Recently in Sports Category

The Hound has always believed that golf is, as Mark Twain described it, "A good walk spoiled." The Hound has more friends than Britney Spears has right about now who have been seduced by the game of golf and all the folderol that goes with it.

You know who you are. The ones who believe a new set of clubs, a new driver, a new ball, a new wardrobe, will improve your scores. They don't. Only one thing improves scores. Ask the pros. It's playing time. Hour after grueling hour.

But, about Master's time, The Hound's ears perk up. It 's not every sport that gives out a green sport coat for winning a tournament. Super Bowl rings can be a bit ostentatious, but a green jacket? Well, who can't use one of those every day?

So, with everybody all of a sudden concerned about going green, The Hound wondered how many Lake County courses are actually, well, green.

Not many, according to the eco-friendly golf course Web site www.golfandenvironment.org.

Of course, Florida would have the most einvironmentally green golf courses, according to the site, which is operated by the Audubon Society. Surprisingly, Orchard Hills Golf Course, operated by the Waukegan Park District, failed to make the cut.

Courses in the county which made the list --- actually, lesser tiers of the list --- are mainly operated by the Lake County Forest Preserve District. Wonder what that costs county taxpayers?

But here's our green golf courses, according to the Audubon Society:

ThunderHawk in Beach Park, considered by some to be the county's premiere public course; Biltmore Country Club in North Barrington (is that near Honey Lake?); Brae Loch Golf Course, owned by the county, in Grayslake; Countryside west of Mundelein, also owned by the county; and Ivanhoe Club, the gated golf community west of Mundelein whose members don't want to look at a Super Wal-Mart.

The Audubon Society failed to rank the courses according to fish fries. Fore!

In one of the greatest basketball games The Hound has ever witnessed, Ronald Steward became a hero for his fans and every player who's ever hoped to score from half court with a last-millisecond shot to take the Zee-Bees into the state finals.

What does a team like this do for an encore?

Talk about your icemen. There's Steward and then there's Coach Don Kloth who noted calmly after the game winning three-pointer he and his team were, "Livin' for the moment." Undoubtedly. In a game that was even-up all the way, what a finish.

Steward's spectacular shot gave the Zee-Bees a 54-51 win over the Evanston Wildkits and cemented a first- or second-place finish on Saturday in the state 4A finals in Peoria. Do teams really practice that last-minute, Hail Mary, or did he go solo? Who knows, who cares.

The Hound thought the game was in doubt when Zachary Morton of Evanston drained a trey from the outfield. It certainly was over after the steal. But then it turned around in a flash and Ronald "Iceman" Steward hit that three-pointer on the sweet spot of the glass and The Valley was abuzz. On to the next round.

Yowza, it doesn't get any better than this hoops fans.

Lost in the shuffle of March Madness, spring training and Brett Favre's long-overdue retirement, The Hound has been bereft in pointing out we're less than six months to the Beijing Olympics. To mark that countdown, the Chicago 2016 committee bidding for that year's Olympics has opened an online store to raise funds for the effort.

While fans in Packer Nation are crying in their beer and brats because of the abrupt retirement of Green Bay Packers uber QB Brett Favre, The Hound is happy as getting new straw in the dog house. Thanks for the memories, Brett --- not! Thanks for the nightmares, you mean.

Now that Waukegan's own Gary Bennett has 'fessed up to employing human growth hormones, what does Major League Baseball have in store for the new backup catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers?

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan must think U of I students, faculty and alumni are dummies, despite the fact they attend or graduated from one of the nation's top institutions of higher learning. Madigan is warning Illini fans to be on guard against Rose Bowl scams.

It's a sad day when the Monsters of the Midway get relegated to a low-power UHF station which is what happens tonight when the Bears square off against the Washington Redskins --- if you don't have the NFL Network at your dog house. Where, oh, where sports fans, has this season gone except south?

The following must mean the apocalypse is nearer than we think: At this point in the National Football League It is the first time since 1984 that the National Football League has teams with 11-0 and 0-11 records. Everybody knows what happened in 1984, right? Ronald Reagan was re-elected in a landslide.

Is The Hound the only one not astounded that Barry Bonds has been charged with federal perjury and obstruction of justice charges for allegedly knowing about performance-enhancing steroids?

The boy's in the Toy Department have their free windbreakers in a knot because Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher won't talk to them. Or if he does, it's one- or two-word answers. Boo-hoo.