Enjoy a pipin' hot bowl of Stu. Stu?
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Name: Dwayne Rudd
Claim to Fame, Minnesota: was the Vikings 1st-round pick in the 1997 NFL Draft. A linebacker, Rudd played in Minnesota for four seasons, with his most notable achievement being two returned fumbles for touchdowns in 1998, an NFL record for a single season that he shares with a boatload of others.
Claim to Fame, Everywhere Else: became infamous for tossing his helmet in the final seconds of Cleveland's 2002 home opener against Kansas City. The resulting penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct allowed the Chiefs to kick the game-winning field goal with no time on the clock, continuing a proud Cleveland tradition of game-ending ineptitude that stretches from Earnest Byner to Hank Poteat to their inevitable drafting of future NFL bust Tim Tebow. It was also the impetus for this deeply odd column by Jason Whitlock.
Where He Is Now: as if trying to be known for something worse than simply losing a football game, Rudd was recently in the news for non-payment of a rather substantial amount of child support. He's been given a five-year suspended sentence, and has to return to court to determine how much he still owes, since, as the AP article notes, "Rudd's income has changed substantially."
Glorious Randomness: that Browns/Chiefs tilt had the distinct, tangy flavor of former and future Minnesota Vikings. Morten Andersen kicked the field goal for a Kansas City team that also sported Tony Richardson and Duane Clemons, while Cleveland was literally soaking in Purple: Rudd, Corey Fuller, Robert Griffith, Kelly Holcomb and Foge Fazio. I leave it to you, the reader, to decipher what this all means.
Sad Randomness: I wrote this on Wednesday, only to read this morning that Fazio passed away on Wednesday night at the age of 71 after battling leukemia.
Bonus Randomness: Rudd's hometown of Batesville, Mississippi, also lays claim to being the birthplace of hip-hop star Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, the man behind the supremely annoying "Crank That (Soulja Boy)."
