Matt Bowen

Back in the summer of 2000, I, and roughly 300 other NFL rookies, were instructed to put condoms on bananas. That's right, the NFL wanted to teach us how to properly use a prophylactic. Some guys didn't even do it, while others held up the finished...

Brandon Valley graduate and current South Dakota State assistant Austin Hansen is one of the four finalists for the Bemidji State men's basketball head coaching job. Hansen recently completed his fourth year as an assistant coach at SDSU, where he was...

Milbank and Webster are switching places as the host site for the next two upcoming State B American Legion Baseball Tournaments. Webster was to host the 2012 event July 27-31 at 7-year-old Bob Wiley Field. However, an April 27 windstorm with gusts up...

Matt Bowen, the reigning Northern Sun Intercollegiate Coach of the Year, is the new University of Minnesota-Duluth's head men's basketball coach. The 40-year old Bowen becomes the 16th head coach in the 82-year history of the Bulldog program and just...

The Bears rookies aren't ready for Sundays just yet after watching them practice during mini-camp this weekend. That's normal (and expected) when they step on the field for the first time. I saw signs of technique, footwork, etc. that need to be...

When the quarterback talks in the NFL, the rest of the locker room should listen up. Like it or not, they are natural leaders in the pro game because of the position. And when they raise the bar, as Jay Cutler did with his offensive line earlier this...

You're not on scholarship anymore. That's the advice I would give to Shea McClellin, Alshon Jeffery, Brandon Hardin and the rest of the Bears draft class. No more draft hype, high-fives or news conferences. Those days are gone. You're just a rookie now....

Everyone is replaceable in the NFL. That's a hard lesson many veterans in Chicago and across the league will learn when the NFL draft begins Thursday night in New York. Rookies aren't just drafted to provide "competition" or "depth" to the roster...

NFL players don't trust the guys in the suits, tucked away in the big offices, removed from the locker room. There is no loyalty (or honesty) here when it comes to the relationship between players and management. Produce on Sundays or call the moving...

Gregg Williams had been the subject of a two-year investigation by the NFL for allegedly being a party to a bounty system in the league. Meanwhile, regular readers of the Tribune’s Chicago Sports section know Matt Bowen well as both NFL player and...

Prices were set on Saturday nights in the team hotel. In a makeshift meeting room, with the whisper of evening traffic pouring in from the Beltway, we laid our bounties on opposing players. We targeted big names, our sights set on taking them out of...