Remembering Alex Karras (1935-2012)

Alex Karras died this morning after battling kidney failure at the age of 77.

Karras was a star defensive tackle at the University of Iowa before spending his 12-year career terrorizing offenses for the Detroit Lions. It was a career with four All-Pro seasons and a missed 1963 season after he was suspended by then-Commissioner Pete Rozelle for gambling. The missed year was not enough to knock him off the Pro Football Hall of Fame's All-Decade Team for the 1960s.

For those of a younger vintage, however, Karras was better known for his acting. He was the dad on TV's "Webster" during the 1980s and other television series. However, his most memorable role, at least in this writer's opinion, was that Mongo in Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles," which featured this memorable scene.

Ready for college hoops season?

In the widening world of sports media, we here at Wait Til Next Century are always on the lookout for creative ways to promote teams. The White Sox, among others have had some fun ones in recent years, and anything that promotes and remembers that sports are supposed to be fun and games is almost always a good thing.

Fast forward to this year, and this creative spot for the Marquette University men's basketball team featuring junior Jamil Wilson that is designed to gear us up for the upcoming season, with practice beginning in just a couple of weeks.