There are some questions that can never be answered, such as where is the outer edge of the universe, what planet did that obnoxious "Super Dell" guy come from, and will my beloved Chicago Cubs ever win (or even get in) the World Series during my lifetime.
Here's a few sports questions you may have been wondered about, that we may have the answers for:
Whatever happened to that pitcher from Utah who was in the rotation for the San Francisco Giants most of this year?
That would be Ryan Jensen, who pitched for Cottonwood High, Snow College and Southern Utah University before working his way up to the majors after six years in the minors.
He's still with the Giants and completed a terrific rookie season, helping the Giants to a 5-hit shutout of Houston on the last day of the regular season to finish at 13-8. He hasn't played since, however, mostly because the Giants have gone to a four-man rotation in the playoffs with Livan Hernandez, despite a 12-16 record, moving ahead of Jensen, thanks to his previous playoff success.
Since not many folks were paying attention when they were in Salt Lake, which Anaheim Angels players played for the Stingers and how well did they do when they were here?
Several key Angel players were with Salt Lake as recently as this season, including starting pitcher John Lackey, middle relievers Francisco Rodriguez and Brenden Donnelly and backup catcher Jose Molina.
Lackey, who is scheduled to pitch in Game 4 was 8-2 in Salt Lake with a 2.57 ERA, while Donnelly was 4-0 after going 5-1 with Salt Lake last year. Rodriguez was just 2-3, after getting called up to Triple -A in June, but had a fine 2.57 ERA. Chone Figgins, who has been mostly used as a pinch runner during the playoffs was with Salt Lake all season, hitting .305 in 125 games. Backup catcher Jose Molina, not to be confused with starting catcher Benjie Molina, played hit .309 in 79 Stingers games this year before getting called up.
Are there any other players with Utah ties playing in the World Series?
One is former Cyprus High standout Scott Eyre, who was traded to the Giants from Toronto earlier in the year, has seen some relief action for San Francisco during the playoffs.
What did Karl Malone mean the other day when he said he's made a decision about his future and told his wife and his brother, but also talked about "when I make that decision" during a what the Deseret News termed a "meandering discourse" to the media.
As usual with Karl, who knows? But basically he was saying, "Give Karl a little love this year" and don't forget about him while everyone is speculating about this being John Stockton's final year. Bet on Malone playing for two years after this one until he gets the NBA all-time scoring record — in a Jazz uniform.
Why is Utah State joining a conference with a bunch of teams in the South more than 1,500 miles from Logan?
The school gambled three years ago when the Big West decided to drop football that it would be picked up by the Western Athletic Conference. When that didn't happen, Utah State was left high and dry as an independent in football, an almost impossible position for any school not named Notre Dame.
The Aggies actually made a good deal with the Sun Belt Conference. They can play in a football conference that includes four of its old rivals from the Big West and they don't have to switch over in the other sports for three years. The odds are pretty good that within two years when other conferences make changes due to new NCAA regulations, they'll have a chance to join the WAC.
Hasn't Utah athletic director Chris Hill had one of the easiest job in America, seeing how he hasn't had to change coaches in his two major sports - football and basketball — for the past dozen years?
Maybe in that respect, although he'll likely have a big decision to make soon. It's true that there hasn't been any turnover since Hill replaced Jim Fassel with Ron McBride and Lynn Archibald with Rick Majerus within a year's time back in 1989. Only Syracuse has more stability than Utah over that time with Jim Boeheim as the basketball coach for 25 years and Paul Pasqualoni as the football coach for 16 years. Add athletic director Jake Crouthamel who has been the AD for 24 years and they easily beat Hill (15 years), Majerus (13) and McBride (12) for longevity in the big three positions.
Why does Utah basketball coach Rick Majerus insist on playing two non-Division I schools every year, much to the chagrin of loyal fans who must sit through these yawners?
He says it's because he wants one for the opener and one for test week, so his team will have sure victories on weeks they don't have as much time to prepare. That doesn't explain, however, why the Utes are playing their two patsies, IUPU-Fort Wayne and Ripon College, on Jan. 11 and 14, respectively, this season.
How is the baseball career of former Ute basketball player Phil Cullen going?
Not very well, unfortunately. The 6-9 Cullen, whom the Mariners hope will become the next Randy Johnson, broke his upper arm just throwing a pitch in mid-August and won't be able to throw again until next spring.
How many teams from Utah are ranked in the national Top 25 right now?
Of course none of Utah's mediocre football teams are ranked this year. But we're not just talking football here. For the record, the Utah women's volleyball team is ranked No. 16 and the Utah women's soccer team is No. 24.
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