Sports News

Source: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Headlinin-The-return-of-Eric-LeGrand?urn=ncaaf-324282

Headlinin': The return of Eric LeGrand

Making the morning rounds.

• Looking good. Rutgers defensive lineman Eric LeGrand received a standing ovation from 3,000 well-wishers Saturday at an on-campus fundraiser in his honor, his first public appearance since being paralyzed from the neck down during the Scarlet Knights' win over Army last October. LeGrand told ESPN last month he's regained sensation throughout his body and seemed to be in good spirits during the event (hosted by Rutgers and MTV alum Bill Bellamy), telling the crowd "I'm gonna keep chopping' and doing my rehab." [Newark Star-Ledger]

• RIP. The family of former Notre Dame star Dave Duerson, a 1982 All-American and two-time Super Bowl winner who apparently committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest last week, will donate his brain to concussion research at Boston University, per Duerson's wishes. "He had informed (his family) at some point that he wanted his brain to be studied so people could learn more about the effect of brain trauma and so kids could play the game more safely in the future," said Chris Nowinski, co-director of BU's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, in the Chicago Tribune. "The family requested that I confirm that Mr. Duerson's brain was donated to our research center, and it was Mr. Duerson's wishes." [South Bend Tribune, Chicago Tribune]

• The saga continues. The Fiesta Bowl informed the IRS in federal tax returns filed last week that it's in the process of reviewing political expenditures and possible "excessive benefits" to top officials – presumably including bowl CEO John Junker, who received a substantial raise to nearly $600,000 per year and was placed on administrative leave earlier this month. An ongoing state attorney general's probe into political contributions by Fiesta Bowl employees, allegedly encouraged and later reimbursed by the bowl, threatens the organization's non-profit status.

The Fiesta Bowl – along with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office – is also investigating an arrangement that that paid $508,776 in 2009-10 to a local security firm, Blue Steel Consulting, owned by a lieutenant in the sheriff's office. That was more than triple what the bowl paid Blue Steel (fans of "The Wire" should enjoy that reference) in 2008-09 and more than the firm took in from its previous three Fiesta Bowl contracts combined. And it doesn't include an undisclosed amount for private security for a pair of bowl officials. [Arizona Republic]

• Come on people now, smile on your brother. A few thousand turned out Saturday to memorialize a pair of terminal oak trees at Auburn's Toomer's Corner, including quite a few Alabama fans, who were literally embraced by the home crowd. The Facebook group "Tide for Toomer's" received so many donations over the weekend – reportedly more than $36,000 from 1,700 donors as of Sunday night – that it capped its PayPal account and began redirecting visitors to Auburn's official Toomer's Trees and Traditions Fund. [Al.com, Tide for Toomer's]

Meanwhile, accused tree-poisoner Harvey Updyke was released from prison on Friday night, and didn't appreciate the attention. [Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, WAKA TV]

Quickly… TCU missed out on LaMichael James because it couldn't get his name right. … Oregon running back Dontae Williams, a top-200 recruit last year, is transferring out of the Ducks' crowded backfield. … Jaxon Shipley finished high school early, cut short a successful track career and delayed his arrival at Texas for a few more months of hanging out with his older brother. … Al Golden is excited about Tate Forcier's "incredible resumé." … There's no spring quarterback derby in the works at Syracuse. … And the Mrs. Rich Rod sale brought in its share for the Salvation Army, too.

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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Capitals-get-their-center-as-Arnott-leaves-Devil?urn=nhl-327675

Capitals get their center as Arnott leaves Devils' comeback

This much was clear about Jason Arnott: He wasn't going to waive his no trade clause for just anyone. He wanted to go to a playoff team rather than a team chasing the playoffs; hell, if he wanted to live and die with the standings on a daily basis, he might as well stick with the New Jersey Devils' Mission: Preposterous run to the No. 8 seed, right?

Instead, the opportunity to join the Washington Capitals arrived -- as many expected it would -- and Arnott agreed to waive his NTC for the chance to play center behind Nicklas Backstrom on the depth chart. The trade was first reported by Sportsnet.

Via Rich Chere at the Star-Ledger, Arnott said:

"I'm at the end of my career. I want a chance at another Stanley Cup. I think Washington has a good potential to be a Cup team."

Coming back to the Devils is a surprisingly good return for a player that controlled his fate: Center David Steckel, struggling in the first year of a three-year contract extension he signed last January and having gained a bit of infamy this season back on Jan. 1; and a second-round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

An interesting note from Fire & Ice on where Devils GM Lou Lamoriello's head was today on Arnott:

According to a source, Lamoriello would prefer to hold on to Arnott, but is exploring offers to see what he can get for him. Arnott is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Arnott's a leader and a big body in front of the net. He's not fleet of skate, but he's not a liability. Most of all, he gives the Capitals something they lacked in last year's postseason: a legit veteran playmaker at center, with siginificant playoff experience and with some size. They also get out from under Steckel's contract.

We're going to give this one Two Milburys. Not a bad return for the Devils for a rental if Steckel can find his game (and a great faceoff man to have on a team that plays their system).

But between Arnott, Marco Sturm and Dennis Wideman, have the Capitals added enough to get back to being a Cup contender rather than a modest disappointment this season?

And does this symbolically end the Devils' miracle comeback?

Source: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/QB-Focus-Robert-Griffin-Baylor-s-Mr-Indispens?urn=ncaaf-326074

QB Focus: Robert Griffin, Baylor's Mr. Indispensable

Assessing 2011's field generals, in no particular order. Today: Baylor sophomore Robert Griffin.

• Typecasting. Somewhere on the list, Griffin is one of the most explosive, productive players in Baylor history. Also on the list: He was born in Japan, set Texas high school track records in the 110 and 300-meter hurdles, graduated high school early to enroll at Baylor at age 17, won a Big 12 championship in the 400-meter hurdles shortly after arriving on campus, graduated in three years with a degree in political science, made the honor roll in six straight semesters and plans to attend law school. Just your run-of-the-mill Army brat.

And then, yes, he's one of the most explosive, productive players in Baylor history. Griffin reportedly had offers from Nebraska and Tennessee, among others (see below), where his speed and 6-foot-3 frame likely would have made him a wide receiver. Instead, he latched on to the chance to play quarterback in Art Briles' spread attack at Houston, and followed Briles to Waco – about an hour from Griffin's high school – when he took the top job at Baylor in November 2007. Griffin took over in the second quarter of his first game and immediately established himself as the focal point of the Bears' attack, as a runner and passer.

• At his best… The first hint Griffin was going to be better than "a track guy" with limited utility in the shotgun was the 346-yard, three-touchdown bomb he dropped on Washington State in September 2008, en route to the school's single-game rushing record and most impressive victory in years:

We were only beginning to grasp at the time just how wretched Washington State's defense would turn out to be, but Griffin's athleticism was no mirage: The offense increasingly revolved around his legs in the biggest games, in which Griffin went over 100 yards on the ground against Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas, and came up one yard shy of the century mark in a near upset at 10-1 Texas Tech to close the regular season. He ended his freshman campaign with 1,118 yards rushing before sacks, most by any Bear back since 2003, and 13 touchdowns, tying the school record.

But while Griffin avoided mistakes – he went nine games and more than 209 attempts (another school record) before throwing his first interception – he was also clearly limited as a passer: In the four conference games in which he cracked 100 yards on the ground, he averaged just 93 through the air, and the Bears lost all four.

As dynamic as he was as a freshman, Griffin slowly chipped away at his reputation as a one-dimensional threat last year – partly because he was coming off a severe knee injury that cost him almost all of his sophomore season in 2009, and partly because he'd developed into one of the more reliable passers in the conference, in one of the most reliably pass-happy systems. Griffin put the ball in the air 35 times per game in 2010, distributing it among five different receivers who brought in at least 40 receptions and shattering single-season school records for total completions, completion percentage, total yards and yards per game. He also became Baylor's career leader in passing yards and TDs in the process, in essentially his second year as a starter.

Not coincidentally, Baylor scored at least 30 points in nine different games, averaged more than 30 for the first time since the formation of the Big 12, set a new school record for total offense, beat Texas for the first time since '94 and snapped a 16-year bowl drought despite continuing to field one of the conference's most porous defenses. Oh, and Griffin netted over 600 yards rushing, too, keeping him on pace with the most prolific players in the country in terms of total offense. With apologies to Denard Robinson and Colin Kaepernick, there may not have been a more complete quarterback this side of Cam Newton.

• At his worst… In all, Griffin personally accounted for about two-thirds of Baylor's total offense as a runner of passer (66.9 percent, to be exact), and their fates were inexorably tied: When the quarterback struggled, the whole operation ground to a halt, which it frequently did against even mediocre defenses.

In five games against defenses that ranked in the top half of all defenses nationally – that is, ranked in the top 60, not exactly an elite gauntlet – Griffin's efficiency plummeted and the Bears averaged about 15 fewer points than they managed against defenses in the bottom half. TCU, owner of the No. 1 defense in the country, harassed Griffin into a season-low 185 total yards with three sacks in a 45-10 laugher in September; eventual Big 12 champ Oklahoma held him to 207 yards in a 53-24 rout in November, the second of a three-game losing streak against respectable defenses to close the year.

• Fun Fact. Griffin's not the first Baylor quarterback to beat Texas, but he's certainly the first in recent memory that Longhorn fans have ever actively wished they had in their huddle. UT might have had him, too, if it had shown more of a personal touch:

"Texas did not recruit me as a quarterback," Griffin said [before last October's game in Austin]. "But they walked into my (high school) coach's office and placed an offer on the table as an 'athlete,' then walked out, so I never saw them."
Say what?
"That's Texas for you," Griffin said. "But they get talent from anywhere they want.
"If they put an offer on the table and you don't accept it, they'll go find some other guy."

Griffin didn't see the snub as a sign of disrespect, necessarily – more like disinterest, because he didn't attend any of the Longhorns' camps for prospects. "I felt like my game tapes did the talking for me, and I didn't have to go prove it." It's not bragging if it's true.

• What to expect in the fall. Griffin already holds every relevant school record with two years of eligibility still in front of him, and has enough tomato cans on the front end of the schedule to get off to another roaring start after the daunting opener against TCU. His continued progress as a passer in an extremely passer-friendly system should more than overcome the half-step he seems to have sacrificed through the knee injury and the addition of some 25 pounds since arriving on campus. If you're looking for a fantasy quarterback, the final numbers should easily put him back in the running for an all-conference nod at the end of the year.

With a ninth Big 12 game (in this case, Missouri) replacing a gimme non-conference gimme, though, getting back above .500 is going to require huge games from Griffin to outscore at least two of the old South Division rivals that resisted Baylor's rise last year – specifically, that means Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Texas Tech, all of which beat the Bears by at least a touchdown, not to mention Texas, which hasn't lost back-to-back games to Baylor in 20 years. If Griffin's healthy, the offense should surpass the 2010 edition on the stat sheet; if it matches last year's win total against the tougher schedule, someone should invent an MVP award just to award it to him.

- - -
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Puck-Daddy-s-2011-NHL-Trade-Deadline-Live-Blog-?urn=nhl-327588

Puck Daddy's 2011 NHL Trade Deadline Live Blog, Hour 6

Ed. Note: We're live blogging every hour of the NHL trade deadline until its completion at 3 p.m. EST. Older time-stamped entries are found at the end of the post.

1:30 p.m. ET: Last hour, our partner in snark Down Goes Brown tweeted "Let's make our own entertainment. At 12:50, everyone tweet Joffrey Lupul at the same time with some variation of 'Good luck in Long Island!'"

The Philadelphia Flyers website wasn't in on the joke:

Whoops ...

1:07 p.m. ET: As 3 p.m. ET gets closer and closer, the chances of Brad Richards being dealt by the Dallas Stars gets lower and lower. From ESPN Dallas' Richard Durrett:

Stars would need to come to Brad Richards with deal. He did not give them list of teams he'd waive no-trade clause for.

Richards did skate this morning for 45 minutes.

The talk around the Vancouver Canucks has been about whether or not GM Mike Gillis will make a deal and tinker with a roster that sits No. 1 overall in the NHL. Cam Cole of the Vancouver Sun believes a move could do some good:

The idea that acquiring a good fourth-line centre or a big, strong winger would upset team chemistry is a canard. The players in the room, who have been the middle of a so-so stretch of performances with not much urgency to win, would probably welcome the minor (or heaven forbid, major) jolt of energy a trade would bring -- and anyway, it's not as though they haven't seen a dozen different bodies on that fourth line already this season.

Marty Reasoner was one of those names linked with the Canucks, but ESPN's Scott Burnside reports he's been told he likely won't be on the move today.

Reminder: The Yahoo! Sports trade tracker which will be updated throughout the day, and our Puck Daddy Trade Deadline Chatter Box, in which 24 of the NHL's top insiders will keep you updated throughout the day.

We'll let St. Louis Game Time explain:

Brad Boyes traded to Buffalo; Blues fans get cap, headache relief

The optimistic view of the Buffalo Sabres' trade for St. Louis Blues forward Brad Boyes on Sunday night, costing them a second-round pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, is that he's shown a penchant for dynamic offense when paired with the right linemates.

Skating mostly with Paul Kariya and Keith Tkachuk in 2007-08, he potted 43 goals; the next season, he scored 33 skating with David Backes.

The cynical view of Brad Boyes will become apparent after about two minutes of conversation with a Blues fan.

Boyes has frustrated fans and management for two seasons now and for the better part of those years fans would have been happy to see him move on to a different team. Only no other team wanted an overpaid, underachieving winger who can backcheck but doesn't do a lot else when he's not scoring.
Now, of course, Boyes has gotten on a hot streak and has moved up to third on the team scoring list this year. He has managed to contribute to the offense by setting players up when he's not scoring and teams looking for some depth scoring (and hoping for a jump from a change of scenery for a notoriously streaky scorer) might be willing to take a flier on Boyes, who is still under contract next year for another $4 million cap hit.

Then there are jokes like this one about Boyes' shooting prowess.

That said, Boyes isn't a bad move for the Sabres for this season. He can play right wing or at center, giving the Sabres some lineup options. But it's that $4 million on the cap for 2011-12 that makes you go "hmmmmm ..."; that's Derek Roy money for a player that hasn't been in Derek Roy territory for two years. Hey, it's Terry Pegula's money.

Meanwhile, the Blues save $975,600 this season and get out from under that contract for next season, when T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund and seven others are restricted free agents.

On the Puck Daddy Milbury Scale (see here for details), we're going to give this one Two Milburys. No idea what that second-rounder could become, but there's a chance Buffalo Sabres fans will be carping about the same deficiencies in Boyes' game (and his salary) next season as St. Louis fans have. The Blues having saved all that coin next season nearly pushes this into Three Milbury territory, were it not for the fact that Boyes can still get the offensive cranked now and again.

UPDATE: Audio from Boyes from the Blues website."It's never fun to have it happen."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Brad-Boyes-traded-to-Buffalo-Blues-fans-get-cap?urn=nhl-327186

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Baseballmusingscom/~3/JKoyAzFj3tg/click.phdo

The Wang Way

Chien-Ming Wang is ahead of schedule: Wang has seemingly recaptured the sinking action on his fastball that once helped him win 19 games in consecutive seasons for the New York Yankees. During his live batting practice session today – watched by front office assistant Bob Boone, pitching coach Steve McCatty, Manager Jim Riggleman and Rizzo [...]

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Serie A Weekend Review: Udinese Put Seven Past Palermo, Inter Beat Sampdoria To Move Into Second

Source: http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2011/2/27/2018527/serie-a-udinese-7-0-palermo-inter-milan-sampdoria-juventus-roma

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Sunday-s-Three-Stars-Kiprusoff-blanks-Blues-To?urn=nhl-327210

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Sunday's Three Stars: Kiprusoff blanks Blues; Tortorella vs. refs

No. 1 Star: Miikka Kiprusoff, Calgary Flames

The Flames keeper continued his strong play in 2011 with a 27-save shutout, as Calgary blanked the visiting St. Louis Blues, 1-0. David Moss had the third-period goal from Alex Tanguay. It was his fifth shutout of the season. Kiprusoff did have a little help late in the game, as a goal was waved off on a David Backes high stick and a shot from Patrik Berglund hit the pipe.

No. 2 Star: Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks

Leaders lead. The Blackhawks captain scored the first two goals of the game against the Phoenix Coyotes in the first period, including one on the power play, and then scored the lone goal in the shootout as Chicago won, 4-3. Marian Hossa had the other regulation goal for the Blackhawks. The Coyotes rallied in the second with goals by Keith Yandle and Martin Hanzal on the power play, but could get nothing more past Corey Crawford (26 saves). Ilya Bryzgalov had 38 saves in the loss.

No. 3 Star: David Legwand, Nashville Predators

The Preds continued their dominance over the Columbus Blue Jackets on home ice, winning for the 16th straight time in Nashville against the Jackets, 3-2. Shea Weber and Jonathon Blum (his first NHL goal) matched tallies from rookie Matt Calvert and Kris Russell; but it was this hustling David Legwand backhander on a Mathieu Garon rebound that iced it at 18:25 of the third:

Honorable mention: Martin St. Louis had a goal and an assist in the Tampa Bay Lightning's 2-1 win at the New York Rangers, getting the primary helper on Vinny Lecavalier's game-winner in the third. Dwayne Roloson had 22 saves in what coach Guy Boucher called "the ugliest game of the year." ... The New Jersey Devils closed to back within nine points of the No. 8 seed with a 2-1 win at the Florida Panthers, as Martin Brodeur returned to stop 25 shots. ... Brandon McMillan's third-period power-play goal proved to be the game-winner in the Anaheim Ducks' 3-2 win over the staggering Colorado Avalanche. Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and Bobby Ryan had two assists. After 61 games this season and 70 overall, Todd Marchant finally scored a goal. ... Michael Ryder, Nathan Horton and newly acquired Rich Peverley scored for the Bruins in their 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Yes, this was a Hall vs. Seguin showdown; no, not many in the hockey world stopped to notice. ... The Atlanta Thrashers rallied from a 2-0 deficit to the Toronto Maple Leafs (including another Phil Kessel goal), and Ron Hainsey scored in overtime for a 3-2 win at home.

Did you know? Tampa Bay swept the season series against the Rangers for the first time since 1996-97.

Dishonorable mention: Leafs rookie sensation James Reimer left their game after being run over by Evander Kane, who was given a goalie interference penalty. J.S. Giguere played the final 26:27 and gave up all three goals. ... The Ducks/Avs game featured three first-period fights, including two within 17 seconds of each others. ... The Blue Jackets appeared to be jobbed out of a goal vs. Nashville. ... Finally, we haven't had many of these this season, but Coach John Tortorella had a testy presser about the Rangers' loss and the officiating: "I wish the League would stay the hell out of it and let the teams decide it." (Via Blueshirt Banter)

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Behind Ahead

At Baseball Analytics, I look at Yuniesky Betancourt‘s poor hitting ahead in the count.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Baseballmusingscom/~3/W-yqqZ4xJ2E/click.phdo

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NFLPA Creates 'Strike Fund' For Players

Source: http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2011/2/27/2019144/nflpa-strike-fund-players

Sampdoria Vs. Inter Milan: Wesley Sneidjer Breaks Deadlock

Source: http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2011/2/27/2018987/sampdoria-vs-inter-milan-wesley-sneidjer-breaks-deadlock

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Scouting-combine-Saturday-winners-and-losers?urn=nfl-326905

Scouting combine: Saturday winners and losers

The drills began on Saturday at the scouting combine in Indianapolis, with offensive linemen and tight ends taking the lion's share of the drills on the field of Lucas Oil stadium. But beyond the drills, there were other players taking part in the media frenzy that has been going on since Thursday morning. Defensive linemen and linebackers took to three podiums, as did a few different skill position players who were stragglers from Friday's interview trio of quarterbacks, running backs, and receivers. Based on what happened on and off the field, here are three players on each side of the equation - three who helped their cases on the short term, and three who either may want to re-think their approaches, or were the victim of bad injury luck.

Winners

Cam Newton, QB, Auburn - Newton's 14-minute media session was as prepared and rehearsed as could be, but we all expected that. But coming as it did so soon after Ryan Mallett's meltdown (you'll read about this soon), it was a bit if a breath of fresh air in that Newton at least tried to address certain questions about his past, and was able to deflect the ones he didn't. However, Newton's media savvy drops at times - and at these times, you see a more vulnerable individual.

He seemed especially concerned with the rapid-fire approach of the meetings with teams, in which prospects are asked about what they've done right and wrong in their lives, and asked to draw plays up on a whiteboard. When you hear a potential first-round pick say that the process has "everyone in the combine was going through the same process, asking themselves questions, like, ‘Is this really what I want to do?'", you tend to wonder if all that talk about overcoming adversity is just a front. Nonetheless, the real proof with Newton will come during his drills on Sunday, when he'll be able to answer the on-field questions that have him more comfortable. Getting past the media scrum as well as he did, though, was a reasonable first step/

Ryan Bartholomew, C, Syracuse - Bartholomew is a mid-ranked prospect at a position that doesn't really have a standout, which means that he's been categorized as a late-round pick or potential undrafted free agent. At least until Saturday, when he put together a size/speed combo platter that really impressed. He led all bench-pressers with 33 reps, ran a 4.97 40-yard dash (not bad for a guy standing 6-foot-1 and weighing 300 pounds), and placed well in the 20-yard shuttle as well. Bartholomew is still putting his game together, but standard operating procedure with extreme athletes of any stripe is to take a flyer near the end of the draft if there's potential. In that element, Bartholomew may have pushed his stock up a round.

Virgil Green, TE, Nevada - We've already discussed the day that USC tight end Jordan Cameron had - the converted wideout looked a lot like one of those tight ends whose stock picks up heavily after a day of freakish athleticism. But in the end, Green did Cameron and Florida Atlantic's Rob Housler one better by putting up the most complete set of numbers relating to his position. Fast, non-blocking tight ends need to do two things - get down the seam in a hurry, and get vertical in the end zone. When you can put together a 4.64 40-yard dash and a 42.5-inch vertical jump (five inches better than anyone else today), it's easy for teams to project you as the next great offensive threat at the position.

Losers

DaQuan Bowers, DE, Clemson - Bowers didn't have the worst podium meltdown - that honor clearly belonged to Ryan Mallett - but his assertion that his torn meniscus was "100 percent" raised a few eyebrows. Projected by some as the first overall pick, Bowers elected to skip the combine workouts, and the "100 percent" comment gained a lot of steam ... unless you read the entire statement. "I am 100 percent," Bowers actually said. "It was a small meniscus tear. It hampered me from my first three weeks of training, which is why I am not doing anything at the combine because I feel that I want the same amount of time that everybody else had to train and fully prepare for the combine."

That's fairly standard for people coming off of injuries in this situation; just because you're back to normal doesn't mean you're yet in the kind of shape you need to be to do the combine drills at an elite standard. But the soundbite may come back to haunt him if he doesn't shine at his Pro Day.

Tryon Smith, USC - Projected by some as the second-best tackle in this draft class because of his raw athletic gifts, Smith played right tackle at USC at 280 pounds, and wanted to show that his increase in weight to 307 pounds in tome for the combine was related to an increase in core strength. But after putting 29 reps up on the bench press, Smith pulled out of the rest of the drills because he's still rehabbing from a knee injury. He's expected to work out at his Pro Day on March 30, but it could be a rough month for him - his tape doesn't have enough examples of next-level strength, and teams are going to have to imagine him at left tackle at this point.

Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas - We've saved the best for last. It's easy to understand that Mallett doesn't want to talk about the rumors relating to his character and alleged (we need to underline alleged) drug use, but the way he handled his abbreviated press conference didn't just add to the questions; it also perpetuated the perception of Mallett as a person who is defensive in all the wrong ways.

The first question was about his supposed drug use, which set things off the wrong way. "First one, huh? No, I'm not going to talk about that right now," Mallett responded. I've got interviews with the teams. And what teams need to know, they need to know. I'm going to leave it at that." Eight minutes later, when it was pointed out to Mallett that these questions weren't going away if he didn't address them, he simply cut the media session short. When you see how Mallett handles a challenge in a relatively benevolent situation, it doesn't bode well. Most NFL teams have taken the lesion of Ryan Leaf to heart when it comes to quarterbacks - they spend much more time on the intangibles these days, and unless Mallett is able to present a very different version of himself to NFL teams, he's going to drop precipitously down quite a few NFL boards.

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NFL owners under mounting pressure as protests continue

What began as a regional uprising has swiftly grown into a continental revolution.��The protests–now in their sixth week–threaten to topple some of the biggest names in football.��Any hopes that the revolt would end after the downfall of Bills owner Ralph Wilson were dashed as disgruntled NFL fans resolve to take to the streets daily in [...]

Source: http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2011/02/nfl-owners-under-mounting-pressure-as-protests-continue.html

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Stew-Week-In-Review-Real-live-baseball-full-st?urn=mlb-326527

Stew Week In Review: Real, live baseball full steam ahead

Ah, it's good to be back in the swing of things. After a winter in which it seemed like interesting baseball news popped up with the frequency of Mike Kekich returning a phone call, we're back in the position of actually having too much to blog about. It'll be like that through the next eight months and we wouldn't have it any other way.

As we get into the 2011 season, I'd like to take a post each week to look back on the week just gone by. It's a good exercise to keep some perspective as we plow ahead through the year and a good way to point you toward some posts you might've missed. Remember that you can always keep closer tabs on us through Facebook and Twitter.

Among this week's highlights, we ...

• ... had the unbelievable privilege of interviewing Hank Aaron for our podcast.

... started our fourth annual spring swing by dispatching DB to the Cactus League.

• ... welcomed Rob Iracane, our newest Big League Steward, to the fold.

• ... took Iracane's list of Twitter do's and don'ts for baseball players to heart.

• ... celebrated the complete elimination of distractions from baseball.

• ... wondered why the Orioles handed Justin Duchscherer a misspelled jersey.

• ... flinched upon hearing the loss of Adam Wainwright to Tommy John surgery.

• ... queued up early for Chicago Cubs tickets because of Derek Jeter.

• ... asked Alex if Trevor Cahill can be a Cy Young contender in Oakland this season.

• ... were impressed by Mike Moustakas' knowledge of the great Royals before him.

• ... mulled the complexity of the Miguel Cabrera situation in Detroit's camp.

• ... predicted a short leash for Brian Wilson if his season goes south like the life of his new pal, Charlie Sheen.

Stay tuned this weekend as Dave will continue his posts from the Cactus League. And come back hungry on Monday morning, when my week-long tour of the Grapefruit League (Gulf Coast edition) begins with a look at the Philadelphia Phillies.

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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Rooney strike ? wonder goal or shinpad special?

Wayne Rooney's Old Trafford strike was pretty spectacular but "Goal of the Century" it was not.

Source: http://blogs.reuters.com/soccer/?p=18127

Once again, Jimmer Fredette is too much for San Diego State

SAN DIEGO — When Jimmer Fredette first emerged from the tunnel at Viejas Arena more than an hour before tipoff on Saturday afternoon, San Diego State's infamous student section greeted the BYU star with a robust chorus of boos.

Fredette's reaction? A sly but unmistakable grin.

Even though Fredette would say after BYU's 80-67 victory that he blocked out the taunts and cat calls of the roaring San Diego State crowd, it was clear to everyone watching that he thrived on the hostility.

Each time the threat of a San Diego State rally sent the sellout crowd into a full-throated frenzy, Fredette helped BYU regain momentum, sometimes with a driving layup or feathery jumper and other times with a pinpoint pass out of a double team to an open shooter. The national player of the year favorite scored 25 points and dished out nine assists, punctuating his latest masterful performance by chucking the ball high in the air as time expired.

"I've never seen a guy who loves playing on the road as much as he does," BYU guard Charles Abouo said. "He just loves the hostility and he feeds off the energy from opposing crowds. Whether it's him blocking it out or him feeding off it, he does a tremendous job. He's as good as anyone."

The brilliant decision-making of Fredette and the opportunistic perimeter shooting of his teammates did more than just enable BYU to complete a season sweep of sixth-ranked San Diego State. Handing the Aztecs their first home loss of the season also gave the Cougars a one-game lead in the Mountain West title race and thrust them into contention for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Already No. 3 in the RPI and No. 7 in the AP Top 25 entering Saturday's game, BYU validated those gaudy numbers with one of its best performances of the season in front of a national TV audience. The Cougars have now swept Mountain West rivals San Diego State and UNLV and defeated Arizona, Utah State and Saint Mary's, an impressive enough collection of victories for Aztecs coach Steve Fisher to label BYU "Final Four-good" after Saturday's game.

"They are a really, really good basketball team, and they showed that again today," Fisher said. "When they had to make a basket, somebody made a basket and it was never the same somebody. That's the mark of a really good team."

It's a testament to the toughness and focus of BYU's players that they never let San Diego State creep any closer than seven points during the final 12 minutes despite an emotionally charged crowd worthy of one of the biggest games in the history of either program.

Hundreds of San Diego State students camped out for tickets earlier this week, an everyday occurrence at a national power like Duke or Kentucky but a rarity for an Aztecs program that has never won an NCAA tournament game.

Many San Diego State students donned Mormon missionary costumes complete with bike helmets, short-sleeved white button-down t-shirts and ties. Others waved cardboard signs bearing hand-written messages such as "Conference polygamy is also a sin" or the crude but funny "My Jimmer shoots from long range too."

BYU brushed aside those jabs just as easily as the Cougars did a San Diego State defense that has been among the nation's best this season.

Fearful that Fredette might erupt for 43 points the way he did in the first meeting between the Mountain West leaders, San Diego State geared its entire defense around keeping the BYU star in check. Whether it was 6-foot-8 Billy White or 6-foot-2 Chase Tapley guarding Fredette, there was always a help defender or two ready to trap him on a ball screen or clog the lane if he drove to the rim.

Fredette forced a handful of shots on his way to an 8-for-23 night from the field, but more often than not he read the defense properly and made the right decision.

When James Rahon sank a 3-pointer to pull San Diego State within 50-47, Fredette responded with one of his own and then a steal and outlet pass for a layup to push the lead back to eight. When San Diego State trimmed the deficit to seven a few minutes later, Fredette made a layup and drew a foul and then found Jackson Emery on the wing for a 3-pointer to increase the advantage to 13. And when San Diego State launched one final run to pull within eight with five minutes to go, Fredette drew another double team, noticed James Rahon cheating off his man in the corner and fired a pass to Charles Abouo for another momentum-killing 3-pointer.

"You just have to read what the defense gives you," Fredette said. "Obviously they started to just put two guys out on me and doubled me as soon as I came over half-court and that leaves a guy open. I gave up the ball and (my teammates) were sticking shots. They were paying for doubling me tonight."

BYU made 14 of 24 3-pointers, four apiece from Fredette and Abouo, three from forward Noah Hartsock, two from Emery and one from reserve guard Stephen Rogers. Four San Diego State players scored in double figures led by Kawhi Leonard's 17 points and 13 rebounds, but the Aztecs couldn't overcome 34.4 percent shooting in the second half.

If the slights of the crowd weren't enough inspiration for Fredette, he acknowledged he drew motivation from the perception that BYU wouldn't beat San Diego State a second time. He said he watched ESPN's College Game Day on Saturday morning and saw that most of the analysts picked San Diego State.

"Everyone thought we were probably going to lose this game," Fredette said. "They haven't watched us all year. That's why they said that. I was looking forward to playing the best game we could and fortunately we were able to win."

Source: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/Once-again-Jimmer-Fredette-is-too-much-for-San-?urn=ncaab-326805

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Meet the New Boss: Grading the long-in-coming coaching hires

Wrapping up the weeklong grade book for the offseason coaching hires. Part One: Established head coaches moving up the career ladder. Part Two: Old faces resurfacing in new places. Part Three: Longtime assistants moving into their first Division I head-coaching gigs, wherever they can find them.

• MARK HUDSPETH (Louisiana-Lafayette).
Age (years as assistant): 42 (12 years as an assistant, most recently as wide receivers coach at Mississippi State under Dan Mullen.)
Replacing: Rickey Bustle, who finally lost a nine-year battle to keep his head above water with a 3-9 flop in 2010. The Ragin' Cajuns won exactly six games in four of Bustle's final six seasons, but never more, and still have never been to a bowl game.
Best resumé line: Hudspeth is an outlier on this list because he does have relevant head-coaching experience, as the top man at Division II power North Alabama from 2002-08. The Lions were 66-21 with a pair of undefeated regular seasons on Hudspeth's watch, and earned a spot in the D-II playoffs four times.
Why here, why now? Save one season as offensive coordinator at Navy, Hudspeth's entire career has been spent in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. With an SEC interlude under his belt, the Lafayette gig was the next rung on the ladder.
Grade: A–. Hudspeth has already won big on the college level, and comes from one of the most dynamic coaching staffs in the country last year. Even if ULL is a stepping stone, a bid to the GoDaddy.com Bowl will buy the locals' enduring affection.

• DON TREADWELL (Miami, Ohio).
Age (years as assistant): 50 (25 years, most recently as offensive coordinator at Michigan State.)
Replacing: Mike Haywood, who left for his ill-fated adventure at Pitt after leading the RedHawks to the MAC championship and the best single-season turnaround in the nation in his second year.
Best resumé line: Treadwell was one of the keys to Michigan State's breakthrough last year, taking over as interim head coach in the wake of boss Mark Dantonio's post-victory heart attack in September. The Spartans were 4-0 on Treadwell's watch, including the biggest win of the season, a 34-24 win over eventual Big Ten co-champ Wisconsin in the conference opener, and a convincing thumping of Michigan in Ann Arbor the following week.
Why here, why now? Treadwell played at Miami and returned briefly for a two-year stop as an offensive assistant in 1992-93; his Midwestern travels have also taken him to other schools in Ohio (Youngstown State, Cincinnati), in the MAC (Ball State) and the Big Ten (Michigan State). If Miami didn't hire him, the question would be why not?
Grade: A–. Treadwell's offenses have never set the stat sheet on fire in nearly a decade as an offensive coordinator, but he's been around the block, and after successfully keeping the Spartans on track in Dantonio's absence toward one of the best seasons in school history, the opening at his alma mater was the next logical step.

• KEVIN WILSON (Indiana).
Age (years as assistant): 49 (27 years, most recently as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma.)
Replacing: Bill Lynch, who was sacked after a last-place finish in the Big Ten last November, the 16th consecutive Hoosier head coach to leave Bloomington with a losing overall record.
Best resumé line(s): Wilson coordinated the highest-scoring offense in Division I history in '08, led by Heisman hero Sam Bradford. But his most enduring contribution may be his key role in the spread revolution as offensive coordinator at Northwestern, where he and head coach Randy Walker introduced the read option to smashing success in 2000.
Why here, why now? After failing to parlay the Sooners' success in 2008 into a head coaching gig (he was reportedly a serious candidate at Clemson and Mississippi State), Wilson may have felt it was time to jump while the window was still open. I'm not sure why else he'd take a job that's been stopping careers in their tracks for 60 years, unless he's just jonesing that hard to get back to the Midwest.
Grade: B+. For the Hoosiers, it's a clear win: Wilson has been one of the most respected and productive offensive minds in the country for years – so much so, in fact, that he seemed destined for a better gig when his time came. Indiana is a graveyard. Then again, any signs of life could be his ticket to the next rung up the ladder.

• STEVE ADDAZIO (Temple).
Age (years as assistant): 51 (16 years, most recently as offensive coordinator at Florida.) Replacing: Al Golden, on his way to bigger things at Miami after raising the Owls from perennial doormats – they were 0-11 before his arrival in 2004 and 1-11 his first season – to serious MAC contenders with 17 wins over the last two years, Temple's best two-year stretch since 1978-79.
Best resumé line(s): Addazio's spent 13 of the last 16 years at Syracuse, Notre Dame and Florida, coaching in six BCS bowls and earning a pair of national championship rings as Florida's offensive line coach in 2006 and 2008.
Why here, why now? Addazio is a native Northeasterner: He grew up in Connecticut and built a high school powerhouse there during a seven-year stint as head coach of Cheshire High before moving into the college ranks at Syracuse in the mid-90s. His six-year tenure at Florida is his only venture into the South, and with Urban Meyer's retirement almost certainly leaving Addazio without a job in the transition to the Will Muschamp administration, the Northward migration is a logical move.
Grade: B. Gator fans still mourning over the corpse of one of the nation's most fearsome offenses may think that mark's a little high. But the expectations aren't high at Temple, and he's certainly not going to be rattled or overwhelmed by the pressure after his prior stops, especially compared to the castigation he endured in 2010. Consistent mediocrity can keep him in good standing in Philly for a good long while.

• DARRELL HAZELL (Kent State).
Age (years as assistant): 46 (25 years, most recently as receivers coach and assistant head coach at Ohio State.)
Replacing: Doug Martin, who resigned after seven years of trying (and mostly failing) to turn Kent's perennially wayward ship.
Best resumé line: The consistent upward trajectory: Like the guy who turned a paper clip into a car by trading up, each of Hazell's eight moves over the last quarter-century have taken him to a marginally better post, from a humble start as running backs coach at tiny Oberlin (Ohio) College in 1986 to Ohio State for the last seven years.
Why here, why now? Including his playing days at Muskingum College, Hazell has spent more than half of his football career in Ohio, and all of it in potentially key recruiting areas throughout the Midwest and Northeast.
Grade: C+ Hazell is another blank slate from a resumé standpoint because he hasn't been specifically in charge of anything since serving as Oberlin's offensive coordinator from 1989-91. But frankly, the main qualifications for overseeing one of Division I's most enduring black holes – Kent State has appeared in one bowl game in its history, under future Washington legend Don James in 1972 – are patience and enthusiasm.

• JON EMBREE (Colorado).
Age (years as assistant): 45 (18 years, most recently as tight ends coach with the Washington Redskins.)
Replacing: Dan Hawkins, who cleaned up CU's outlaw image but got the boot last season with one bowl game, zero winning seasons and a very memorable rant to show for it after five years.
Best resumé line: "Tight ends coach" doesn't carry much cachet, but Embree has played position coach for three All-Americans (Christian Fauria and Daniel Graham at Colorado, Marcedes Lewis at UCLA), two Mackey Award winners (Graham and Lewis) and one future Hall-of-Famer (Tony Gonzalez, during Embree's three-year stint with the Kansas City Chiefs).
Why here, why now? Embree is at the head of a concerted revival of the halcyon Buffs of the late 80s and early 90s, teams that put together six straight top-20 seasons with a pair of Big 8 championships and a national championship under coach Bill McCartney. The result is an organization that's "Colorado to the core": Embree played for McCartney in the mid-eighties and returned as an assistant in 1993; his staff includes five new coaches who either played or coached under McCartney, including both coordinators, Eric Bieniemy (an All-American running back on the 1990 national title team) and Greg Brown (secondary coach from 1991-93). Two other staffers, Steve Marshall and Jashon Sykes, were part of the program under Hawkins' predecessor, Gary Barnett. Even Embree's sons, Taylor and Connor, are both playing for former Colorado coaches at UCLA and UNLV, respectively.
Grade: C. Embree brings an "All in the Family/Return to Glory" vision and some NFL chops, for whatever that's worth. But he's never been a coordinator at any level, much less a head coach. If he wasn't an alum, he'd be Tim Brewster.

• BILL BLANKENSHIP (Tulsa).
Age (years as assistant): 56 (Four years as an assistant, all at Tulsa.)
Replacing: Todd Graham, who left for Pittsburgh after guiding the Golden Hurricane to their third 10-win season in his four-year tenure.
Best resumé line: Blankenship is a local legend for building Tulsa's Union High into a perennial Oklahoma power, racking up 14 straight playoff appearances, eight district championships and finally three state championships in Blankenship's final four years at the school. He quit after the third title in 2005 to pursue his goal of
Why here, why now? See above. Blankenship was a starting quarterback at Tulsa in the late 70s, has spent most of his coaching career in Tulsa and is arguably the biggest gridiron name in the community. He probably also came significantly cheaper than another homegrown candidate, former Oklahoma quarterback/current Arkansas offensive coordinator Garrick McGee, though Tulsa is private and doesn't release salaries.
Grade: C–. High school coaches aren't automatically doomed to failure, but the track record for into-the-deep-end plunges like this one isn't very encouraging. (Most recently, North Texas flamed out in three-and-a-half years under local high school baron Todd Dodge.) On one hand, his resumé says Blankenship is a proven winner. On the other, the most relevant section of his resumé barely exists.

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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

Source: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Meet-the-New-Boss-Grading-the-long-in-coming-co?urn=ncaaf-323618

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Bourne-Blog-The-problem-with-missing-and-scorin?urn=nhl-326444

Bourne Blog: The problem with missing and scoring empty netters

In an interview earlier this week Jarome Iginla was discussing a play from the opening round of the Stanley Cup 2004 playoffs (1:20 mark) when he narrowly missed an empty net to seal Game 7. The puck went back the other way and Matt Cooke of the Vancouver Canucks scored in the final seconds to take the game to overtime. The Calgary Flames went on to win the game in OT, but missing that empty net almost cost him his only chance at the Stanley Cup thus far.

Just the other night San Jose Sharks rookie Logan Couture Tweeted: "Oh and if I get 10 thousand followers I promise I'll hit the empty net from now on." Guys beat themselves up about missing the freebies, but more importantly, they know how crucial it is that they bury them for the team's sake.

Just ask Patrick Stefan:

I've been a part of a missed ENG meltdown or two in my day as well - albeit, never one as direct as Stefan's, but they're all ugly in their own way. The problem is that the free "G" on your stat sheet can be awfully tempting. In college it happened on two separate occasions in the same year - a guy on our team fired at the empty net without gaining the red line and missed (even if there's only five seconds left, it's still a major faux pas to shoot from back there). Sure enough icing was called, and in both cases, the game was all knotted up mere seconds later.

Not good.

If you're going to go for the empty netter, there are a couple simple rules.

First, as the story above illustrates, gain the damn red line. Putting the team at risk for your own personal gain is about the most selfish thing you can do as a hockey player, and there's no better example of that then knowing you may stop the clock and bring the faceoff down into your own zone if you miss, but still saying "ah, eff it, I want this."

Next, never miss far-side wide, especially on a hard shot. I pulled off that untalented feat against Minnesota-Duluth in college with a full minute left in the game, wrapped the puck around the boards of the DECC like I was running Duluth's breakout, and even managed to trap myself deep in their zone. They spent the next minute taking turns wiring slapshots off goal posts until we eventually escaped with the win. I, however, did not escape the fate of being resigned to the bench the next time we were up a goal late.

Empty netters are hockey's natural way of rewarding the team's best defensive players, and they also provide a nice cherry-on-top for any player who brought his A-game that night and deserved those crucial minutes of ice time.

The only problem with ENGs is jealousy. Undeniably, the goals are kind of cheesy. Occasionally a player will find a way to tack on a bunch in the same year, and you hate to be neck-and-neck with a guy in team scoring (and don't kid yourself, that stuff matters to competitive athletes) and he's potted four empty netters (see: Brandon Dubinsky). Obviously, there's some skill that goes into scoring them, but for the most part, it's a lot luck and timing. You're kinda sorta supposed to be able to hit a target that's six feet wide from anywhere on the damn ice surface.

Milan Lucic leads the Boston Bruins in goals, but he also has a league-leading five empty-netters, roughly 20-percent of his goal total. That's almost asterisk worthy. I'm sure when he and Patrice Bergeron - six goals behind Lucic - joke around about it, Bergeron isn't shy to throw out the "five ENG" comment.

And speaking of jealousy, it's on the other bench too. When it's late in the game and your team is down a goal, you know the pulled tender is coming. So who gets to be that lucky sixth guy? There isn't a person sitting there who doesn't want it to be them. And when you don't get picked, there's nothing left to do but sit there and be bitter. You root for your team, of course, but any good player wants to be the guy in the action when it counts. Unless your team pulls out the rare last second goal, the game is basically over for you, the final buzzer may as well have gone.

But when you do get to be out there, goalie pulled and pressing, there is no more frustrating stat than the fact that you can get a minus for getting scored on in with tender in net. You shouldn't be able to get a plus either; that's a trade guys would gladly make. It's a whole different game situation - teams score on empty nets way more often than the other team pulls out a goal, so that means a team's best players eat four or five minuses over the course of the year, which can wind up being misleading.

I remember skating back up the ice watching the other team with solid possession, just hoping our last defenseman back would turn into Henrik Lundqvist and make a big save for all of our personal stats sake. Losing happens, but you'd rather not take the extra punch in the gut at the end of the game.

Being on the ice in that last minute of a close game is thrilling no matter which side you're on. When you get the chance to ice the game for your team and get a free goal, it's even sweeter.

Just don't miss. It's come back to haunt more than a few people.

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Mapping the talent: For top recruits, it's still 'Go South, young man'

Rivals High recruiting guru Dallas Jackson has crunched the numbers to determine which states produced the most Division I talent in the 2011 recruiting class, and thankfully went one step beyond noting that (as always) California, Florida and Texas churned out the most players. Of course they did, because those three states alone account for more than 25 percent of the entire U.S. population. In per capita terms, the map looks like this – the darker the red, the more players the state produced in relation to the total number of high school players in the state:

Florida produced 344 FBS signees, one behind Texas for the national lead, but with less than a quarter of Texas' available talent pool. Overall, the odds of a player from Florida signing up for a major college scholarship last year (1 in 111) were about four times better than players from both California (1 in 412) and Texas (1 in 454). The only other states that produced a ratio better than 1 in 200 were Georgia (1 in 171) and Louisiana (1 in 185) in relatively stacked years for both states. You might counter that the scouts need to get out of the South, but considering a quarter of the top 100 prospects in Florida are leaving the Southeast, the rest of the country seems to have decided it needs to get in.

At the other end of the spectrum, four states – New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wyoming – produced exactly zero FBS signees out of more than 10,000 high school players between them. Yes, even Alaska produced one, who is so obscure I can't identify him through any of the usual databases, but who singlehandedly gave the Frontier State slightly better odds (1 in 2,037) than Big Ten states Iowa (1 in 2,161) and Minnesota (1 in 2,312) and West Virginia (1 in 2,135). Maybe there's hope for the Fightin' Grizzlies of Palin U. yet.

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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

Source: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Mapping-the-talent-For-top-recruits-it-s-still?urn=ncaaf-319166

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InterTubing: An all-hoops highlight fest

Across the country, high school tournaments are beginning to get into gear, and that can mean only one thing: An all hoops edition of the week's best highlights! While there are other clips more worth noting, here's some of the best viral video gems from the past seven days.

• J.J. Bosak, Andrean (Ind.) vs. Hammond Morton (Ind.): While you don't ever get to see this shot swish through the net (if you did, it would have warranted a solo post at the very least), the fact that a full-court heave tied up a heated Northwest Indiana high school game at the buzzer -- and eventually paved the way for Andrean to scrape out a victory -- is worthy of praise enough. Seriously, how did Bosak hit that shot?

• Kyle Zaffuto, Brockport (N.Y.) vs. Brighton (N.Y.): The season hasn't been too rosy for Brockport, but Kyle Zaffuto put a sheen on the team's final game with this game-winning buzzer beater from the corner, clinching a 53-52 victory over Brighton on the school's home floor.

• Zachary Snowden, Plainfield South (Ill.) vs. Plainfield East (Ill.): Though this might be the least impressive of the game-winning buzzer beaters we've highlighted this season, Snowden's putback might have had the biggest impact, clinching at least a share of the Southwest Prairie Conference Championship with a 68-67 win against their crosstown rivals, capping a furious final minute rally.

• Jabari Parker, Simeon (Ill.) vs. Benet (Ill.): Parker might be the top sophomore prospect in the nation, and he's earned that praise with plays like these. The 6-foot-7 forward wasn't just comfortable going to the hoop on the break against 7-foot future Wisconsin star Frank Kaminsky, he went to the rim and dunked on him. Needless to say, we're now officially on the Jabari Parker watch ...

• Aaric Armstead, Hales (Ill.) and Mike Shaw, De La Salle (Ill.): What's better than a great dunk in a regionally-ranked showdown. Two straight great dunks in a regionally-ranked showdown! Just check out this tet-a-tet throwdown between Aaric Armstead and Mike Shaw, representing two of Chicago's finest in a face off on Friday.

• Brock Otis, Barlow (Ore.) vs. David Douglas (Ore.): If there is a better way to punctuate a tight rivalry victory than a dunk on the break over an opponent, we haven't seen it. With that in mind, cue the young Mr. Otis, who does the honors for his Barlow squad.

• Sheldon Jeter, Beaver Falls (Penn.) vs. California (Penn.): According to Rubino Productions, the Pittsburgh-area high school sports video maven/company, this is the Pittsburgh-area's dunk of the year. We didn't see enough of its potential competitor dunks to fairly adjudge whether it's the best, but it is a heck of an impressive fast break windmill.

Want more on the best stories in high school sports? Visit RivalsHigh or connect with Prep Rally on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/highschool/blog/prep_rally/post/InterTubing-An-all-hoops-highlight-fest?urn=highschool-326381