Former Geneva all-state defensive end Cory Hofstetter is off the team at Western Ill. and will be heading back home after this semester.

He's currently looking for a place to play, and you can read the full story here on Sunday.

But here is some extra nuggets that couldn't get into print:
On the situation at Western...
"It seemed kind of off just being there. A lot of the other players on the team, I know of at least ten kids that quit after this season. That's minimum. There's probably more than that that didn't like the program or were sick of the coaches."
author's note - Hofstetter was not listed on the full 2009 roster as a redshirt/scout player. On the numerical roster, only two underclassmen from 2009 did not return in 2010

"I was expecting something completely going there. On my visit, I had a great time -- that's one of the main reasons I came here. It seemed all the people were good and the atmosphere was nice, but after being here it wasn't even close to what I expected."

On what's next...
"I'm keeping my options open. I'm planning on coming closer to home. This summer I'll be living at home and having a job and trying to get things figured out."

"I still love the game and I'm trying to base it off football, but I also have to base it off academics and money because I'm going to paying for my own school. I need to find the place where I can find the most help."

On Aurora University...
"Aurora seems really good. One of my buddies plays there, Brandon Lee. He's told me a lot of good things about it. It's looking pretty good but I'm keeping my options open and I haven't made a decision yet and I don't plan on making one very soon."

On Northern Illinois...
"It's a possibility. I've got a couple friends that play up there. Pat Schiller, their starting middle linebacker, is one of my good buddies and our families are really close. He's told me a lot of good things about it there. I was being recruited by them pretty heavily coming out of high school. As of right now,

A final thought...
"I don't feel like it was a waste of a year. Everybody's first year of college is kind of just getting used to it. I just don't feel like I fit here at Western. I feel like I would fit somewhere different, possibly closer to home would be nice, so I could be closer to friends and family. That's one of the big things that made this season tough, was just on top of having to be at school three hours away, I didn't really have my friends and family and the football added to how I didn't enjoy the school year."

From ChicagolandRadioAndMedia.com

Apparently Florida Panthers play-by-play man Randy Moller was on The Score the other day and apparently he was invited to "sit in on an upcoming White Sox broadcast, perhaps on a day off for Farmio."

Hopefully The Score & the White Sox will make those days off permanent for Farmer. He's a nice enough guy, but he hasn't developed as a play-by-play man at all since Rooney left after the '05 season. The Sox radio broadcasts are terrible...

Yeah, riiiiggght

There's a lot to be said for an exclusive negotiating window and not allowing teams like the Red Sox, Cubs, White Sox or Mariners to drive up the price on a commodity that your farm system produced.

Apparently this blogger seems to think the Sox will shell out hundreds of millions of dollars for either Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder or Adrian Gonzalez.

That's flattering as a fan, in a way, but obviously shows this guy has no idea what he's talking about.

As you all know by now this isn't really the place to go to find hockey and video game news, but I had to touch on this.

It seems like video game company EA will incorporate a minor league into its next NHL game, NHL '11.

Now, its kind of like minor league hockey except its called major junior hockey up there and it's played by 16-20 year olds.
You can say they're professionals, so its OK if they're in a video game.
I guess it'd be like adding Class A, AA or AAA teams to a major league baseball game or the next Tiger Woods game having the top Nationwide or Hooters Tour players available.

That's all well and fine and I have no real issues with it.

But you could see where this might lead. It'll only be a matter of time before we see some major high school programs ending up in an NCAA football or basketball game (with no names, of course - no way the students could get paid off their exploitation, but that's a whole other thing) but more realistically, I could see AAU basketball and baseball coaches selling their names and uniform colors to the video game makers so they're part of the "owner" or "general manager" settings.

It seems far fetched - but is it really?

Congratulations are in order.

Tim Johnson, a senior at Marmion Academy who qualified for the state meet last fall and was named Beacon News Golfer of the Year, has signed a national letter of intent to continue playing the sport next year at Loyola University in Chicago.

An official announcement will be held Monday at the school.

well, maybe you're like me and just seeing this great baseball video of Fordham's Brian Kownacki, but what I found hilarious was the Iona manager coming out to argue and throwing his arms straight up (at the :37 mark) like Superman.

At least Sox fans aren't just beating up coaches

Did I really just kind of space out there for about five days?

I must have gotten lost in this fascinating new book I just received: The Theory of Hitting by Greg Walker

Well, Kentucky is losing one top point guard to the NBA in John Wall - but just locked up the top PG in the class of 2010 in Brandon Knight.

Of course, East Aurora guard Ryan Boatright won't head off to college until 2011, but you have to wonder if this decision will affect Boatright.

It's no secret that the Tomcats junior would love to play for Wildcats coach John Calipari, but I know he also wants to play right away - so you have to wonder if some of the other colleges interested in Boatright will use Knight's commitment to advance their own efforts in recruiting the talented point guard.

Sometimes, it's about being bad at baseball.

Twins second baseman Orlando Hudson inferred that former White Sox outfielder Jermaine Dye and the well traveled Gary Sheffield couldn't land free agent gigs this year in part because they are black.

Here is the quote from Hudson:
"Guy with [27 home runs and 81 RBIs] and can't get a job. Pretty much sums it up right there, no? You've got some guys who miss a year who can come back and get $5, $6 million, and a guy like Jermaine Dye can't get a job. A guy like Gary Sheffield(notes), a first-ballot Hall of Famer, can't get a job. ...

"We both know what it is. You'll get it right. You'll figure it out. I'm not gonna say it because then I'll be in [trouble]."

Players are idiots, for the most part - they just look at the final numbers and rally behind their buddies.

Sure, JD finished '09 with 27 HR & 81 RBI

What Orlando (or the author of that story) didn't mention was how JD hit .245 in July, .189 in August and .176 in Sept./Oct...good for a .179 "second half" average.
Or that he hit just 9 homers in the last three months of the year...7 over the final 60 games with a robust .293 OBP & .590 OPS.

Add that into his late 2008 collapse at the plate (.242 in August/.269 in Sept/Oct) maybe the interest (or lack thereof) had more to do with an old guy with no legs?

I won't even get into Sheffield, a noted clubhouse malcontent, steroid user and oh - over the age of 40. That's just an idiotic statement.

I guess if a player comes out and says it, race is a story. But sometimes, it's about production.

Why not do it again?

The Northern Illinois University and Iowa football teams are going to open the 2012 season at Soldier Field in Chicago. They met on the lakefront for the Labor Day season opener before a sellout crowd of 61,500, the largest to ever see a Huskie "home" game, in 2007.

The 2012 contest, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 1, will also be held on Labor Day Weekend.

"We're very excited to be able to play host to Iowa at Soldier Field to open the 2012 season," said NIU Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Jeff Compher. "Given the overwhelming success of the 2007 game, the benefits of playing a game in Chicago for our football program and for our entire university, and the opportunity to return to the city for Labor Day, this was a win-win-win situation."

"Both (schools) have huge followings and thousands of alumni in Chicago, many of whom are accustomed to attending football games at Soldier Field," Compher said. "In addition, playing in an NFL stadium provides our student-athletes with a great and unique game-day experience while showcasing our program in front of the third-largest media market in the country."

This will be the eighth meeting between the teams with Iowa claiming the previous seven.

I waited a bit to put out some thoughts on DePaul's hiring of Oliver Purnell to take over the men's basketball program because frankly, I had no idea who the guy was.

I knew he was given a 7 year, $15 million contract, but that was it.

Then I discovered he was plucked from Clemson after leading the Tigers to a 138-92 record several one-and-done appearances in the NCAA tournament. He also had a fairly good track record at Dayton, Old Dominion and Radford.

I also learned he will be 57 in a month and has no ties to Chicago.
His age caught me off guard initially, but then again:
Tom Izzo just turned 55
Jim Boeheim is 65.
Mike Krzyzewski is 63.

Of course, there are younger guns out there, some of whom DePaul was reportedly interested in:
Pitt's Jamie Dixon is 44.
Dayton's Brian Gregory is 43.
Butler's Brad Stevens is 33.

So really, age means nothing. True - the first three coaches I mentioned are NCAA champions, unlike Purnell.
But DePaul wasn't going to get a living legend.
Hell, they couldn't get Steve Lavin.

But what they did get was a guy who can get DePaul from where they are now (the bottom of the Big East) to where they want to be in 7 years (in the NCAA Tournament).
It will happen.
How can it not?
The tournament will expand to 96 teams next year.
The Blue Demons play in a power conference where 6-7 teams regularly got into the 64-team field.
If Purnell can mold DePaul into a 20-win program (which is his track record) - they will make the tournament.

He is an A-to-B coach.
Of course, they'll have to decide five years into the deal if they want to extend him - but if the Blue Demons are coming off consecutive one-and-done NCAA tourney appearances (which is likely with an expanded field) and they decide to fire Purnell, they'll have a much stronger chance of landing the B-to-C coach.

It's not a sexy hire and Purnell has a lot of work to do - especially with all the moaning and groaning going on in the public league (a story for another day) - but I've come around to think that this was a good move for the Blue Demons.

I've covered plenty of high school boys volleyball matches over the years, and there are some exceptional athletes out there - and some of them can really send the ball to the floor with authority.
This is hilarious proof of that.

I don't think anyone would have been shocked if Waubonsie Valley alumnus Michael Bowden had made the Boston Red Sox roster as the last arm in the bullpen. Bowden - a lifelong starter - even said he'd be happy in that role and looked forward to it.

But just before being sent back down to Pawtucket at the end of the spring, it was reported that Red Sox management told the right-hander they wanted him to be a starter and to continue to work on a revamped motion.

While all that may be true - Bowden's path back to the mound at Fenway Park as a starter had another huge obstacle dropped in the middle of it on Monday when the Red Sox re-signed ace Josh Becket to a 4-year, $68 million deal.

Beckett ($68 mil) - 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
John Lackey ($82.5 mil) - 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Jon Lester ($30 mil) - 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 (team option)
Clay Buchholz ($396K) - 2010, 2011*, 2012*, 2013*
* aribitration eligible
Tim Wakefield ($5 mil) - 2010, 2011

and of course, don't forget about an injured big name that fits in that rotation
Daisuke Matsuzaka ($103.11* mil) - 2010, 2011, 2012
* includes $51.1 mil posting fee

Let's face it - the only way Bowden gets to Boston permanently as a starter now is as a 4th or 5th starter. And he obviously doesn't have an edge over draft-mate Buchholz.

Wakefield can be used out of the bullpen for sure, but obviously the Boston braintrust feels more comfortable with him as the next choice after injury than Bowden.

Injuries are the wild card of course - and it's well within the Red Sox's right to keep him down in Pawtucket as insurance. But it seems that after this recent contract extension, Bowden's time is definitely running short with Boston.

Gotta love it!

This we know.

But the Chicago area is fortunate that it a ton of charities that not only promote the message, but do something about it.

One of them is Athletes Against Drugs, founded 25 years ago Stedman Graham "to provide underserved youth with educational programming."

AAD is hosting an event on April 8 at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park, featuring the likes of Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, White Sox general manager Ken Williams and former Bear Jerry Azumah (among others).

This event precedes a couple of events in April and June that will raise some money to help kids (through sport) stay off the bad stuff.

Here's an example - "AAD currently serves more than 500 students at the Daniel Webster Elementary School in Chicago, where 98.8 percent of students are from low-income families. The program enriches students' lives, providing them with health & wellness programs, educational programs, and leadership activities."

If you want to donate, click here.

Marmion Academy alumnus and two-time Beacon News Player of the Year Matt Milroy picked up his first collegiate victory on Wednesday afternoon over Chicago State University.

Milroy, a right hander, gave up one run over five innings against Chicago State University in his first start for Illinois.

As of Wednesday, the former Boston Red Sox draft pick has appeared in four games and posted a 7.00 ERA in nine innings as a true freshman.

What better way to celebrate this day than by viewing sports idiots...Enjoy!
in lacrosse...

in hockey...

in women's basketball...

in baseball...

in women's soccer...

in high school football...

in rugby...

Of course, there's soccer, which has too many videos to post...

Then, there are soccer fans - truly the biggest fools/idiots in the sporting world..