Around the MWL (2/11)

The Cedar Rapids Kernels have a United States Hockey League, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, for a next-door neighbor. They had a little neighborly competition:

It was a messy affair last Wednesday as Kernels front office staff members Josh Boots, Dave Soper and Scott Wilson out-ate a loaded team of Roughrider hockey players (and one front office person) to win the first round of the Buffalo Wild Wings Budweiser Leg Eating Contest, 29-22.

The finals are March 7 in Cedar Rapids.

There is photographic proof at the link, but this one needs to be shared.

About ten seconds after posting this, I am going to regret it because I'll be afraid that I just gave someone in the Rattler front office an idea. Heck, I'm regretting it right now. The last verb I want associated with me is "out-ate"...But, you NEED to know what is going on around the league.

The Kane County Cougars had a successful Winter Banquet.

The Kane County Cougars 16th annual Winter Banquet and Silent Auction for Charity, presented by Provena Mercy Medical Center, raised $20,000. Proceeds from the event benefit Ozzie’s Outreach, the 501(c)3 charitable arm of the Cougars. Along with raising money for charity, Cougars fans and sponsors enjoyed a dinner and lively speakers program featuring former major-leaguer and ESPN personality John Kruk, as well as Cougars manager Aaron Nieckula and 2006 team MVP Jeff Baisley.

As the outside temperature dipped into the single digits, the action inside the Wyndham Lisle/Naperville was heating up, due to a large silent auction that featured a variety of items donated by numerous sorts teams and area businesses. The highest-selling silent auction item, a Mike Ditka autographed football, went for $550 and drew interested looks from many of the attendees throughout the evening.

In a sealed-bid format, a Ron Santo autographed jersey took a winning bid of $1,000. Other unique items were quite popular as well. Cougars radio announcer Jeff Hem will have some company in the booth during a game this season, as a “Guest Radio Announcer” package earned $320.

Later in the evening, a live auction unveiled some of the most valuable memorabilia items. Two Chicago Bears items put several anxious bidders into a frenzy, as a signed Devin Hester jersey sold for $625 while a Brian Urlacher autographed helmet took nearly ten minutes of bidding before the dust settled. The prized piece finally claimed a closing bid of $1,375, one of the highest-selling auction items in the history of the Cougars annual banquet.

That's a lot of money for autographs and memorabilia from Super Bowl losers....Joke! Kidding!

Next up in the Cubs Cavalcade of Stars to appear in Peoria, Joe Giradi.

The Alzheimer's Association presents Dinner with Joe Girardi on Wednesday February 21st at the Holiday Inn City Centre in Peoria. The $50 dinner will salute Joe Girardi as an outstanding athlete and person from Central Illinois and also raise funds and awareness for the Alzheimer's Association Central Illinois Chapter. To order tickets, please call 681-1100 and for more information access the Central Illinois Chapter's website.

Girardi played for the Chiefs in the 2nd half of the 1986 season after being drafted out of Northwestern in the 5th round. The East Peoria native batted .309 in his time in peoria, 1st among all Midwest League catchers. Girardi made his debut with the Cubs in 1989 and stayed in Chicago until he was selected by the expansion Colorado Rockies in the December 1992 Expansion Draft.