Minor League Assignments

Looking for your favorite ProUtes on the baseball diamond? Brian Budrow, Ryan Khoury, and Chris Shelton have all been reassigned this season. Budrow is pitching for the South Bend Silver Hawks, the class A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Khoury has gone from the Portland Sea Dogs to the Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston's triple A affiliate. Shelton is now in the Houston Astros organization, currently assigned to the triple A Round Rock Express.

Utah Man in the Arena

Arena Football returns to action tonight, but I have to say I'm not as excited to follow the Utah Blaze now that I can no longer find Jason Boone or Derrek Richards on the roster. The only connection to the University of Utah on the team is Brett Elliott, the quarterback who lost his starting spot to Alex Smith due to injury. Elliott then transferred to Linfield, a Div. III school where he excelled, winning a national championship and setting all kinds of records. He signed with the San Diego Chargers as a free agent, then joined the AFL. Now that the league is back Elliott is back in Utah.

Tommy Grady, a qb who did not enjoy similar success after transferring from Oklahoma to Utah, returns to his roots as a member of the Oklahoma City Yard Dogz.

The player I'm most excited to see back on the field is Steve Fifita, one of the heroes of the Fiesta Bowl. Fifita spent a couple of years with the Miami Dolphins but didn't have the size for the NFL. He does have a non-stop motor, which may be a better fit for Arena Football anyhow! He plays for the Alabama Vipers.

One player who will not be returning with the revived AFL is Phil Glover, but that's probably for the best. Some guys don't know when to walk away from the game while they still can!

Bad Break

Andrew Bogut broke his right hand, sprained his wrist, and dislocated his elbow when he fell in Saturday's game against the Suns. The big fella got out on the fast break, threw it down with two hands, then fell and broke his hand. It's gruesome to watch on the replay and I won't post it or link to it here. It's sickening to watch and sickening because it forces an early end to what had been a breakout season for the big Buck. Bogut had 12 points in just 12 minutes against Phoenix, on 6-of-7 shooting. A big man ought to be rewarded for hustling down the floor like he did, not drop to the floor like he did. That's just not right. His team went on to win the game without him, but the injury is a serious blow to Milwaukee's playoff hopes.

Sims Signs, Smith the Spokesman

Barry Sims signed a one-year contract with the 49ers yesterday, returning to a reserve role. The 11 year veteran provides consistency and experience for an emerging young offense.

The Carolina Panthers are revamping their offense and getting younger on both sides of the ball. Steve Smith has always been outspoken, but now his role as team spokesman is official: he is the union rep for the Panthers. Smith's comments about the Panthers' personnel moves are somewhat more calculated and less candid than we're used to hearing from the vocal wide out. Is Steve Smith going corporate on us?

Bogut's Bucks

Andrew Bogut came up big for the Bucks again last night scoring 25 points, snagging 17 rebounds, and swatting 4 shots to lead Milwaukee to a 86-84 win over Boston. The Bucks have now won 10 of their last 11 games, climbing from 9th to 5th in the Eastern Conference, and their success is squarely on the seven-footer's shoulders. I recall a conversation dating back to before Bogut was drafted with someone who will remain as nameless as he was clueless when he said Bogut wouldn't make a good pro player. It has taken the former #1 pick a few years to overcome some injuries and other setbacks, but he's no Michael Olowakandi! He's one of the top centers in the Eastern Conference, and Bogut's Bucks are a contender!

ProDay 2010

The University of Utah held it's pro day workouts on Monday, with 16 prospects participating. Defensive end Koa Misi continues to impress scouts in all of his workouts, and is projected to be a possible second round/probable third round pick. Misi will convert to outside linebacker in the NFL like Paul Kruger did last year with the Ravens. The offensive line coaches of the Ravens, Seahawks, and Steelers came to this year's pro day to evaluate Zane Beadles, another top prospect. Wide receiver David Reed and linebacker Stevenson Sylvester are the other players who stand a good chance of hearing their names called during the new three day draft format, held on April 22-24. Twenty teams sent representatives to Salt Lake City, including a wide receiver coach and a linebacker coach from the Browns. Gil Brandt of NFL.com reports that two players who weren't invited to the combine, safety Robert Johnson and cornerback R.J. Stanford, also had stand out performances on Monday. That comes as no surprise to Utah fans who watched Johnson stand out all season!

Free Agent Moves

The Carolina Panthers parted ways with one of their defensive linemen yesterday. I'm talking about ProUte Ma'ake Kemoeatu here, not Julius Peppers. The latter is leaving Carolina for Chicago as a free agent, but the former was released yesterday along with quarterback Jake Delhomme. Kemoeatu ruptured his Achilles tendon during the first 30 minutes of training camp last summer and complications have required multiple surgeries, the Charlotte Observer reports. Kemoeatu is a casualty of injury as much as salary cap changes this upcoming season.

Spring training has already opened for the upcoming MLB season, and ProUte Chris Shelton is in camp with the Houston Astros. Shelton signed a $500,000 Minor league contract in December. He had a tremendous spring camp with Seattle in 2009, and now he has a chance to show Houston what he can bring to the Astros.