So, how is East Aurora grad Ryan Boatright doing in his first week at the University of Connecticut?
Sounds like he's getting acclimated just fine.
Check out this report on a Tuesday night pickup session by the Huskies that was filed by Hartford Courant beat writer Mike Anthony in his blog.
College beat writers covering pickup games? Guess so, especially if it's the national champs. It's good to be king(s).
Marmion Academy and Northern Illinois grad Larry English, who will be back in town for a July 8th camp he's hosting at Marmion, apparently found some work during the lockout.
Here's a television commercial he did for a local San Diego jeweler that drew the attention of a Charger blogger.
Everyone loves a good manager-umpire argument. They're fun.
But no one argues like minor league managers. No one.
Aurora's Ryan Boatright is no longer a one-man recruiting class for coach Jim Calhoun and the Connecticut Huskies.
The reigning national champs of college basketball landed another 2011-12 recruit this week with the verbal commitment of 6-foot-8 DeAndre Daniels to go with the 5-11 point guard from East High.
Daniels' coach Vince Walden of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., made the announcement Monday. It was a big surprise considering Daniels had earlier made a verbal commit to Texas and was being pursued by the likes of Kansas, Duke and Florida, among others.
The news surprised because 69-year-old UConn coach Jim Calhoun has been saying since the Huskies won his third NCAA title in april he wasn't sure if he was coming back for next season, even though he's signed for three more seasons.
UConn has been docked scholarships twice in the last six months by the NCAA, once for recruiting infractions and once for the poor academic performance of players in the program.
Many observers believe Daniels' decision cements the fact that Calhoun will be coming back for at least another season. That, of course, is something Boatright told us and we reported last week in the Beacon News.
Other players to come out of IMG Academy include Chauncey Billups, Joakim Noah, Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant.
By now, you know my affinity for bad songs, rap or otherwise, made by professional athletes in the 1980s...but this is something really, really special.
Some unidentifiable Pats (at least to me) make an appearance, and one of them decides to do a bad Stevie Wonder impression...then Craig James gets a great closeup as he rhymes "Ray Ber-ry" with beating the Bears "100 to 3". Ugh.
And what's with that sportscaster breaking out the glock during a newscast and pointing it at a stuffed bear that has clearly been taken hostage? Man, some things were better in the 80s....
On Saturday, Marmion Academy will face the Kaneland Knights, who will be throwing ace Bobby Thorson, despite throwing a complete game on Saturday and throwing 18 high stress pitches in picking up the save in the Knights' victory Wednesday.
When I asked Marmion catcher Kyle Kozak about facing Thorson, this is what he said:
"We'll be fine. We'll hit him. The (press) loves him. I think he's a little bit overrated. We'll come out and we'll hit him. We'll hit him."
Thorson, along with teammates and the Kaneland coaching staff, was on hand to scout the Cadets - though it was Rochelle starter Sean Hudson was the one to add some bulletin board material of his own.
"Kaneland is definitely a tougher lineup to face," said Hudson, who faced the Knights once this season. "Kaneland is full of athletes."
Saturday's sectional championship was moved up to 10 a.m. to accommodate Kaneland's graduation ceremony later in the afternoon.
Rick Armstrong
Mike Knapp
A sports writer at the Beacon News for over eight years, Knapp is the Kane County Cougars beat writer.
