Indiana won't wear new Adidas uniforms

Following the lead of Michigan and North Carolina State, the Indiana Hoosiers have declined to wear the new new Adidas designed basketball uniforms for the upcoming NCAA tournament.

That's a wise choice. I know college basketball fans have gotten a peek at the sleeved jerseys and camouflage shorts. Those uniforms are flat out ugly. I don't advocate anyone losing their job but whoever designed them needs to be fired or reassigned.

Indiana athletic director Fred Glass didn't want to get away from the classic cream and crimson of the Hoosiers.  


“When you look at that picture, it’s really hard to tell those uniforms apart,’’ Glass said. “It has really been a consistent look. Our thing is stability and a classic look. It’s about the name on the front of the chest and not on the back. All those things are important to who we are.

“I take seriously our obligation to be a good partner with Adidas, and we weren’t cavalier about this. But when all is said and done, that’s just not something that I think is appropriate for us here at Indiana to do.”

“The Indiana uniform is such a reflection of who we are as a program and a university that we weren’t comfortable moving away from our classic, iconic uniforms.’’

I'm surprised that traditional powers such as UCLA, Kansas, and Louisville are going along with it. UCLA fans aren't too happy with the decision for the Bruins to wear them. They look like volleyball jerseys if you ask me.

Glass should be commended for saying no and sticking with tradition over a marketing scheme.

Byron Scott might shut down Kyrie Irivng

With a team going nowhere, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott is considering shutting down All-Star guard Kyrie Irving for the rest of the season.

The oft injured Irving has missed 14 games including three recently with a hyperextended knee. Irving said the knee was still bothering him after last night's win over the Utah Jazz. Scott doesn't want to risk losing Irving for anymore games and wouldn't have a problem keeping Irving on the bench.

"If Ky is hurting, I have no problem sitting him down," Scott said.

Irving doesn't plan on being in fancy suits the rest of the season even though the early break could help him.

"The only way I would get better is if I sit out for the rest of the season, and I'm not doing that," Irving said.

I believe Scott has the right idea. Irving is the franchise and he shouldn't risk him doing further damage to himself in a lost season. It's not like the Cavs are in the playoff chase so why not. As a competitor Irving wants no part of that kind of talk. But it's probably more beneficial to him if he sits out than playing at less than 100 percent for the rest of the season.

Irving has a lot of basketball left and shouldn't hamper his career for a few meaningless games.

Diamondbacks Barajas finds missing World Series ring after four years

Current Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Rod Barajas was a member of the Diamondbacks World Series winning team in 2001. Of course being on that team you get a coveted  World Series ring. Barajas got his ring but he lost it four years ago.

Four years later Barajas had the good fortune of recovering his World Series ring. 

MLB.com's Steve Gilbert tells the story.


Before leaving the couple's home in San Diego, Stacie tried on a pair of shoes she had not worn in years. She tried one foot on, determined it matched her outfit and packed both shoes for the trip.

While getting ready at the hotel just before the funeral, Stacie put on both shoes for the first time. Only there was a problem with the one she hadn't tried on before she left. There was something in the toe blocking her foot.

"I was getting ready and my wife yelled out, 'Guess what I just found?'" Barajas said. "We're in a hotel room and I'm like, what could you find in a hotel room?"

As it turns out, you can find a 2001 World Series ring and pendant.

"She walked out with the ring and pendant and we both looked at each other and I said, 'That was your grandmother. Your grandmother grabbed that and put it there for us. One last gift that she gave us before she left,'" Barajas said.


Barajas is lucky he found his, but when are players gonna learn to keep their championship rings in a safe place.

Broncos will pursue Freeney if Dumervil doesn't take a pay cut

The Indianapolis Colts decided to part ways with defensive end Dwight Freeney. He's now a free agent and will be exploring his options when free agency kicks in next Tuesday.

One team to keep an eye on for Freeney's services are the Denver Broncos. A source told Mike Klis of the Denver Post that the Broncos might be a player for Freeney. But that's all contingent if current Broncos defensive end, Elvis Dumervil, doesn't take a pay cut. Throw in the fact that Peyton Manning has been recruiting Freeney and it's almost a lock that he becomes a Bronco.

Freeney (33) is four years older than Dumervil (29) and isn't the force he once was but if Dumervil doesn't want to take a pay cut, the Broncos could sign Freeney and parlay the extra money into a few players to fill needs at different roster spots. They are similar players so the dropoff shouldn't be too significant.

The Broncos would love for Dumervil to return but I don't see him being too pleased to to a loss in pay. If that's the case Elvis will indeed leave the building.

Browns beat out Bills for Kevin Costner movie

Two of the more snakebit franchises in the NFL went head to head off the field recently. But for once it was the Cleveland Browns that came out on top.

The Browns reportedly beat out the Buffalo Bills for the right to be the franchise in the Kevin Costner movie, Draft Day.

The movie, which was to depict Kevin Costner as a fictitious Buffalo Bills general manager trying to restore his team to past glory, will instead be shot in Cleveland, with the actor portraying the Cleveland Browns GM.

Like most reasons for anything related to business decisions, it all came down to the money. Shooting in Cleveland was cheaper than shooting in Buffalo therefore the Browns will get the nod.

“At the end of the day, it was a money thing. I think Mr. [Ivan] Reitman really wanted to shoot here, but it just came down to the cost factor. What we were told is that the Cleveland incentives were better,” said Tim Clark who heads the Buffalo Niagara Film Commission .

“I feel the worse for the Buffalo Bills, because they worked real hard to convince the film company that Buffalo was the place to shoot this, and that Buffalo was America’s team.”

Buffalo Bills being America's team. Since when? I guess I missed the memo on that one.

This will be the second time a movie will be based on a Cleveland sports franchise as Draft Day hopes to be as successful as Major League. I guess the silver screen is the only place where a Cleveland franchise gets to be a winner.

Vince Young eyeing a comeback

Vince Young was once thought of to be the future of NFL quarterbacks. He was a Heisman Trophy finalist at the University of Texas, won a national championship, was the NFL rookie of the year with the Tennessee   Titans and appeared his career appeared to be trending upward.

Fast forward to now and Young is broke and out of football. After pouting  and playing his way out of Tennessee, he's bounced around to the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills, not looking anything like the player scouts thought he would be coming out of Texas.

Young is looking for a job and is going to give it the old college try. Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated reported that Young is returning to Texas to finish his degree and work out at Texas' pro day in front of NFL scouts.

Young doesn't have many chances left if any. Young will have to perform out of his mind to impress the scouts and front office personnel that he's worth a roster spot. If he can do that he would also need to play the happy camper and realize that he's no longer starting material and barely second string material. And for the money that he thinks he's gonna get, no one will sign a third stringer for that price.

I would hope he makes it so he can at least get back on his feet financially, but the odds aren't in his favor.

Seahawks sign former basketball player

Seattle Seahawks head coach, Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider have never been afraid to take a gamble. Carroll did it when he named Russell Wilson his starting quarterback over Matt Flynn whom they gave a hefty contract to and Schneider cosigns some unconventional moves by the team.

With former basketball players turned tight ends, Jimmy Graham, Antonio Gates, and Tony Gonzalez having success in the NFL, Carroll and the Seahawks jumped on the hoops to gridiron bandwagon. The Seahawks have signed international basketball player Darren Fells to a three year deal. Fells is the brother of NFL tigh end Daniel Fells.

Darren, who is 6-7 and 280 pounds, went to visit the Seahawks on Tuesday and left with a contract. He planned to hold a pro day in hopes of impressing a NFL team. Apparently the Seahawks were impressed enough to make an offer.

Fells spent his last year playing for the Libertad Sunchales basketball team in Argentina. He's also played on the hard court in Finland, Belgium, Mexico, and France. He was an all-state tight end in high school at Fullerton High in Fullerton, Ca., but chose to stick to basketball at UC Irvine.

Fells will turn 27 in April so you don't know where his ceiling is as a player. But if he catches on it'll be another bold move that will payoff for the Seahawks.