A cash-strapped Packers fan needed a way to pay for his season tickets, and with 11 kids (hey now) he couldn’t take it out of the family budget. So he decided to sell his blood. And oddly enough, it saved his Packer-loving life.

“Jim Becker, now 79, along with his wife, Patricia, raised 11 children (all Packers fans). Needless to say, money was tight, but Jim had season tickets to pay for, but he wouldn’t take money away from the family. So he found out he could sell his blood for $15 a pint. The Packers saved his life.

During a routine physical, he had to fill out a questionnaire about family medical history. The doctor noticed Jim’s father died at 43 years old of hemochromatosis. Jim had to be tested. He had it. It is a condition that retains excessive amounts of iron in your blood. The only treatment is to remove the iron by giving blood. By then he had sold 145 pints of blood to pay for his season tickets. If he hadn’t, he very well may have died like his father. His love of the Packers saved his life. To this day he still donates 3-4 times a month.”

For his efforts Becker was enshrined in the Packers fans Hall of Fame. He also won a bunch of Packers tickets and swag. That’s a pretty awesome story. I doubt we will find Jim’s picture in the Crazy Packers Fan Hall of Fame. That’s a whole different kind of Hall. From a life-long Bears fan to a Packers fan, I doff my cap to you, Mr. Jim Becker.

I like Leach if only because he says what he feels and doesn’t have a filter. We don’t get much of that these days. But here, ESPN is just trying to add fuel to the fire. More wacky goodness? Yes! But it isn’t ‘ripping’.

A brand new season of “Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!” is underway. The first episode was a spoof SNL and included this gem from Dr. Steve Brule, the greatest character of the new millennium. It also included diarrhea. But that goes without saying.

h/t: 13gb

Who knew. Willie Mays started out his career in a 1-26 funk. Even the greats can start their careers with a rough ride. But obviously that didn’t last long, as Mays became perhaps the most complete player that baseball has ever seen. In Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend, James S. Hirsch gives readers a spirited account of what it was like to watch Willie Mays play, of what it was to be Willie Mays on the field.

Everyone knows of “The Catch”, but a whole chapter of the book gives readers insight into the whole event. When manager Leo Durocher was asked after the game if that was the greatest catch he had ever seen, Durocher responded harshly. “What the f— are you talking about? Willie makes f——catches like that every day. Do you keep your f—— eyes open in the press box?” Durocher was a staunch defender of Mays and called him the “greatest player I ever laid eyes on.”

For fans of my era, it’s important to read a book like this to understand the in depth the greatness of Mays. Hirsch has made this an enjoyable endeavor with his biography of “The Say Hey Kid”.  Here is an interview with Hirsch about his book.

Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend

Straight from Mom’s basement…it’s what’s hot and happening in the sports blogosphere. Something we like to call… Bloggination Domination

• Nothing says “Ron Artest” or “Josh Howard” like Sesame Street characters singing. [Sharapova's Thigh]
• Average looking athlete dating far more attractive Nobody. Shocker. [MajorLeague Jerk]
• Never too early to figure out how to lose your pool. Get yer March Madness preview and schedule. [Midwest Sports Fans]
• Looks like the Bears new POP Tim Ruskell has his detractors. Maybe too many. [Blog Down, Chicago Bears]
• Yeah, brother! The Hulkamaniacs were runnin’ wild at the Fu-Fest! [7th Inning Stache]
• Epic meltdown. Bubby Brister blows his stack. [PSaMP]
• New iPhone App keeps you from getting Tiger’d! [No Guts, No Glory]
• Stay hungry. Or not. The US men’s curling team has pulled out of the nationals. Too tired. [Guyism]
• Suck it up, USA. The neighbors to the north need to own something. Here are the top 5 Canadian hockey goals. [Gunaxin]
• Bellator MMA tournament coming back to Chicago and national TV [Chicago's MMA]
• That Floyd Mayweather likes to play basketball…and talk trash. It’s Gridiron Celebrity Hoops! [Global Sports Fraternity]
• Watch out for this former Penguin as a sleeper in the NFL Draft [Paneech]
• Might be a better fight than you think: World’s strongest man to fight former UFC champ [The Cage Doctors]
• And finally, 1985 Bears awesomeness on video! [Chicago Sports Mob]

McGwire saying that he “truly believe this game is 98% mental” seems very odd considering his past proclivity to shooting roids. The whole thing still seems weird and I don’t see how this benefits the Cardinals at all. Seeing Pujols and McGwire together would be like DLee and Sosa talking about the intricacies of hitting. Just odd.