End of an Era

Gooooooooooooooooddddddddddddddddd afternoon Everybody!!!!

Nearly 19 years since the inception of the program, Mike and the Mad Dog, is now no longer. Fatso and Fruit loops (as Imus loving referred to the boys as) are done after a 19 year run. Love them or hate them, the show was entertaining and was a metropolitan New York institution. Mike will stay on WFAN and the pride of Rollins College, the dog, will reportedly ink a 5 year deal with Sirius worth approximately 15 million.

Personally I am sad to see Russo go, in my opinion he could be very annoying but was the more likable of the two. I won't be tuning into listen to Mike talk about how great and smart Mike is and I don't get satellite radio, so no Russo for me either. As much as a charade the show had sometimes become, it is still a sad day.

Christopher's tirade after the player/fan/Artest brawl in Detroit a few years back is one of the betters listens I have ever had....don't be a stranger Chris....

Newsday

other Notes:
How ridiculous is Michael Phelps? had the pleasure of watching him win number 6 last night, gold medals and world records that is...nice effort by the Phils being swept in 4 by the Dodgers for the first time since 1962, please baseball season just end already....speaking of, European Football season kicks off this weekend and I am ecstatic, good luck to Gregg and the boys from Munich

--BD

Any Given Friday?

New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Orlando and Hartford are supposedly the cities that the new UFL has chosen as homes to their six teams.

Hartford?? The Northland group, owner of much Hartford real estate and operator of Rentscher Field and the Civic (XL)Center (by way of Anschutz Entertainment Group), are the people attempting to lure the team to Connecticut.

The league's commissioner Michael Huyghue, a Windsor native, told SI's Peter King that Hartford would be among six sites given franchises. Reports also mention Mark Cuban and the Wilpon family as potential owners of the LA and New York teams.

A UFL spokesman offered that franchise locations could be officially announced in the next few weeks, they will begin play in 2009, will play games on Friday nights, and that one of their most coveted signings would be Michael Vick .

Rentschler Field, thought not confirmed as the facility of interest, is the only option in the area for this type of venture.

Stay tuned.

Mulcahy Heading for a Sitdown

Alot of buzz currently surrounds the Rutgers Athletic Department regarding some possible behind the scenes mischief. The initial reaction, "faghettaboutit," from Bob Mulcahy apparently is not going to work out -- now RU president Richard McCormick (who is feeling some major heat) has announced a planned "full review" of the athletic department. Lots of rumors of no-bid deals, under funded expansion and hidden salary for Greg Schiano are chief behind the need for a look into the situation. Its nice to be a State U and have all the resources that go along with that, but it becomes more and more difficult during economic times like these -- at the end of the day its the taxpayers paying for most of the budget and not all of them are rabid sports fans. Hopefully everything works out, as a successful Scarlet Knight program (in the shadows of the Big Show) is good for the league. NY Post

Summer in Storrs

Calhoun's second go at running his "elite basketball camp" will begin at Gampel this Sunday and Monday. Looks to be a great recruiting tool used by some of the big hitters in the college game.

Attendee Updates: Dominic Cheek (pictured), the 6-foot-5 guard out of St. Anthony's (scout's # 11 in the Class of 2009) will be attending. Cheek, you will recall, teamed with Kemba on the U.S. U-18 team in Argentina and the two apparently "developed a good rapport." I think a lot of people have developed a good rapport with Dom, but his attendance would be encouraging.

Jordan Hamilton (2009 scout's # 14), the 6-7 forward out of Compton, California, will not be attending the camp. He should be in Storrs on an unofficial visit in late August, however.

Some others who are scheduled to appear (scout overall rankings listed for their class if available):

• UConn 2009 commits Alex Oriakhi (#22) and Jamaal Coombs (#51) from the Tilton School in New Hampshire
• Daniel Orton (#10, 2009), a 6-9, 260, Center from Bishop McGuinness High in Oklahoma City. This defensive beast has offers from Kansas, Ohio State and Oklahoma
• Durand Scott (#27, 2009), a 6-5 combo guard out of Rice High in the Bronx
• Phil Pressey (#33, 2010), a 5-8 junior point guard out of Cushing Acadmey in Massachusetts (the son of ex-Buck Paul Pressey)
• Brandon Knight (#5, 2010), a 6-3 PG from Fort Lauderdale. Top-ranked point guard in 2010 class
• Patrick Young (NR, 2010), a 6-10 Center out of Jacksonville who is garnering some mid level ACC interest (V-tech, Florida State)
  
• Andre Drummond (2011), a 6-9 sophomore from Middletown, who attends Capital Prep, is generating plenty of local interest at the Hartford Pro-Am this summer
  

Other notes from Storrs;

• Calhoun just completed his 24th radiation treatment with nine more to go, the final one is set for Aug. 8
• Calhoun to Borges on the 08-09 backcourt, "A.J. is my point guard, without question, but because maybe of some physical problems, and because of Kemba, he's got the same amount of work as anybody else. But the good thing is, they can all play together. We can play Craig (Austrie) at the 1 or 2, A.J. at the 1, maybe the 2, Kemba probably is a 1, Nate (Miles) is a 1, 2 or 3."
• Stanley Robinson is currently taking a class at an Alabama community college. He'll take two more courses over the fall, and if all goes well, would be welcomed back at UConn for the second semester. Scholarship wise, Robinson would have to pay his own way, but as a full-qualifier he would get nearly a full ride. That would be a very odd situation, never heard of such a thing...stay tuned.
• Interestingly, Andrew Bynum has asked to play in Calhoun's charity all-star game at Mohegan, JC said, "I appreciated Bynum's interest, but it ended up not being the best thing to do. It's been a UConn thing."Borges Blog for full reports
  

BD