A sad end to a sad story…former Seton Hall 1 and done star and ex-NBAer Eddie Grffin has died after the SUV he was driving ran into the side of a moving train and caught fire in what appears to have been a suicide…apparently the wreckage was so gruesome that investigators had to use dental records to identify him…Griffin, who lasted five years in the NBA was the No. 7 pick in the 2001 NBA draft…he came out of the Hall as a tremendous shot-blocker and rebounder who’s offensive game needed work, but would have blossomed had he been able to hold it together…Griffin had battled substance abuse and emotional/mental illness his entire career…"Everybody tried to help him from the top to the bottom of the organization," said Dwayne Casey, who coached Griffin for 1 1/2 seasons with the T-Wolves. "He just couldn't get it straight. It's a tragic ending for a beautiful kid. He had a beautiful heart."

Nice article here from JA Adande of ESPN.com:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=adande_ja&page=EddieGriffin

Other stuff:

In the category of weird…Nolan Richardson is the head coach of the Mexican National Basketball team…

My favourite rumour of the summer? That the Cavs have stalled trying to trade for Kings PG Mike Bibby or re-signing PF Anderson Varajao and SG Sasha Pavlovic because their parent company Quicken Loans is taking a bath in the market due to the current mortgage and loan crisis in the US…

Baseball note…Too funny…http://www.bugsandcranks.com/the-clubhouse/meet-the-brewers/

Great interview here with Bill Russell:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/ian_thomsen/08/20/russell/index.html