Sampson agrees to deal with the University of Houston

The Houston Cougars have found their next head coach and they didn’t have to look far.

Houston Rockets assistant Kelvin Sampson has agreed to return to college hoops as the Cougars’ coach, according to CBSSports.com.

Sampson had worked in the NBA with the Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks over the past six years.

Sampson, 58, was fired from Indiana in 2008 after an NCAA investigation into improper and excessive contact with recruits regarding phone calls and text messages.

The violations were repeat offenses from when he was head coach at Oklahoma. This led to a five-year show-cause on Sampson, one of the harshest in NCAA history against a D-I college basketball coach.
The NCAA no longer puts such restrictions on text messages with recruits.

Sampson compiled a 496-271 career record at Indiana, Oklahoma, Washington State and Montana Tech. However, he received a five-year show-cause order in 2008, which meant that if a team wanted to hire him, it would need to impose sanctions on Sampson or “show cause” that Sampson properly served his punishment. The show-cause recently expired, so Sampson will be able to coach without any sanctions levied upon him.

Say what you want about Sampson but he will have the Cougars playing at a different level than in years past. Call him a cheater or a dirtbag but Sampson has the potential to make Houston a nationally relevant program once again.

"It Girl" of the week: Wakina Kia

The Just Sports & Just Us "It Girl" of the week is Wakina Kia.

Cold Stone offering to cater Matthew Stafford's wedding for free

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford recently announced his engagement to girlfriend Kelly Hall.

Whether it's deserved or not, Stafford can afford a boffo wedding at a secluded, exotic location most of us will only see on television. Like they say the rich get richer. Speaking of the rich getting richer, Cold Stone creamery has offered to cater Stafford's wedding for free.

Why? Because of the free publicity the ice cream store received when Stafford and Hall announced their engagement and Instagrammed a picture of them eating at Cold Stone. If I knew that would work, I would've proposed to my wife at McDonald's and took a picture of it.

TMZ Sports spoke with Cold Stone head honcho Michael Serruya who tells us ... "We'd love to provide dessert for everyone at the wedding. And to the extent that they would allow us, we would love to make the cake as well!"

Congratulations to Stafford and the Lions should hope that he can get his game back on track.

LSU's O'Bryant decides to turn pro

LSU junior forward Johnny O'Bryant has decided to forgo his senior season and declare for the 2014 NBA Draft. 

Even though O'Bryant has been thought of as an NBA prospect since he set foot in Baton Rouge, he has been given a second round grade by NBA scouts. Even though he isn't guaranteed to be picked O'Bryant feels he's ready to ply his trade in the professional ranks.

"I've had a great time here at LSU, it's been an honor to wear the LSU jersey," O'Bryant said. "I just felt like I put the time and hard work in and I was ready."

During his three seasons in Baton Rouge, the Cleveland, Miss., native averaged 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds in 91 games. In 2013-14, he was named first-team All-SEC for the second-straight season after shooting 49.6 percent from the field while starting all 34 games.

O'Bryant will have to wow the scouts in workouts if he wants to improve his position in the draft. At 6-9 and 256 he does have the size to play in the NBA but he'll have to improve his athleticism to make it at the next level.

O'Bryant has an uphill climb, but if Reggie Evans can stick around for as long as he has, O'Bryant has a shot. O'Bryant should hope that he doesn't go undrafted and wind up on a D-League roster.

Report: Timberwolves may try to lure Hoiberg

The Minnesota Timberwolves are at a crossroads, The team will miss the playoffs again. Head coach Rick Adelman might step down and star forward Kevin Love might be traded,  force his way out of town or play out his contract, which is up after next season and leave in free agency.

The offseason focus will undoubtedly be on what happens with Love, but the coaching situation bears watching. With Adelman possibly stepping down it would be natural that team president Flip Saunders would come down from his executive suite and coach the team. But Saunders may have had enough of the sidelines and might opt to stay behind the scenes. One name that has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Adelman is Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg.

ESPN's Marc Stein mentioned that Hoiberg, who is a former Timberwolves executive, could be in the mix for the job if Adelman chooses to leave.

Widely regarded as the most NBA-ready college coach in the game, Hoiberg was a Wolves executive for four years before leaving the pros to coach the Cyclones. It should be noted that Saunders is close with Michigan State's Tom Izzo, as well, but the rumbles out of Sota are getting louder that the Wolves are going to court Hoiberg hard if they, as expected, have an opening. 

As much as the Wolves may like Hoiberg, I don't think Hoiberg likes Minnesota all that much. Hoiberg has put Iowa State basketball back on the map and he is beloved in Ames. They don't call him "The Mayor" for nothing. If Hoiberg ever gets the itch to coach in the NBA it'll be in a better situation than the possible mess he might inherit in Minnesota.  
    

Red Wings Helm and Tatar could face eviction for loud noise

A pair of Detroit Red Wings forwards appear to be in hot water with their condo association.

According to the Detroit News, Tomas Tatar and Darren Helm are named in a lawsuit claiming they must comply with the Main Street Lofts Condominium Association's rules or else they'll be forced to "vacate premises."

The eviction threat is in relation to a number of noise complaints filed by neighbors, which date back to October 2013.

Loud music, yelling and banging can often be heard coming from the third-floor unit in which Tatar is the tenant of and Helm co-owns, neighbors allege. The noise tends to occur between midnight and 4 a.m. "up to four nights a week."

Additionally, Tatar is alleged to have routinely parked his vehicle in parking spaces inside the condominium's parking structure which are designated only for short-term guest parking.

Both Tatar, 23, and 27-year-old Helm, are regulars in the Red Wings lineup.

Tatar is enjoying a breakout season, having racked up 18 goals 34 points over 64 games.

Helm has recorded 13 points in 33 games. He's been injured for much of the campaign.

Shaun Hill moves on to the St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams reached a contract agreement on Wednesday with veteran quarterback Shaun Hill to back up starter Sam Bradford. Hill's offseason home is a few hours away in Missouri.

The deal is for one year at $1.75 million with incentives elevating Hill's potential earnings to $2.5 million, NFL Media reported.

The 34-year-old Hill was the backup to quarterback Matthew Stafford with the Detroit Lions for the past four years after spending four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and four with the Minnesota Vikings.

Hill started 10 games in 2010 for the Lions. He appeared in two games the past two seasons and last threw a pass in a 2012 game against the Tennessee Titans, completing 10 of 13 for 172 yards and two touchdowns.

Hill is more than capable to fill in for Bradford, if Bradford happens to miss any amount of time with injuries.

Who do the Lions turn to in case of emergency since the steady Hill has flown the coop? Who knows. The Lions definitely need to draft a developmental prospect at the position. Now they need a proven, reliable backup. With Josh McCown and Michael Vick off the market the Lions might want to focus their attention on Mark Sanchez or Josh Freeman, quarterbacks ironically drafted in the same year as Stafford. I'm not saying either would be the solution but it's better than what they have now.