Deuce Bello (Getty Images)As soon as the first report surfaced Monday morning that Missouri had landed Baylor transfer Deuce Bello, Tigers fans on social media responded in a wide variety of ways.

Some lauded Bello's potential, posting high school highlight reels in which the 6-foot-4 wing showcased an explosive first step to the rim, impressive length and athleticism and an array of high-flying dunks. Others wondered why Missouri would want a player who averaged a modest 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds last season for a Baylor program that wasn't exactly loaded at the shooting guard and small forward spots.

So, which side of the debate is right? Well, in a lot of ways, both of them.

Bello is a classic boom-or-bust transfer because of his elite talent but lack of production. Missouri has to hope that a change of scenery, more playing time and a year to sit out and develop his game will help Bello tap into the immense potential that made him a top 60 recruit in the Class of 2011.

Hailed as a key piece of Baylor's future when he arrived along with high school teammate Quincy Miller two years ago, Bello made minimal impact in his two seasons in Waco. He averaged just over 10 minutes per game both seasons, occasionally injecting energy with hustle plays and highlight-worthy dunks but shooting too poorly from the free throw line and the perimeter to justify a greater role.

With veterans Brady Heslip and Gary Franklin returning for Baylor and incoming guards Allerik Freeman and Kenny Chery set to contribute right away, it's unlikely Bello would have seen more playing time as a junior. As a result, he announced earlier this month that he was leaving Baylor in search of a school where he'd receive more playing time.

It's official! Pitchers playing catch with kids in the stands during batting practice is the hottest craze in baseball — sweeping the game faster than a team playing a three-game series with the Dodgers. (Sorry, Dodgers, but you have been swept three times in May).

Actually, it's a trend that started with those Los Angeles Dodgers, when Hyun-Jin Ryu played catch with a young fan named Deuce last week. Gio Gonzalez of the Washington Nationals was next to get caught on camera doing it. Now we find Bruce Chen of the Kansas City Royals, who did it over the weekend when playing the Oakland Athletics.

E.J. Manuel gets his first reps as a Bill. (Getty Images)

The job of a rookie quarterback was never what you'd call easy. But the sudden, meteoric splash of young talents like Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick have meant that for new QBs, the learning curve is a ten-foot-high wall, and patience with their development is nonexistent. So it's got to warm the chilled hearts of Bills fans to hear that their latest prize acquisition, rookie E.J. Manuel, is acclimating well to the team's new offense under Doug Marrone and OC Nathaniel Hackett.

“The funny thing is it's easier to learn than the offense I had at Florida State,” Manuel said on SiriusXM. “It's a true West Coast-type progression offense. That's really what I wanted when I was coming through the pre-draft process. I wanted something that I could just go in and say 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, check it down and run it. That's it, it's that simple. I love it."

Now, the way that Manuel related it, the Bills' playbook sounds only slightly more complex than the "everybody get open"

(MLB.tv)

A trip to the MLB Fan Cave in New York City to play Wiffle ball must have been fun enough for 13-year-old Nick D'Annibale, a seventh grader who happens to also be a survivor of leukemia. Just getting a chance to play in the street, semi-Willie Mays-style — to hit and pitch, with other baseball fans — some 18 months after being diagnosed, that alone made for a happy Friday.

And then the ice cream van showed up, announcing its presence with the appropriate music box soundtrack. Car! Ice cream delay — those are the best.

But then, instead of the Ice Cream Man, none other than Robinson Cano popped out of the van, wearing the same No. 24 that D'Annibale wore on his back.

"I thought it was just going to be ice cream," D'Annibale said.

On his own free time before the New York Yankees hosted the Blue Jays in the Bronx, Cano played Wiffle ball in the street with D'Annibale and the Fan Cave Dwellers.

"I love Robinson Cano and he's one of the best second basemen in the league," D'Annibale said.

Cano and D'Annibale traded swings, with the Yankees star giving a high-five and saying, "Whoa, you're better than me!"

And the kid, who sports a Roger Maris 1961 haircut, did seem to put some good swings on the ball. Watch.

(USA Today Sports Images)Legend has it that at Vince Lombardi's first team meeting with the Green Bay Packers, the new coach held up a ball and told his team, "This is a football." Many coaches since have pulled similar stunts to start a new season. It's a way of emphasizing fundamentals by starting with the basics.

And it seems very silly because, as we know, by the time players get to the pros they know all the fundamentals in and out, right? Not so fast.

Michael Vick, the 32-year-old starting quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles, has played 10 seasons in the NFL, played two seasons at Virginia Tech, started three years for his high school team and probably played youth football for many years before that. And throughout those thousands of practices and hundreds of games, Vick says nobody taught him how to properly carry a football.

It is absolutely mind-blowing that Vick didn't know the correct way to carry a football before new Eagles coach Chip Kelly pulled him aside at a recent practice and taught him, but that's what he told PhillyMag.com:

(USA Today Sports Images)

Wyoming coach Dave Christensen in March decided to take over the play calling duties in the wake of offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon’s departure to New Mexico State.

In doing so, Christensen assured anyone who was listening that the 2013 Wyoming Cowboys would be the “fastest” team in the country.

We’re not talking 40 times, we’re talking amassing a lot of plays similar to the offense Christensen directed while the offensive coordinator at Missouri.

"We have been a no-huddle offense, but I felt that, in the last few years, our tempo has slowed down drastically," Christensen told SiriusXM College Sports Nation. "It's unacceptable for what I want to do what I have in mind as an offense. We're trying to get back to a tempo that's maybe a little greater than when I was at Missouri."

(@KoachC)

To make sure there was no confusion about Christensen’s intentions, Christensen tweeted out a makeshift movie poster with his team starring in “FastNFurious 13” thus joining the ranks of coaches with a Photoshopping fetish.

Christensen, who spent 11 years as the OC at Missouri, ran 1,112 and 982 plays in his final two seasons with the program. In contrast,

'GRRRRR, WHAT DID YOU SAY?!?!?' 'Not that. At all.' (Getty Images)

Here's what Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said after his team won Game 6 against the New York Knicks on Saturday night to earn an Eastern Conference finals matchup with the top-seeded Miami Heat, who ousted Indiana in the second round of last year's postseason:

"This is not about getting back at Miami," Vogel said. "If you're in the final four, you're competing for a championship. You're competing for a championship. And they're just the next team that's in our way."

Here's how that quote was misrepresented to Heat star LeBron James after Miami's practice on Sunday, according to FOX Sports Florida's Chris Tomasson:

Reporter to LeBron: “Vogel kept saying last night that you guys are just another team."

And here's how LeBron responded to that (which, again, is totally not what Vogel said):

Sometimes the Stanley Cup Playoffs make us do abnormal things, like canceling a pizza pickup order because our favorite team just tied the game in the third period. Other times it brings two fanbases together.

This was the case for Catherine Farish from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Originally from Boston, she moved south because her husband is a sergeant in the Marine Corps. She's also a big Boston Bruins fan. Working Sunday night at a local Buffalo Wild Wings during the Pittsburgh Penguins/Ottawa Senators double overtime game, she encountered a customer who would end up making her day.

Here's Catherine:

Last night during my shift this young man came in alone and sat at my table. He was quiet, but friendly and very easy to take care of, he came in to watch the Penguins/Senators game. As we all know it went into double overtime, so he was there from beginning at 7pm to the very end around 11:45. After I congratulated him on the Senators win, I stepped away and during that time he left and when I returned to clean off his table, I picked up his credit card receipt (pictured below) It absolutely made my night and even though I may be a Bruins fan, completely restores my faith in humanity. It was such a kind gesture. Hope this brightens your day!! Thanks for reading!

What she found was a $50.33 tip and this message:

(The "KCCO" stands for "Keep Calm and Chive On", a reference to the recently revived "Keep Calm and Carry On".)

Farish added that the generous customer said he was born in Ohio and raised to dislike all things Pittsburgh (Browns fan, perhaps?). We wish could have seen his reaction after Colin Greening's goal Sunday night.

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Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy