled away from there.

CJ Bacher threw for 230 yards as the Wildcats won the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk for the last time. Stephen Simmons filling in for hurt Tyrell Sutton rushed for 70 yards. The Wildcats beat the Illini 27-10.

So the Northwestern Wildcats sat back and waited to see what bowl game they would get. Finishing in fourth place, tied with the Iowa Hawkeyes, they had many different bowl representatives there. When all was said and done, Northwestern was invited to the Valero Alamo Bowl to face the Missouri Tigers.

The Missouri Tigers, picked to be contenders at the beginning of the season, didn't do as well as they wanted to do, and weren't too happy about their bowl pick. Northwestern tried to take advantage of that, as they were ranked for the first time in the AP poll in the season.

Northwestern vs. Missouri (San Antonio, Texas): Northwestern got a huge jump when it was announced that Tyrell Sutton would be ready to play in the bowl game. Northwestern jumped up to a 7-0 lead when an interception led to a 35 yard touchdown by Eric Peterman. Missouri and Northwestern both kicked field goals, and then the Tigers' Jeremy Maclin ran back a 75 yard punt near the end of the first half to even the score at 10-10.

Northwestern responded back in the second half with a touchdown, but missed the extra point. This would come back to bite them. The Tigers' Danario Alexander scored a touchdown to give them their first lead of the game 17-16. Missouri would score again off a fieldgoal to make the score 20-16.

Northwestern then scored a touchdown to lead 23-20. Missouri tied up the game 23-23 off a 37 yard field goal. With five seconds left Tigers kicker, Jeff Wolfert, missed a fieldgoal wide right sending the game into overtime.

Maclin again scored a seven yard touchdown, in overtime, giving the Tigers a 30-23 lead. When Northwestern got the ball, they couldn't do anything and a last desperation pass by CJ Bacher fell harmlessly. The Tigers handed the Wildcats their sixth bowl game loss, 30-23. Bacher had a career game throwing for 304 yards, three touchdowns, and only one turnover. Tyrell Sutton was also good in his comeback, wearing a huge brace on his wrist, as he rushed for 114 yards on 29 carries.

(Northwestern played a great game, but couldn't come away with the victory. It will be a great year for them next season, and I'm looking forward to next year!)

Cubs in 2009? I Can Only Hope

Leroy Kleimola — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:09:20 -0500

As I sit here, watching a show on the Phillies World Series Championship, I sit here and think about next year. Now granted, I understand that there is still a long way to go before the new season starts, but it's never too early for predictions so here goes nothing. Maybe I will come back and look at this in October 2009.

National League West

After starting out last year with a quick lead, the Arizona Diamondbacks fell into a slump and never fully recovered. Even though they pushed hard towards the end of the season they never really did what they were supposed too and finished in second place in the west.

They won 80 and lost 82, finishing two games back from the surging Dodgers.

The Diamondbacks will be pushing hard this off-season to rebuild the team after last years hard campaign.

They have already signed catcher Chris Snyder, and they have good pitchers, even though they have lost Randy Johnson to the San Francisco Giants. I look to see this team finish third in the west.

The Colorado Rockies, after going to the World Series less than a year before, Colorado finished in third place with a 74-88 record. The Rockies during this off-season have lost Brian Fuentes and Matt Holliday among some others, and I think that they will be looking to rebuild this year as well.

They have made several acquisitions and the offseason is still young. The Rockies have signed Alan Embree and Greg Smith.

The Rockies will make a push this season and I think will be tough. All in all, I think they will get another pitcher and possibly another outfielder, due to the fact that Scott Podsednik is a free agent. I see the Rockies as finishing in fourth place.

The Los Angeles Dodgers remain my dark horse of the NL West; they will either be really good or really bad. Last year, they stormed back and won the NL West by two games.

They manhandled the Cubs in the first round of the playoffs only to get silenced by the Phillies in the NLCS. So what about this year?

The Dodgers have lost Greg Maddux, Brad Penny, and Chan Ho Park. Rumor has it they will be losing Jeff Kent, and Manny Ramirez is still up for debate on whether he is going to be signed or not.

The Dodgers have already resigned Rafael Furcal and Mark Loretta, but what is this team going to do now? They obviously need pitching, and how much of a distraction is the Manny Ramirez issue. Are they going to sign Bobby Abreu? Wait and see with this team; I see them finishing in second.

The San Francisco Giants, made moves last offseason picking up Barry Zito and a few key others. Zito did poorly winning only 10 games and losing 17.

The Giants failed to capitalize and finished the season at 72-90. Twelve games out of the lead, the Giants struggled through the second half of the season.

The Giants have already made a lot of moves this off-season and have made heavy acquisitions. It's almost as if it's playoffs or bust. They have signed Bob Howry, Randy Johnson, Edgar Renteria, and Jeremy Affeldt.

They have also been rumored to be after Ramirez and Abreu along with the Dodgers. I think this team is on to something this year. I see the Giants surprising people this year and winning the division.

The San Diego Padres, who have struggled for the last couple years finished this last year as celler dwellers despite efforts by pitchers, Jake Peavy and Brett Tomko.

The Padres front office, in an effort to try and deal Jake Peavy, had deals fall apart with numerous teams including the Cubs and Braves.

The Padres have already lost Josh Bard, and haven't made any big acquisitions this offseason. The rumors are that the Padres are trying to sell to a different owner, and the only thing I see is that Brian Giles is in trouble (assault), and they will most likely lose Trevor Hoffman.

I look at the Padres not being able to finish higher than 5th place this season either.

So in order I see the National League West:

Giants
Dodgers
Diamondbacks
Rockies
Padres

National League Central

The Chicago Cubs walked away with the division, and despite a late push by the Milwaukee Brewers, they easily won 97 games to win the division. The Cubs picked up Reed Johnson, Jim Edmonds, and transitioned Kerry Wood to a closer and Ryan Dempster to a starter.

The lack of a left-handed batter sealed the Cubs fate in the NLDS, as the Dodgers swept the Cubs and knocked them out of the playoffs before Lou Pinella realized what had happened.

This off-season has already hurt a lot of Cubs fans, as they have lost Mark DeRosa and Kerry Wood. They have signed Kevin Gregg, Aaron Miles, and resigned Ryan Dempster.

Rumors are that they will be signing Milton Bradley, and Jake Peavy rumors still fly. I see the Cubs winning this division, but not by much. The Cubs need to make a couple more key moves for me to be more satisfied that they will go far in the playoffs.

The Houston Astros, a team that has given the Cubs heartache over the last couple years, struggled last year as they began rebuilding and were 11 games off the mark last year.

The Astros couldn't keep up in the Central and only won 86 games. During this off-season they lost Mark Loretta and Ty Wiggington but acquired Aaron Boone, Mike Hampton, and resigned Latroy Hawkins.

The Astros are really hurting due to the economic pinch, and will struggle this year. I don't see them doing very much more this offseason. I see them finishing in third place.

The Cincinnati Reds, who have been a middle of the road team for the last couple years, have had a busy offseason already. Most well-known is their acquisition of free agent, Willy Taveras. The Reds also signed Ramon Hernandez and Arthur Rhodes.

I don't forsee anything changing this year, the Reds don't have the pitching to keep up in the division and they will do all they can but I still think this is a rebuilding year for them.

The Reds won 74 games last season and will probably duplicate that number this year. The Reds will finish in fifth place.

The Milwaukee Brewers, who used youngsters and speed to do damage in the National League Central, lost to the Phillies in the NLDS 3-1. The wild card team is bracing to lose a lot of players this off-season and owner Mark Attanasio has already asked for a salary cap.

The Brewers have lost Sabathia and free agents remain aplenty. Included in that list are Jason Kendall, Ray Durham, Ben Sheets, and Craig Counsell.

After signing Mike Lamb, there will probably be a few more acquisitions. Prince Fielder always remains a threat, but can the Milwaukee Brewers finally catch the Cubs and win the division? I don't think so. I see the Brewers finishing in second place again this year.

The Pittsburgh Pirates, who are getting better each year, finished last year in last place 30 games out but are still 3-4 years away from having a good squad. They have signed Ryan Doumit, and acquired Ramon Vazquez. They don't have the payroll to keep up with the other teams, and it is almost certain that their payroll will be less this year than last year.

I don't see the Pirates finishing high this season. I don't see them leaving last place. 6th place for the Pirates this year.

The St. Louis Cardinals finished last year in fourth place. Quite a shock considering they were a first-place team less than two years prior. The Cardinals won 86 games and were a lot better than they looked on paper.

Injuries tore through the organization early and the Cardinals suffered because of it. Their bright spots were Rick Ankiel and of course, Albert Pujols.

The Cardinals have lost Cesar Izturis, Aaron Miles, and Felipe Lopez. They picked up Khalil Greene and resigned Jason Larue. The Cardinals are looking at another rough year.

I think they need a few more arms and their age is starting to catch up with them. But Tony LaRussa is a gem. This team is my darkhorse in the Central. I see them finishing in third.

In conclusion, the National League Central plays out like this:

Cubs
Brewers
Cardinals
Astros
Reds
Pirates

National League East

The Philadelphia Phillies, 2008 World Champions, breezed through the playoffs as they finally got themselves a World Series victory for the first time since 1980.

Making sure that they can compete in the NL East, the Phillies have already toughened their team by adding Raul Ibanez and John Mabry. They also resigned Scott Eyre and Jamie Moyer.

The Phillies hung on to beat the Mets and keep them out of the playoffs. I look for it to come down to the wire this year just like last year. I see the Phillies finishing in second place, one or two games out.

The New York Mets, after leading most of the season, fell apart yet again in the last month due to their inability to close out games. Billy Wagner was out and the Mets ended up finishing in second place.

They have tried to beef up their lineup by signing Francisco Rodriguez, Shawn Green, and Jeremy Reed. The Mets do have a lot of free agents; including Moises Alou, Pedro Martinez, Tony Armas Jr., and Orlando Hernandez.

It will be interesting to see if the Mets will spend as much as their counterparts in the American League. They signed Rodriguez to close out games, and I think the Mets will be tough this next year.

Like I already said, though, it will come down to the wire. The Mets need to avoid injuries. I see the Mets winning the division.

The Florida Marlins were always a pesky team, staying in most games, just being unable to keep up with the Mets or Phillies. The Marlins finished seven games out at 84-77.

The Marlins signed Scott Proctor from the Dodgers, who will be a formidable pitcher for them. The Marlins lost Kevin Gregg, Mike Jacobs, and Matt Treanor, among others.

The Marlins picked up Josh Johnson, Jose Ceda, and Dan Meyer. The Marlins are a young team who are trying to rely on speed and pitching to win games. I see the Marlins finishing in fourth place this year.

The Atlanta Braves struggled through most of this year, having problems with pitching and finding a good outfield bat. They only won 72 games this last year losing 90.

They finished an astonishing 20 games out of first place. The Braves have had a pretty quiet off-season. They lost Mike Hampton, Jorge Julio, and Tyler Flowers.

The Braves have signed Greg Norton. The team still has a lot of free agents, including Julian Tavarez, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, and Will Ohman.

I see this Braves team better than last year, but not good enough to compete with the Phillies and the Mets. Braves finish in third place this year.

The Washington Nationals suffered through a LONG season, winning only 59 games. The Nationals suffered a dismal 102 losses dropping to 32 1/2 games back at the season's end.

The team has lost Aaron Boone who left for Houston, and Emilio Bonifacio. The Nationals are trying to respond to a dismal year by making some moves this offseason.

The Nationals have signed Daniel Cabrera, along with Scott Olsen, Willie Harris, and Pete Orr. I think they will have another tough year this year but it won't be as bad as last year. I still see the Nationals finishing in 5th place.

So to wrap up the National League East:

Mets
Phillies
Braves
Marlins
Nationals

And so the teams going to the playoffs will be, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, and wild-card Philadelphia Phillies. Here's how the NL playoffs play out. Giants beat the Phillies, Cubs beat the Mets, Giants beat the Cubs to win the NL championship.

American League coming soon!

Oh Jeremy Mayfield, Where Have You Gone?

Leroy Kleimola — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 13:57:45 -0500

The Year was 2005. Jeremy Mayfield had clinched a "Race for the Chase" spot for the second consecutive year, driving his No. 19 Dodge into a win at Michigan, and Mayfield went on to finish ninth in the standings that year with 6,073 points.

Everyone had remembered what he had done the year before that.

Mayfield was in 12th place and basically needed a win at Richmond along with a few other miracle things in order to get in. Mayfield did win that race and got into the chase.

In the coming years, winning a race to get into the Chase was known as "pulling a Mayfield."

Jeremy Mayfield was sitting on top of the world and was considered to be one of the top drivers going into the 2006 season. It never happened.

Newcomer Kasey Kahne was an up-and-coming driver and to accommodate Kahne, Ray Evernham gave Kasey Jeremy's crew chief and most of his team.

Mayfield fell apart and though the details are pretty blurry, what has come out is quite a story.

Mayfield knew that Evernham was cheating on his wife with Busch Driver, Erin Crocker, and Mayfield didn't approve of it. After failed attempts to try to get Evernham to quit, Mayfield said he was going to stop lying to the media about how much time Evernham was spending with the teams. Mayfield felt that without Ray in the shop, and being at the races that He wasn't spending enough time with the team and it was hurting the organization. So Mayfield stepped up and said something to Evernham.

Evernham decided to fire Mayfield, and that's when Ray's time with the Busch team was mentioned, in the court room.

Mayfield sued Evernham for wrongful termination and won, but came away looking very bad. Evernham made sure that Mayfield was blackballed, and Mayfield didn't finish that season.

Mayfield got a ride with Bill Davis Racing, driving the No. 36 Toyota 360 OTC car. 360 had promised money, sponsorships, and much, much more. It seemed that things were going to work out for Mayfield who struggled trying to find a ride during the off-season.

360 had promised getting sponsors, like KISS, Wrestlemania, and many more.

360 merged with another company. The president of 360 fled the country after the federal government began probing into things. Mayfield spent quite a bit of his own money in order to help out.

Mayfield quit due to issues with sponsorships and a terrible vehicle. He and Bill Davis remained friends. He wasn't able to recover anything, and Mayfield was left without a ride. Less than a year later, Bill Davis would sell 90 percent of his team.

Towards the end of the 2007 season, Jeremy Mayfield took over driving the No. 66 Chevrolet Best Buy car. He finished 40th, 22nd, 39th, and 26th.

During the off-season, it was announced that Jeremy Mayfield and teammate Scott Riggs, would switch vehicles, and Mayfield would take over the Haas No. 70 Chevrolet.

Mayfield did not have a crew chief who would listen to the changes he wanted with the car. Knowing that Tony Stewart was getting ownership of Haas, Mayfield knew that the cars weren't being made to his liking and that he was on the losing end.

Therefore, Mayfield would leave Haas after only 7 races.

Later that season, Mayfield got a break when he raced for injured Dario Franchitti. He started the race 10th but finished 25th due to a loose car and a poor pit crew. All in all, they didn't have time to gel together.

Franchitti came back and praised Mayfield for helping teach him some things and for being a class figure around the shop.

Which brings us to the new off-season. Rumors have flown that Mayfield would be racing a truck, and that could be, but most likely the deal has fallen through. Mayfield is still trying to get a Sprint deal and it's sounding that he is still trying to get a ride with a Sprint Team.

But with Elliot Sadler being released from the Dodge No. 19 Best Buy car, there is one more driver in search for a quality ride.

The question is: Does Mayfield have what it takes to race again, or is his career over?

My Plea For Mr. Angelo: Please Let Mike Brown Go

Leroy Kleimola — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 11:45:57 -0500

If the Chicago Bears just do one move this off season it is this, please let Mike Brown go. Mike Brown has been a staple of Chicago Bears football for the last nine years. He is a defensive captain who has anchored with Brian Urlacher on defense year in and year out. He has put up very good numbers and has very high fantasy value—when he's healthy.

Mike Brown is a free agent after this year, and I just can't see Mr. Angelo resigning him and keeping him around. Brown's last complete season was 2003. Since then he has played in 36 games in five years. That's an average of about 7 1/2 games a year. His health has been a factor and with age comes an ever increasing health risk.

This was the first year Mike Brown played in more than 10 games since 2005 when he played in 12 games before getting placed on injured reserve. He has finished the last 4 out of five years on IR.

Mike Brown has been a leader for this team but he makes about 2 1/2 million dollars and that can be relieved for a younger player who can be molded into that spot. The Bears signed Cameron Worrell to take Mike Brown's place but are probably not going to resign him for next season.

The Bears have already said that they are not sold on Kyle Orton and there will be a huge quarterback situation this off season. But the Chicago Bears can not forget to focus on their free safety situation and make sure that they sign a decent FS, say thanks to Mike Brown for a wonderful nine years and let him go on his way.

The Chicago Bears need to go through the draft and sign a player who is used to running the defense the Bears run and will be less injury prone than Brown.