I always knew Ankiel was a Dick

From The St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Ankiel has been preoccupied recently about when it is age appropriate for him to shorten his given name, Richard, to "Dick" instead of "Rick." Some friends and clubhouse denizens have already taken to calling him "Dick" this spring. He calls it an instant "ice-breaker."

That Dick Ankiel, always redefining himself.

I'm a little shocked, Cubs fans have been calling Ankiel a Dick since he debuted for the Cardinals on the mound. Oh well, I guess it's official now.

Like we didn't already know.

Terrell, Torry and a strange NFL trend

This break from Missouri Valley Conference coverage is brought to you by some random NFL thoughts.

Terrell Owens will not suit when the Dallas Cowboys open their new stadium next season. Not unless he's wearing an opponents uniform. Dallas cut ties with the volatile wide out and I don't need a working radio to know Bears fans were buzzing about the idea of having one of the NFL's most talented players on their team.

Too bad Bears management was probably not listening.

Sure, Owens might be considered the worst teammate in the world by some. But he'd be the Bears best receiver by far. Granted, that's not hard when your No. 1 pass catcher is best known not for catching passes, but for getting pass interference calls on the opponent.

Yep, welcome to Bears football.

I know GM Jerry Angelo preaches good character players on his team and that might be the reason that keeps Owens out of a Bears uniform. This of course coming from the man that drafted Cedric Benson and Tank Johnson and gave lengthy extensions to Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs.

So what's stopping the Bears from >adding Owens to the Dream Team of Model Citizens?

Oh yeah, talent.

Because if you have talent, the Bears don't want you -- fact.

In other Cowboys-related news, Dallas is now down to only one Roy Williams.

Moving on to Torry Holt and a very odd NFL trend.

Holt, a Pro Bowl receiver with the St. Louis Rams, reportedly asked for his release Thursday. He has only one more year remaining on his current contract, but after having a rock-bottom year with the 2-14 Rams, Holt is probably looking for a change of scenery.

After reaching career lows in all the important receiver categories, hiring of Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo probably doesn't make Holt want to show up to Rams camp.

But what's with all these players asking for their releases? It seems like an epidemic. Why are all these multi-millionaires so unhappy they are basically asking for a team to pull its paycheck. NFLers must think they are recession proof.

Maybe this crummy economy is just a figment of my imagination.

One AB 101 Years In The Making

Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton is one dangerous dude.

He currently stands as one of the elite power hitters in the American League, hitting .304 with 28 home runs and 114 runs batted in, and everyone knows about the 30 million bombs he hit at Yankee Stadium during the Home Run Derby. But what happened Sunday night hasn't been seen in more than 100 years.

Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Madden asked for Hamilton to be intentionally walked with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with the Rays hanging onto a 7-3 lead. Hamilton's RBI walk brought the Rangers within a run at 7-4 before Dan Wheeler retired Marlon Byrd to end the game.

The last time this happened was when Buck Showalter (then employed by the Arizona Diamondbacks) gave Barry Bonds the bases loaded free pass to force in a run. Better yet, Bonds was inserted in the game as a pinch-hitter for left fielder Chris Jones, who was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI.

Yet, Showalter walked Bonds, then walked a way with a victory.

Just like the Rays.

Bases-loaded intentional walk to Hamilton pays for Rays [Fort Worth Star-Telegram]