Cherokee Parks - Nothing memorable about his play on the court. The only thing that stood out was the massive amount of ink he piled up over the years all over his body. Is anyone in the same boat as me and thinks he got all these tattoos to be the anti-Christ to "Christ"ian Laettner...?? He was in Laettner's shadow during the majority of his Duke career and enters the NBA with pretty much the same skill set, plus size as Laettner. I think I'm on to something or on something.
John Smiley - There's just some things you can't duplicate. The amazing Twins season in 1991 is one example. However, when Jack Morris (workhorse of the staff) left for more money in Toronto. Andy MacPhail tried to work the magic again and replace Morris by acquiring John Smiley from Pittsburgh via trade before the 1992 season. Not a bad move on the surface. However, Smiley left after only one year with the Twins (via free agency)...and we had to watch Denny Neagle (one of us...played for Gophers...who we sent to Pittsburgh in the Smiley trade) go on to have a very good career in the National League. The John Smiley trade was the beginning of the end of competitive baseball in Minnesota for the rest of the 1990's.
Rick Fenney - He only played five years in the NFL (all with the Vikings 1987-1991...and all under Jerry Burns as Head Coach). A Quasi running back/fullback that thrived in a West Coast system in a limited role. His One Shining Moment is somehow having a career average over 4.2 yards a carry while getting the majority of his playing time in goal line situations where yardage is not as easy to rack up.
Townsend Orr - There are many good stories in college athletics, however most get overshadowed...Townsend Orr was a backup for the majority of his college career. Nowadays, that same kid put in Townsend Orr's situation may have transferred to get more playing time elsewhere. Townsend stuck it out and the Golden Gophers went on a rampage through the Great Alaskan Shootout with the leadership and tournament MVP performance of...Townsend Orr. They beat Arizona (Damon Stoudamire), Villanova (Kerry Kittles) and BYU (all eventual tourney teams) to catapult the team into the Top 25 poll.
Mitch Berger - A punter that nibbles on and stashes a half eaten Snickers candy bar in a shoe during a game...to save it for later...for energy...?? Ridiculous on so many levels. All you do is kick a ball...and your kicks don't even put points on the scoreboard...you just kick it around the field and jog back and forth to the sideline. Am I missing anything...how are you expending all this so called energy...and that you need to regain it with a Snickers...??
Denny Hocking - It seems like ages ago...but, the Twins actually won a playoff series in Oakland in 2002. During the celebration, Denny Hocking was spiked on his hand during the celebration pileup in the infield. Some speculate that the spiking of Hocking's hand...was intentional...by Jacque Jones. The funny part...is if that is/was the case...there were more unlikeable guys in that dugout than Hocking...A.J. comes to mind...
Rick Mahorn - Doesn't Rick Mahorn just sum up the Minnesota Timberwolves drafting history of the past, present and future...?? A two team expansion draft (Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves) consists of Orlando landing the 1st overall pick (figures). We then pick Rick Mahorn at pick #2 (our first team pick), but he doesn't want to play with us so we have to ship him to Philadelphia. So...virtually, in only a two team draft...the Timberwolves don't actually make a selection until pick #4 overall.
Tom Nevers - A top amateur athlete that played over at Edina High School. He excelled at both hockey and baseball and was offered a scholarship for both sports at the University of Minnesota. He declined and signed with the Astros after being drafted in the first round. "Nevers never made it to the big leagues." So, the One Shining Moment is having your rookie card in my baseball card collection.
SBG
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