Happy Birthday Al Toon

Cleveland Browns 2012 First Round Picks

The Cleveland Browns selected RB Trent Richardson at pick #3 and QB Brandon Weeden with their pick at #22. Here are two videos with some highlights of those two players:

Greatest Coaches Countdown - #31 Pete Newell

Sport: College Basketball
Stops: San Francisco (1946-1950)
Michigan St. (1950-1954)
California (1954-1960)
Record: 233-123 (.654 Winning Percentage)
Championships: 1 NCAA & 1 Olympic Gold Medal

Fun Facts

1. Newell is one of three men to win an NCAA title, NIT championship and an Olympic gold medal. The others are Dean Smith & Bob Knight
2. After his coaching career ended he ran a world-famous instructional basketball camp and served as a consultant and scout for several NBA teams

This Day in Sports History - 4/23/1952

In his first major league at-bat, New York Giants pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm hits a home run to help his club to a 9-5 win over the Boston Braves at the Polo Grounds. It is struck in the fourth inning off Dick Hoover. On the mound, Wilhelm pitches 5.1 innings of relief and allows two runs. He is a 29 year old rookie who finally reaches the majors after bouncing around the minors since 1942. During the 1952 season, Wilhelm will compile a 15-3 record and a league-leading 2.43 ERA in 71 games, all in relief, and 159.1 innings. With a knuckleball as his primary pitch, Wilhelm lasts in the majors until 1972 and plays his last game two weeks shy of his 50th birthday. He pitches in 1,070 career games and holds the all-time record in the category from 1968 through 1998. However, Wilhelm will never hit another home run in the majors in 432 at bats. His career batting average is .088. Wilhelm will be elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985.

Josh Mandel Ad: Boots

Josh Mandel is running for a Senate seat in Ohio. So far he has been endorsed by FL. Senator Marco Rubio, AZ. Senator John McCain & NJ Governor Chris Christie.

This Day in Sports History - 4/20/1912

The Red Sox play their first regular-season game at Fenway Park and win, 7-6, in 11 innings over the New York Highlanders. The crowd is 27,000. Buck O'Brien is the starting pitcher for Boston and puts the club in a 5-1 hole in the third inning. The home team rallies with three runs in the fourth and ties the contest, 5-5, in the sixth. Both teams score in the eighth. In the 11th, Red Sox 2B Steve Yerkes reaches second on an error by 3B Cozy Dolan and scores on a single by CF Tris Speaker. Yerkes has five hits, two of them doubles, in seven at-bats, but also commits three errors. The winning pitcher is Charley "Sea Lion" Hall, his nickname derives from his deep, booming voice. The loser is James "Hippo" Vaughn, so named because at 6'4" and 215 lbs. he's one of the largest players of the era.

This Day in Sports History - 4/9/2002

Center and team captain Saku Koivu of the Canadiens receives an eight-minute standing ovation from Montreal fans at the Molson Centre before a game against the Ottawa Senators as he returns to the ice for the first time since being sidelined with abdominal cancer at the age of 27. Koivu was declared cancer-free in February 2002. Montreal wins, 4-3, to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 1998. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Montreal will knock off the top-seeded Boston Bruins in six games before losing in the next round to the Carolina Hurricanes. A native of Finland, Koivu is dealt another serious setback in 2006 when struck in the eye by the stick of Justin Williams of the Hurricanes. Koivu suffers a detached retina, but returns to play despite reduced peripheral vision.

This Day in Sports History - 4/4/1974

On Opening Day at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, Hank Aaron ties Babe Ruth as the All-Time Home Run leader with his 714th career HR. The historic blast comes off Jack Billingham on Aaron's first swing of the season, a 3-1 pitch with two runners on base in the first inning. Aaron is presented with the ball by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn and Vice President Gerald Ford in a ceremony at home plate. He'll break the record four days from now, on April 8, in Atlanta's first home game of the season. Aaron finishes his career with 755 HRs and holds the record until he's passed by Barry Bonds in 2007.