Frank, Bethesda, MD
Subj: What’s in a name?
How did Muggsy Bogues get his nickname?

Most basketball fans recall Tyrone Curtis Bogues as being a cute and huggable ambassador of the game, but the reality is that this 5’3” sparkplug grew up in one of Baltimore’s most dangerous housing projects and saw his father carted off to the clink on an armed robbery charge when he was just 12. "I grew up as hard as you can get it," Bogues told Sports Illustrated years later. "I wasn't proud of what my pops did, but I guess at the time he felt that was his only means of survival." That experience, combined with his diminutive size contributed to Bogues usually being the dirtiest and most physical player on the court. In fact, Bogues manhandled his opponents so much that fellow Dunbar Poet – and 5’5” guard - Dwayne Woods named him “Muggsy” because his style of play reminded him of a mugging. The name stuck and Bogues still answers to his colorful moniker to this day.

NCAA Powerhouses

2011-04-06T07:13:00.001-07:00

This year’s NCAA tournament bracket has plenty of names that may be unfamiliar to casual basketball observers. St. Peters? Never heard of ‘em. Morehead State? Heck, we didn’t even know that Morehead was a state. Luckily for you, we’ve separated the wheat from the chaff with our comprehensive list of NCAA powerhouses. Each of the following programs has been selected to reflect its perennial dominance in tournament and conference play, its list of outstanding alumni, and, of course, it’s overall consistency. There are no Cinderellas here, just collegiate goliaths who are always in the thick of the hunt. Read all about it by clicking here.

2010-01-18T07:29:00.000-08:00

Sit back and relax as you enjoy this week’s Sports Shorts.

Former major league All-Star Jose Offerman threw a punch at an umpire during a Dominican winter league game. Luckily for the ump, Offerman has always been a weak hitter.

Kurt Rambis says he’s embarrassed by the Timberwolves. And anyone who’s seen photos of Rambis during the 80’s knows his embarrassment threshold is remarkably high.

The Mets have reportedly lost faith in the abilities of General Manager Omar Minaya… just two years after the rest of the Western Hemisphere.

John Daly was spotted using a 20-year-old wedge at the Sony Open. It’s nice to hear Tiger Woods isn’t the only one using 20-year-olds these days

David Beckham says he uses Skype to help his son Brooklyn with his homework. That helps explain why Brooklyn is presently repeating third grade.

Michael Beasley says he wishes he worked at McDonald’s so nobody would care about his marijuana use. Luckily for him that wish is just one arrest away.

Former Net Shawne Williams is headed to prison on multiple counts of drug possession. It could be worse: he could he headed back to the Nets.

The Knicks celebrated Italian Heritage Night with the Toronto Raptors in town. The event featured Italian food, Italian music and two guys getting shoved into the trunk of a Cadillac.

Stephon Marbury has signed a contract with Shanxi Zhongyu of the Chinese Basketball Association. Apparently references were not required.

Blake Griffin expects to be healthy by late April… just in time to help the rest of his teammates clean out their lockers.

You've Got To Be Joking

2010-01-14T07:26:00.000-08:00

Sit back and relax as you enjoy this week’s Sports Shorts.

Tiger Woods has reportedly entered a sex rehab clinic in Arizona. He’s not addicted to sex; he just went to meet some women who are.

GM has decided to stop loaning Tiger Woods free Cadillac’s. On the positive side, he should be able to hitch a ride from any one of his 57 girlfriends.

Dwight Howard and LeBron James have decided to pull out of the Slam Dunk Contest. We’re amazed: We had no idea NBA players knew HOW to pull out.

Victoria Beckham has undergone breast reduction surgery. It sounds like David Beckham is back to being the biggest boob in the family.

Washington shot only 44 percent in a surprising loss to Detroit. It’s nice to hear the Wizards are shooting blanks for a change.

Nets forward Josh Boone says he would love to stay in New Jersey. Boone later retracted his statement after being informed there are 49 other states in the U.S.

The Baseball Hall of Fame has announced they’re keeping Mark McGwire’s bat in Cooperstown. That’s too bad: we were hoping they’d use it to beat some sense into Jose Canseco.

The Lakers have become the first NBA team to reach 3,000 wins. And to think, all it took was being in the same division as the Clippers.

Major League Baseball plans to discuss the expanded use of instant replay. The news is being celebrated by fans who have always felt baseball wasn’t quite slow enough.

The Florida Marlins are set to visit U.S. military troops in Iraq and Kuwait. It’s the perfect mission for a team that’s used to getting blown out.

Question of the Week

2010-01-13T07:33:00.000-08:00

Richard, Cincinnati, OH
Subj: Buckeyes Basketball
Is it true that Hall of Famer John Havlicek tried out for the Cleveland Browns after leaving Ohio State?

That’s correct, Richard. Hondo first started popping up on the NFL’s radar in high school when he was an all-state quarterback. Although he elected not to play on the gridiron in college teams still kept tabs on his physical development and he was drafted by both the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Browns in 1962. The idea of starring in two separate sports clearly appealed to him and he reported to the Browns training camp that summer where he was groomed as a lanky wide receiver. Unfortunately, the team was already loaded at his position and Havlicek was cut just before the first game of the season. He later called the incident the most crushing disappointment of his otherwise distinguished athletic career. On the positive side, the demotion made Havlicek work even harder at basketball and he went onto become a 13-time NBA All-Star and a nine-time world champion before hanging up his sneakers in 1978.