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Welcome back for another edition of Ask Ryan, the column where sports and entertainment go together like heartbreak and ice cream. This week's mailbag is bursting at the seams with queries about Kurt Russell's baseball career, the origins of March Madness and the greatest college ballers of all time. On to your questions!

Ben, Baton Rouge, LA
Subj: The computer wore baseball cleats
Is it true that Kurt Russell used to be a professional baseball player?

That's correct, Ben. A professional actor since the age of 12, Russell spent much of his youth shuttling between sound lots and sand lots. "I was great at the game and the best there was in the neighborhood," he recalls. "I was born to play baseball." Russell was given the chance to prove just that in 1971 when he was signed by the California Angels and assigned to play with the Class A Bend Rainbows in the Northwest League. The gritty second baseman made the most of his audition and he was named to the league's All-Star game after hitting .285 with 1 HR, 14 RBI and 30 runs scored in 179 at-bats. Russell spent the next season with the Walla Walla Islanders where he continued to impress scouts and coaches alike by hitting .325. "I could move runners," Russell says. "When it came to hitting I was professional. I was a good hitter, and out in the field my range was real good to my left, OK to my right. I knew the game, inside and out." Former teammate and current baseball coach Tom Trebelhorn is quick to agree with Russell's self assessment. "Kurt could hit -- that was strength," he says. "He was a switch hitter and had very good bat accuracy -- he could put the bat on the ball."

Russell's proficiency at the plate didn't go unnoticed, and he earned a call up in 1973 to The El Paso Sun Kings, where he hit a league-leading .563 in his first 16 at bats. Sadly, his season came to an abrupt end in June of that year when he tore his rotator cuff in a violent collision at second base. The unfortunate injury forced Russell to reassess his career goals. "After I got hurt in baseball and couldn't pursue it as a profession, I wondered if acting could become important to me in terms of my life and career, and mean as much to me as baseball," he says. "It did, I loved it and I am thankful for that. It just took time to get over baseball." Russell has since starred in more than 40 feature films, including 2004's "Miracle," an outstanding feel-good flick about the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team.

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Leonard, Brooklyn, NY
Subj: Start spreading the news
Hey Ryan, did you hear a new poll has found that more New Yorkers are fans of the Red Sox then they are of the Knicks?

It's hardly surprising considering that the Red Sox are clearly the better basketball team.

Chuck, Boston, MA
Subj: Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
Do college mascots get paid to perform at ball games?

Not exactly, but many of them do receive scholarships. The University of Mississippi is one of many schools that offer $1,000 per semester for students who are willing to play dress-up on the sidelines. Life is even sweeter at academic institutions like the University of Texas at Arlington, where they give a free ride to the two undergrads willing to suffer heat strokes in their Sam and Samantha Maverick costumes. These "lucky" students also receive travel expenses, uniforms, shoes, camp registration fees, a physical education credit, and the unparalleled chance to sweat off 25 pounds during a game. Students who manage to graduate to the professional ranks can look forward to earning anywhere between $25,000 to $100,000 per year, plus benefits. No wonder professional mascots have such big heads!

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Gerald, Twinsburg, OH
Subj: What's in a name?
Who came up with the term, "March Madness"?

Have you ever heard of the Illinois High school State Basketball Championship? Former athletic administrator H.V. Porter was such a huge fan of the statewide tournament that he wrote an essay about in 1939 entitled "March Madness." Porter's prosaic piece celebrated the hardiness of the "Homo of the Hardwood Court" and waxed poetic about "the thud of the ball on the floor, the slap of hands on leather and the swish of the net." Naturally, Porter's use of "homo" wouldn't work today, but folks did like his essay's title and newspapermen soon began appropriating it in their own columns to describe the frenzy associated with the annual tourney. The alliterative phrase also made a big impression on a young Chicago-based sportscaster named Brent Musburger who began injecting it into his broadcasts of the NCAA basketball tournament during the early 1980s. The colorful name stuck and college basketball's premiere showcase has been known as March Madness ever since.

Jeffrey, Villa Park, IL
Subj: Under investigation
Hey Ryan, did you see that the Major League Baseball Players' Association plans to investigate why Barry Bonds remains unsigned?

I did, Jeffrey. Bonds' agent, Jeff Borris has said it would take his client just two weeks to get ready: one week to regain his timing at the plate and one week to find a hat that actually fits.

David, Syracuse, NY
Subj: Odds and sods
What are the odds of picking a perfect March Madness bracket?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, David, but the odds of anyone selecting a perfect bracket are approximately 9.2 quintillion to 1. In other words, you have a better chance of getting hit by lightning (576,000 to 1), becoming a saint (20,000,000 to 1) or dating a supermodel (88,000 to 1).

Jack, Allen, TX
Subj: How do you like your eggs?
Did you read that Texas shortstop Michael Young had his house egged by his teammates as part of a prank?

You bet, Trent. Although Young isn't certain who was responsible, he has ruled out the Rangers pitching staff since the eggs actually hit their mark.

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Frank, Brockport, NY
Subj: Here we go again
Have any players been named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA tournament more than once?

Absolutely, Frank. Oklahoma A&M's Bob Kurland, Kentucky's Alex Groza, Ohio State's Jerry Lucas and UCLA's Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton all won the award more than once, and all except Groza are now in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Groza would likely be there too were it not for the fact that he was implicated in a point shaving scandal that resulted in reams of negative publicity and a lifetime ban from the NBA. The talented 6-7 center never played professionally again, although he did regain a measure of respect years later as the general manager of the Kentucky Colonels and the San Diego Conquistadors of the ABA.

That's all for this week, muchachos. I'll be back next Thursday with more advice for the savagely misguided. Until then, please send in more of your probing questions and check out my personal website at: www.askryanmurphy.com where you'll find never-before-seen articles, polls and jokes.