Daily News and Notes

So, there I was in the middle of a loooooong work day, delivering pizzas in snowy, frigid Bloomington, when out of the blue I received the following text message from my mother: "Bears sign Brett?!"

Whoah.

Now that would be some news!

As it turns out, the Brett to whom she was referring was not, in fact, the former Bears nemesis and potential two-time winner of the Emmitt Smith "I Just Don't Know When to Quit" Award. No indeed, this particular Brett hails from much closer to home. The Chicago Tribune reports that former Northwestern University standout QB Brett Basanez just signed a two-year contract with his hometown team (Basanez is from Arlington Heights). Baz had been a member of the Carolina Panthers (on and off the practice squad, mostly) since leaving college. I gotta say, I absolutely love seeing NU players on pro rosters, especially when that roster is the Bears'. Does anyone else still fondly recall Darnell Autry's brief star turn during the '97 preseason? And then we have linebacker Nick Roach, who up and grabbed Hunter Hillenmeyer's starting job this season. Good stuff.

Here's wishing Brett Basanez a sucessful career wearing the navy and orange. Watch out Caleb Hanie, your roster spot is officially up for grabs.

In other news, Big Ten Network is currently airing the 2004 Iowa vs. Indiana double overtime duel at Assembly Hall. At times like this, when just one Big Ten win would seem like a miracle for IU basketball (as Mr. Noffke pointed out earlier today), it's fun to look back on better days. Semi-legendary 6'2" power forward AJ Moye just hit two three-balls in a row in overtime! Hey, I've played at Bryan Park with that guy! I think I'm goanna go ahead and change the channel before Iowa pulls ahead here. No use ruining reminiscence time.

Next up. Over the next week and a half or so, Steve and I will be counting down our own personal Top Ten Sports Memories (Moments?). I won't ruin any surprises today, but it was definitely fun racking my brain as I ran through all those years of Chicago, Northwestern, and Indiana athletics-watching. Some suffering, some joy, some more suffering... guess it comes with the territory!

One final note. To the South Carolina cops that are supposedly thinking about pressing charges against 8-time gold medalist Michael Phelps after pictures of him hitting a bong surfaced this week, all I can say is - Get a *bleeping* life. Sheriff Leon Lett, your shameless grab for publicity just reeks of filth. Aren't there meth labs you should be busting?

That's all for now. IU has Iowa at home tomorrow. According to kenpom.com (as well as our own experts here at Armchair Superstar), this is Crean and Company's best remaining shot to win a game this season. Go Hoosiers.