Catching up with Bayo and more...

Unless you're younger than 16 then all Bradley fans remember Adebayo Akinkunle, pretty much always known as Bayo.
I ran into Bayo yesterday and has a really nice change to talk with him. He works at the Goose Island Brewery & Restaurant about 1/2 block south of Wrigley Field. He also works as a trader in the markets in Chicago but with his outgoing personality, he's perfect for this job where he interacts with thousands of people on game days.
Getting to see the White Sox come back and win a great game was only secondary to the experience chatting with Bayo - who remembered us from days at Bradley and was happy to see me wearing my Bradley logo hat!

Bayo is fully retired from playing ball. His knees are troubling him and he can't play any more. He is still single for you women in Chicago but he's also still in great shape.

Bayo talked about his days at Chicago's Morgan Park HS, at BU, and he played in Germany, China, and Japan, averaging double figures during most of his professional career. He still loves to talk about his days at Bradley and remembers them fondly. When he learned that I still talk occasionally with Coach Mo & Carol, he passed on his greetings and also had good words about his relationship with them.

So if you get to Chicago for a Cubs game, then get there early and hit the Goose Island Brewpub...
http://www.gooseisland.com/pages/wrigleyville_location/66.php

He works "supervising patrons" - which just may be a fancier name for a bouncer...but there are strict regulations near Wrigley that nobody can carry alcoholic beverages out of any establishment onto streets or to the park...and of course there are also times that a BIG, intimidating figure can go a long way to keeping peace when you have a place packed with BOTH Sox and Cub fans - and he helps if people need to be carded.

Bayo is one of my all time favorite Braves. I'd have had a great time just going to the game with friends & family but meeting up with Bayo was great.



Speaking of Coach Mo -- look what IU's Tom Crean tweeted -- a little shout out to Jim Molinari -
http://twitter.com/#!/TomCrean/status/86914515685478400



There was a great article today about BU's incoming freshmen...
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=18785



I find it an interesting irony that these two news stories occur at almost the same time--

-President Obama attacks people who use private jets

-Like Calipari & Bill Self, New Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger gets gobs of hours of private jet use!



Uh oh -- now the heat is really getting turned on at Oregon -- new revelations that Oregon is paying for recruits...
Will the NCAA even bend an ear?? Thus far it has taken years of push from bloggers and media to get the NCAA interesting in massive cheating schemes at big schools like the Reggie Bush scandal and OJ Mayo.
http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/feed/2011-07/oregon-investigation/story/lyles-oregon-paid-me-for-my-access-to-recruits



Yet another bold prediction -- just as last year when IU fans predicted that the Hoosiers would play in the post season -- even though they were the worst team in the Big Ten - now they're predicting they'll not only get to the NCAA, but that they will also win an NCAA Tournament game! We'll see.......
http://www.crimsonquarry.com/2011/6/22/2237231/the-indiana-hoosiers-will-win-an-ncaa-tournament-game-in-2012



Marquette AD steps down in the wake of a sexual assault scandal and the poor handing of it...Tom Crean has to be pretty happy he's out of there.
Marquette is definitely trying to grab the honor of most renegade institution!!
http://www.anonymouseagle.com/2011/7/1/2254425/another-day-another-pr-nightmare-for-marquette

Marquette has bent over backwards to hide the identity of the four players involved in the sexual assault..
Amazing how often -- at Marquette, Michigan, Saint Louis, etc.. - that assaults like this involving athletes simply get dropped and never investigated or pursued!
http://www.wisn.com/news/27345574/detail.html

The they simply brush it all under the rug...even though four different athletes are involved in two different assault incidents!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjjjTPrZ-D0&feature=relmfu
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-marquette-sex-assaults-20110621,0,6489360.story?page=1&track=rss

BUT -- other Marquette players are being prosecuted for other assault charges...
http://www.wisn.com/news/27594018/detail.html



USA basketball again struggled and barely pulled out a 2-pt win over unheralded Serbia..
US again with 20 turnovers, only 10 assists, and 1-13 shooting from outside the arc.
Doug McDermott had 4 pts.
http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/u19/11_mu19_wc02.html



The rosters are filling up for the Eurobasket leagues where players can market their talents in hope of catching on with a European team...
Here are all the players involved so far...
http://www.eurobasketsummerleague.com/Players-2011.asp

Most names are pretty obscure, but a few are familiar...
-Marcus Jackson, ex-Marquette, South Plains, and Peoria Richwoods Knights player
-LaPhonso Ellis, Jr. - son of the great player from East St. Louis. Jr. played at Greenville College
-NIU's Mike McKinney
-and a kid named Djvon Simpson who was a walk on at SIU but never dressed or played
-Tim Parham from UMES - cousin of ISU's assistant Paris Parham.



Coach John Calipari takes on the argument to recruits that they wil be seen and noticed by the NBA teams no matter where they play --
here's Calipari's rebuttal to that...
"You will get exposure wherever you go.”
True, there are several places where young men can showcase their talents and receive a world class education but what’s different here at UK is that you get what I call “The Kentucky Effect.” That means a 20 percent bump in Draft position, potential shoe contracts, marketing and other facets. Sometimes it seems like our players are 20 percent taller, faster and stronger too. Again, we aren’t the only school like that, but we are the one that will have the most direct affect on that through our national TV exposure and our ability to play in the nation’s top venues and tournaments."

http://www.coachcal.com/2011/07/01/coach-cals-holiday-message/