NHL Great Bob Probert Passes at Age 45

DETROIT (AP) — Retired hockey enforcer Bob Probert, as adept with his fists as with a stick in a 16-season career with the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks, died Monday after suffering chest pains while boating with his family. He was 45.


``Bob lost the fight of his life this afternoon,'' said Probert's father-in-law, Dan Parkinson, a police officer who performed CPR before Probert was rushed to Ontario's Windsor Regional Medical Center.


Probert was on a boat in Lake St. Clair with his wife, children and in-laws when he ``developed severe chest pains'' Monday, family friend Rich Rogow told a Monday evening news conference at the medical center.


``This is a tragedy for the family,'' Parkinson said. ``We ask that you respect their privacy at this time.''


Probert, who struggled to overcome drinking problems during his time in the NHL, played for the Red Wings in 1985-1994 and for the Blackhawks in 1995-2002.




It is always sad to see a legend of any professional sport pass away at such a young age. Bob Probert was one of the toughest enforcers in the NHL during his 16 years of service (9 for Detroit, 7 for Chicago). In 935 games, Probert tallied 163 goals and 221 assists for 384 points. To go with his satisfactory scoring touch, Probert was a hell of a fighter. He set the Detroit Red Wings franchise records for total penalty minutes (2,090) and penalty minutes in a single season (398). He climbed his way up to 5th on the all-time NHL list for penalty minutes in a career (3,300). In total, Probert dropped the gloves 329 times in his professional hockey career, 303 of those fights happening at the NHL level. Hell, I don't know if I would drop the gloves with an NHLer 1 time. Forget 303 times. Probert was a warrior, and he truly set the bar for a modern day enforcer. The NHL community will miss you, Bob. The big, bad hockey fans of the 80s and 90s will miss your style of play that has dwindled away in modern day hockey. You may have been the last truly fearless fighter we'll see for a long, long time.


Best wishes to the family and friends of Bob Probert (June 5, 1965 --- July 5, 2010). To his wife and four children, all of our hearts go out to you. Rest in peace, Bob. Rest in peace.




Credit to Jack G on the find.

Wait... You Can Do That?

Eric Patterson? Is that you? You're like 4'1" right? About 72 lbs? How did you just manage to hit two homers in a game against the Rays? I'm quite confused but heavily elated by this phenomenon. Sure, if David Ortiz or Adrian Beltre hits two homers that's understandable. Or even if Pedroia puts on a laser show, he's Pedroia. But Eric Patterson is still Eric Patterson. He looks like a miniature twig. And he just blasted two home runs out of Tropicana Field. I love it. Matt Garza & company.... you should be ashamed. The Red Sox have become Tampa's daddy again. It's official. (Considering about 2.7% of our starting lineup is intact.)

UPDATE -- Dice-K has imploded and the Red Sox don't look like Tampa's daddy anymore tonight. However, they are still Tampa's daddy on an overall scale.

JaMarcus Russell Arrested in Alabama for Possession of Codeine Syrup

MOBILE, Ala.  --  Former Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell was arrested today for possession of a controlled substance, according to the Mobile County Sheriff's Office.


The substance was codeine syrup, spokeswoman Lori Myles said.


Myles said Russell was arrested at his home early this afternoon during an undercover investigation. He was booked into Mobile Metro Jail at 4:22 p.m. Russell was released minutes later after making $2,500 bail, according to online records.


Russell is scheduled to appear in court on July 20. A bond hearing is set for July 7.


Russell played high school football at Williamson High School in Mobile. He played quarterback for LSU from 2003 to 2006 and was the No. 1 draft pick for the Raiders in 2007.


Russell went 7-18 as a starting QB. The Raiders released Russell last May.


Well, this just about puts a cap on the biggest #1 bust of all time, huh? I mean they even had to mention in in his news story about getting busted for drugs. Russell went 7-18 as a starting QB. That was a very unnecessary line in relation to his drug investigation. Would he have been let off the hook if his record was 24-1? Well, I guess he wouldn't be doing crazy drugs and wasting his life away if he was 24-1. But the fact is, he is 7-18 and he got released by the Raiders. That might possibly be the ultimate low in all of sports. Especially when you combine his win-loss record with that. And the fact that he was a first overall pick. And just his whole life at this point. Complete bust. What's the over/under he ever takes an NFL snap again in his life? I'll set the bar at 10% chance.

C's Find Big Man, Sign Erden

The Celtics needed to address the issue of a center this offseason, and they feel they may have helped themselves with the signing of 2008 second round draft pick Semih Erden. Erden is 7'0", 240 lbs and a native of Turkey. He started on his Turkish League team this season, and that team won the championship of the league.

You never know how this guy could turn out. Maybe he's the answer? Who knows. He'll have to earn his stripes at the C's summer league games. That's when the staff will get their first real close look at him. Kevin Garnett was promoting Erden on his facebook page, saying that he should be brought to Boston. Ainge has followed through -- now let's see if he lives up to any of the expectations.

Atlanta Signs Joe Johnson to Silly Deal

The Atlanta Hawks won the sweepstakes for Joe Johnson. Regarded as a second tier free agent, who could have guess what team would snatch him up. I mean, he can't be as high on the list as guys like LeBron or D-Wade, right? Well, you sure wouldn't know that from the salary the Hawks dished out.

Johnson signed a silly-huge contract yesterday -- 6 years and $119 million -- to stay with his current squad, the Atlanta Hawks. Is there any way this deal is the right move for the Hawks? I mean, Johnson is a good player. Very good player. But this is a max deal over 6 years. He is usually the second option to Josh Smith on what is at-best a very good offense. Nothing spectacular. His 21.3 points-per-game last season is a fairly pedestrian number given the enormity of his salary. His career averages through 699 NBA games? 17.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists. Solid NBA player with better numbers since he came to ATL. He's averaged over 20 PPG every season with the Hawks. Still... 6 years at $119 million? Absurdity.

If I were a gambling man, I would put that same value of cash with a bookie on Atlanta never winning a championship this next decade. There's a fine line between spending aggressively and stupidly overspending. To me, Atlanta has committed a managerial crime of the latter form.

Ultra Awkward Story of the Day

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A San Diego resident awoke to a shocking discovery: a naked stranger passed out on his downstairs sofa.

San Diego police Lt. Jim Filley says the Pacific Beach homeowner called police after wandering downstairs Sunday morning and finding the snoring man.

Filley says the naked man was drunk and thought he was in his own home in Mission Valley, some 20 miles away.

The man, whose name wasn't released, had taken off his clothes outside the house and walked in through the unlocked front door.

The homeowner declined to press charges. And since the intruder had sobered up, he was released to find his own way home.




Well this is an awkward story. I don't know whether or not it's more awkward, less awkward, or equally awkward to the awkward turtle dance, but it's certainly the most awkward story you'll read on Ultimate Boston today. What struck me was the matter-of-fact manner they tell this story in. Not much of a shock really. The homeowner found a naked man on his couch, he went home once he was sober. No big deal. Actually it is kind of a big deal, but whatever I guess.


PS -- Homeowner's fault. Who doesn't lock their door while they sleep in this day and age? You're asking to be murdered or burglarized. They're lucky it was just a super twisted dude trying to get some shut-eye. Could have been a lot worse.

Smooth Move, Kobayashi

For those of you who missed it, we previewed the 2010 Hot Dog Eating Contest a few days ago and explained the fiasco over Kobayashi and the administration. He couldn't agree to a contract or something. Amazing that they didn't have the second best eater in the world facing off against the first -- it's just common sense. And I respected Kobayashi, putting the blame on the administration for failing to negotiate with him. I respected him until this happened.

You saw the video correctly. Kobayashi got arrested at the contest for crashing the celebration. Joey Chestnut's celebration, that is (he wolfed down 54 hot dogs in 10 minutes to win for the fourth year in a row). Seriously Kobayashi? If you wanted in on the competition so bad, why didn't you just sign whatever negotiation the eating contest wanted? I mean it couldn't have been that bad. It's not like they were going to imprison him as the collateral price. It was probably a very minor disagreement. But if you didn't want to do that -- fine. Don't come crashing through forbidden grounds though. Don't interrupt Joey's championship celebration. Chestnut owned you, and like I said in the preview, your time at the top is over. You could have gone out in respectful fashion. But instead, you decided to embarrass yourself and get owned by America on America's big day -- July 4th. Congratulations... nobody respects you anymore.

Once again, congratulations to Joey Chestnut for being the greatest hot dog eater ever.

USA! USA! USA!

Dear Americans,

       Everyone should be out enjoying themselves on this beautiful day. Go to cookouts, have some fun, play outdoor games, appreciate our wonderful nation, watch some fireworks, and make your 2010 4th of July unforgettable. As for me, I'm taking my first vacation day from Ultimate Boston. Because I get to choose when I take my vacation days, because I run the blog. So Independence Day is mine. Barring something huge happening in the sports world, don't expect to see anything from me today. From all of us here at UB, we wish you a very happy fourth and we'll see you right back here tomorrow (or maybe late tonight).

Cheers,

DRob & the Ultimate Boston Staff

There's Something About Mikhail

Step aside Mark Cuban, there’s a new sheriff in town.

All the recent ado in the league is about LeBron James. LeBron James is obviously every team’s white whale; a jack of all trades basketball player who is a master of all of them and is entering his prime. I’d sell my DVD collection and my left hand to see LeBron in a Celtic uniform. Unfortunately, the Celtics have a core group and no cap space. However, one team, the last place Nets, have a great chance of landing the megastar.

Why would a last place team get LeBron? Well, look at the owner. A Russian BILLIONAIRE who has nothing but money to spend. Not only that, but he has the ability to make LeBron even more of a superstar; with Mikhail Prokhorov, LeBron has the chance to become a star in Russia, China, Europe, wherever. Prokhorov will make sure of this as long as LeBron is wearing a Nets jersey. This is a win-win situation; LeBron has the chance to get marketing deals all over the world, and Prokhorov has a launching pad in LeBron to make his team one of the biggest franchises in the world.

I absolutely love this Russian guy. I wish he could own every Boston team. He’ll be like Mark Cuban minus the loud-mouth, cheerleader quality; he’ll pour money into this team, move them to Brooklyn, sign big names such as LeBron and other top free agents, but only attend 4-5 games a year. Why would he do this? Because he sees this team as an investment. As long as he can turn a profit from this team, he doesn’t care about the titles. Sure, a title and a few playoff runs will help make more money, but if he is making money either way, he doesn’t care. Do you think that this guy will fly from Russia to the armpit of America known as New Jersey to see his basketball team play? Hell no. He’ll make obligatory appearances, and leave it at that as he continues to rain cash upon this lowly franchise. 

David Stern is going to love this guy too. As long as Nets banners, billboards, shirts and what not are present in other continents, so is the NBA logo. Prokhorov will be a cash cow for the league if his investment pays off. Plus, he won’t be screaming at refs like Cuban, someone who Stern openly despises. Stern is going to treat Prokhorov like a son just like Frank Diaz did in Tony Montana in Scarface.

Maybe he’ll be a bust, not on the level of Adam Morrison, but still pretty big. He may own the team for a few years, not grab anyone of note, and sell the team to an American timber tycoon. But if this guy can become a mega-owner and turn the awful Nets into a global team, and more importantly a force in the NBA, he can be a savior to NBA fans, especially Nets fans.

Vote 1 if you think this guy won't deliver or Vote 5 if you think he'll be the real deal.

Lesnar Still On Top

UFC 116 tonight featured what was probably the most highly anticipated matchup in the history of the UFC. True heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar looked to defend his title against interim champion Shane Carwin. After all the hype, all the predictions, and all the normal trash talking, the two tapped gloves and we were underway.

In the first round, it looked to Lesnar fans as if it would be a quick disappointment. Carwin was landing the strikes first and beating Brock to the punch on every move. He got Lesnar to the ground and pinned him against the cage, pounding his face and forcing Brock into a very defensive posture. At one point in the round, you could have even argued for the fight to be stopped with Lesnar being deemed defenseless. It continued though, and Brock was able to survive the first round against Carwin.

That last sentence hadn't been done before against Carwin. Ever. No one in the UFC had ever taken him into the second round. That statistic showed itself quite clearly, as Carwin appeared gassed in the second round. His rapid fire punches and animal-like attack from round one had drained him. Brock had survived, and in round two, he got the takedown. It was all Lesnar needed. He ended up choking out Carwin, who fought off the tap as long as he could. But Brock Lesnar is a very strong man (understatement of the year). And Carwin was unable to keep himself in the choke hold without tapping. Your undisputed heavyweight champion of the world: Brock Lesnar.