Big East to St Pete for Bowl official

Great job by the Big East. They make the date in St. Pete against a C--USA team attractive because of the site. Then, the Pizza Bowl is against an SEC team. Good job.

BIG EAST ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH NEWLY LAUNCHED ST. PETERSBURG BOWL

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The BIG EAST Conference has announced a partnership with the newly launched St. Petersburg Bowl that will pit the conference’s representative against an opponent from Conference USA at Tropicana Field beginning in 2008.

The BIG EAST’s participation in the St. Petersburg Bowl is in concert with another negotiated change to the conference’s annual bowl arrangement. The PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, Ala., which had featured a BIG EAST school against a Conference USA opponent, will now match the BIG EAST against an opponent from the Southeastern Conference.

The NCAA certified the St. Petersburg Bowl Wednesday. The bowl was established by ESPN Regional Television and the game will air on ESPN in December.

“The St. Petersburg Bowl is another great bowl opportunity for the BIG EAST,” said Commissioner Michael Tranghese. “The game is played in a BIG EAST market and already has generated great interest in the local community. The partnership with ESPN will help the game grow quickly. Our coaches are always excited to play a postseason game in the state of Florida.”

“We look forward to the opportunity to host a bowl game at a great destination – St. Petersburg,” said Pete Derzis, Senior Vice President and General Manager of ESPN Regional Television. “The St. Petersburg area has a great association with sports, it’s a great venue, and this is sure to be a rewarding experience for the student-athletes and their teams as well as the fans who attend the game.”

The 2008 PapaJohns.com Bowl, meanwhile, will be played at Legion Field in Birmingham Dec. 29 and televised on ESPN. That bowl is also operated by ESPN Regional Television.

Russell to transfer

Give props to the UConn Daily Campus on this one.

Danny Russell is reportedly transferring.

I am trying to confirm, but there are quotes from Russell so it's not like I am expecting something else. Nothing like being on campus. Good school newspapers are very important in this regard. Nice job.

As far as D-Line -- there is depth there. He was a good prospect, but you can't miss what you don't have.

BCS likely to remain the same

Pac-10 and Big 10 are already saying not to blame them.

I am going to take the opposite of every other sportswriter here.

I don't care for a playoff or the plus 1 system. College football is tremendous, keep it the way it is. It's not a prefect way to end the season, but why is having a national champion even that important? Besides television and the want of sports fans for a decisive and dramatic matchup, is it really necessary?

The NCAA tournament has ruined college basketball. Will a 16-team playoff do the same for college football? What happens if 8-3 Florida runs the table?

Do you do neutral site playoff games? Yeah right, that's a money loser.

How does a fan base travel 3 or 4 straight weeks? Do you do home games? Maybe, but why would UConn want to play a round of 16 game at Florida St for example instead of a bowl game against Florida St in Charlotte?

The bowl game is the be all and end all and can be heavily marketed. The playoff means UConn likely loses with 5000 of its fans in attendance.

Let the professionals have definitive champions. Colleges need not mess with a system that has worked for 100 years.

Bowls promote schools. Playoffs determine champions. Unless you are the No. 1 or No. 2 ranked team, promoting your school is more important. What happens to the other 40 teams? Is their season over at the end of the regular season?

Late to the party

Tyvon Branch in the 4th round and Donald Thomas in the sixth of the NFL draft to the Raiders and Dolphins. I was at the Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance Gold Key Dinner Sunday, so I am playing catch up.

Good spot for both however. UConn has five players leave the team through graduation. Two were drafted and two in Danny Lansanah (Packers) and Dan Davis (Colts) signed free agent contracts shortly after the draft.

Anyhow, check out some stories from the Gold Key Dinner last night.

Hartford Courant

New Haven Register

Draft Day

No, I am not Bill Simmons and going to blog the NFL Draft. The draft is like watching paint dry, and I will wait 4 hour for the Giants to pick.

My hunch is Branch in the late second round. He was a Cowboys fan as a kid. I like Donald Thomas too, I am thinking 5th or 6th round. Guards aren't hot commodities. Lansanah will be scooped up quickly if he isn't taken late.

Branch said he isn't going to watch the draft, just too time consuming.

Rutgers says no to Notre Dame

Rutgers refuses to play at Giants Stadium.

Of course, the AP story states that UConn-ND agreed to a series on Wednesday. That hasn't happened. UConn and ND still have a lot of negotiating to do. But, sometimes facts get in the way of a good narrative. The AP story out of Hartford Wednesday was clear that this was a legislative hurdle. The story out of Rutgers said UConn-ND agreed.

Of course, the narrative that will develop is Rutgers showed pride and UConn acquiesced to the advances of Notre Dame.

Of course that's not accurate.

UConn and Rutgers are vastly different in geography. Rutgers is in the NYC market, so a home game at Rutgers certainly satisfies Notre Dame's metro want. East Hartford isn't New York City. So, the only playing in metro market arguments for Notre Dame are diminished here. I do know Notre Dame wants NFL size stadiums in major markets. UConn had neither. Rutgers at least has one of the components.

Would Rutgers have benefited for playing Notre Dame? Of course.

The difference is Rutgers has a bit of an inferiority complex with its football program. The reason its chests are always puffed out (and the program talks as big as any team in the country) is because they want so badly to be the Florida State, Penn State etc. of the East Coast.

If this was a non-stater, why did Rutgers even consider this deal in the first place? By announcing now that they have refused Notre Dame, they are taking a swipe at UConn, which is proceeding with its deal.

Then, there is the political realm. How could Rutgers accept state money to expand the stadium,then play at Giants Stadium? Politically untenable, and unpopular with the fan base.

It's about putting your program in the best light possible. UConn needs to play Notre Dame because it helps build the program. The benefits outweigh the negatives.

Rutgers' big problem is the perception of being a perennial loser. In that sense, by saying no to Notre Dame it shows that this Rutgers team is bigtime.

Perception is everything in college football. UConn feels having ND on its schedule is a benefit. Rutgers feels rejecting Notre Dame's proposal is a benefit. To each his own.

Here is my prediction: Now that Rutgers has refused to play Notre Dame, someone in the Jersey legislature is going to try and put the stops on UConn playing ND at Giants Stadium. Why would New Jersey want the University of Connecticut to upstage the State University of New Jersey in football?

Would the CT legislature allow Rutgers to play ND at the Yale Bowl? Fat chance of that happening.

My bet would be that all three games happen at Gillette Stadium in the UConn-ND series.

Notre Dame day in the JI

Here are today's stories.

UConn going green?

Some thoughts. Jeff Hathaway was grilled pretty good by the press corps at the Speaker's Office. They are ferocious. I don't think some of the journalists there understood the dynamic well enough. They started getting on him about ticket prices and playing Notre Dame and other details of the contract that UConn hasn't even thought about. Questions were sharp and aggressive though not entirely relevant. Maybe they were beating up on him for fun.

It's simple. If you buy season tickets and you don't want to buy the Note Dame game you can get the six game Rent package. If you want the Notre Dame game, then you can buy a 7 game package. Now, the ND game won't be some super premium price that makes it unaffordable to regular people. UConn learned from the U-Game disaster, which poisoned the UConn-UMass series basketball games.

The games won't begin until 2011, why are we interested in ticket prices 3-4 years out? And the poor students? They are in middle and high school right now. No one has thought about this. It's premature outrage.

Hathaway made it pretty clear that he wasn't going to do a deal like this with any other school. UConn has said no to Texas and also won't do a 2-for-1 with other major BCS powers.

On Rent expansion:

Randy Edsall brought it up, but Hathaway is far too seasoned. He said their were no discussions. This is not going to happen in the current economic climate. Heck, that the stadium was built was a product of the timing.

Edsall wants the stadium to bring in major teams. He was adamant however that Notre Dame wasn't going to come here even if UConn expanded. Notre Dame plays a regional schedule.

How is this for a UConn schedule:

I-A (Rhode Island, UMass, Maine, Hofstra, New Hampshire)
7 Big East games
MAC --Buffalo or Temple (NOT BOTH!)
BCS team or service academy (preferably Army and/or Penn State)
Boston College
Notre Dame

That would be a pretty good schedule.

Final hurdle cleared

Press conference today at the capital to announce that UConn can still negotiate with Notre Dame.

Here is the deal, six game series starting in 2011-2017 with three games in South Bend and three games at either Gillette or Giants Stadium. In those seasons where UConn plays at Gillette or Giants Stadium, UConn will have six games in East Hartford.

Season ticket holder will be able to buy 6 games only package and if they want, get a discounted ticket included in their package for Notre Dame. Season ticket holders won't have to buy an ND ticket if they don't want to.

Of course, UConn will play USF Nov. 23, a Sunday, in Tampa. It's terrible, but you do what you have to do to get on TV...I guess

Some Randy Edsall notes:

Randy Edsall wants the stadium expanded 20,000 more. Maybe because he was in the capital he was pushing the legislature to expand the stadium. Now, that's politics. Hathaway was asked about that in the pres conference, he said no plans are in the works to do that.

Edsall also wants to play Boston College.

"It's a crime that we don't play BC." Edsall also said that he would like to play Notre Dame and Boston College.

Edsall on Notre Dame

Of course the big news had nothing to do with the game. Randy Edsall addressed Notre Dame. Here is what I have from it. It's just some quotes and missing some context, but you get the drift.

Edsall on playing Notre Dame at a neutral site:

“What we try to do is grow the program and we want to grow it on a national level. (To do that), you play teams with a national following. No school has more of a national presence than Notre Dame.”

"To play the team enhances our program. You get tremendous exposure."

"Would I like to play them at Rentschler Field? I would. But, that is not an option."

If House bill House bill 5878 passes:

"To not be able to have an opportunity to play, it hinders our opportunity as a football program."

On losing a home game at Rentschler Field: "We are going to work diligently that we have six home games a year. We are not losing any games at Rentschler Field."

"Have we taken anything away from East Hartford?"

On how strong he feels about playing the game:

"I wouldn't have put 9 1/2 years (of building the program on the line) if I felt that in any way, shape or form this wasn't an advantage for the University of Connecticut. I would have told (athletic director) Jeff Hathaway that it is not right.

"I hope people understand that we are trying to do what is in the best for four football program and the university."

Blogging the spring game

Heck, I will do it as practice. If you are reading this live call me for help. I will have some psychiatrists come and talk to you. IT IS BEAUTIFUL OUTSIDE. Come to the game.

Quick notes: Mike Hicks is barred from team activities for two weeks. It's not a suspension. What is it? I don't know. But he isn't playing today. A non-suspension suspension.

* Field looks terrible. I would give the grounds crew a break, but I have my doubts that it will be better next year.

Be back more later.

Captains:

D.J. Hernandez
Tyler Lorenzen
Cody Brown
Darius Butler

And away you go.

First quarter
Update 12:08: 3rd and 13 draw in th spring game? LOL.

UPDATE 12:17: Teggart misses 40 yard FG. Plenty of leg, hit post.

Update 12:21: Big play by Marcus Easley on a nice throw from Zach Frazer off play action good for 59 yards. 3rd and goal from the eight and sweep? I digress. Tony C. short field goal, 3-0 Blue.

First quarter wrap: A couple of big plays, Robie Frey 41 yard run and Marcus Easley 59 yard catch. 3-0 Blue. Not much doing in the passing game on either side. Not much of a surprise. Jarrell Miller is playing some defensive end. Kijuan Dabney and McClain join Robert Vaughn and Darius Butler on the first team defense.

Second quarter
QB Zach Frazer (now with the white team) QB sneak. 7-3 White.

Update 12:46: Dixon 3 yard TD run. Scott Lutrus couldn't bring him down. 10-7 Blue.

Second quarter wrap: Running game looks good. Frey showing some nice strength and burst. Donald Brown can't convert a 4th and 1 1/2. Good job by the D-Line.

Third quarter

Update: Passing game coming along. Frazer has made some nice throws and Cody Endres hasn't tried to do something not capable.

Third wrap

Blocked punt by Cody Brown, and a nice INT by Terry Baltimore. Passing game looks good and the running game is excellent. Speed of the linebackers are apparent. 20-14 Blue. We will see what the final quarter brings.

Fouth quarter

Update 2:05. Abysmal throw in the endzone by Zach Frazer (with the white in the 2nd and 4th) leads to an INT. Jameson Davis picks it off.

Tyler out for spring game and more

Sorry so late, was at Randy Smith's wake and then I made sure I was going to stay away from work for tonight. You never know what life brings, make sure your spend time with your family.

Here is a quick update. Tyler Lorenzen is never going to play a spring game for UConn. The senior QB is out for Saturday with an ankle sprain. He wasn't at practice on Thursday, he and D.J. Hernandez were accepting an academic award.

I think it's a good thing. Tyler doesn't need the practice time, and it's not like he is building any chemistry with the wide receivers.

Zach Frazer finally gets his chance. He hasn't played a game in two years and I am eager to see him throw. Frazer is dying to play, he knows this is his last chance and he knows if Tyler goes down next season the team is his (at this point I don't think Endres is close to Lorenzen).

As far as depth of the team, last year Matt Vollono is the No. 2 QB and now it's Cody Endres. I dont' know about you, but that's progress. I am not sure I pick Vollono in a game in my backyard. The kid next door has a pretty good arm.

Looks like good weather. Tailgating looks good.

My Blue and white prediction?

No. 1 defense beats No. 1 offense 21-7.

Draft Day nears: I talked with Tyvon Branch, Danny Lansanah and Dan Davis briefly. They are all excited. Branch is calm, he knows he is getting taken and I suspect first 3 rounds. Lansanah is a bit nervous. He knows he is going to end up in camp with someone, but there is an outside shot he is taken late. Dan Davis is likely a camp invitee. He is playing all over. He has worked out with teams at defensive tackle, defensive end, and get this -- linebacker. Davis has been looked at as a 3-4 linebacker. He has slimmed down somewhat to 275. He is going to get an invite if he shows he can be versatile or project somewhere else, why wouldn't he make a practice squad?

I think Davis should try the offensive line to be honest.

Stories on Randy Smith

Journal Inquirer

The Man who wrote well

Randy Smith: He was a wordsmith

JI staff on Randy Smith


Other newspapers:

From Mike DiMauro of The Day.

Hartford Courant


Here are the arrangements:

Calling hours: Thursday, 4-8 p.m., Holmes Funeral Home, 400 Main St., Manchester.

Funeral service: Friday, 11:30 a.m., South United Methodist Church, 1226 Main St., Manchester. Burial will be at East Cemetery, 220 East Center St., Manchester, followed by a memorial reception at Manchester Country Club.

Randy Smith

It's a tough day around here in JI land. Longtime sports editor and columnist Randy Smith has passed away at the age of 61. Randy has brought unique insight to sports and his writing is as good as anyone I have ever read. When Randy nailed a column, he really nailed it. In this day of herd journalism and quick, short and mindless prose, Randy could turn a word with the best of them. Most of the writing done today is formulaic. Randy was a craftsman. He loved golf, it's fitting that a Masters column was his last.

When Randy said he liked something you wrote it meant it was good --very good. If there is one writer in the state I tried to impress it was Randy. He knew good writing. What I will remember most about Randy is the way he left a press box. It was never goodbye or take care. It was much more simple.

"Write well."

I'll try my best Mr. Smith.

Saturday quick practice update

Quick update, will give some more thoughts when I get a chance to sit down.

The offense was shaky. Zach Frazer (who is No. 2 on the depth chart almost certainly) struggles with his mechanics. Still, this was the entire offense of first and second team's that looked a step slow. Randy Edsall didn't hide his displeasure at the performance.

The big news in the injury bug:

Tyler Lorenzen is out with a right ankle sprain. When I walked in, Rob LUnn was walking out on crutches with another ankle sprain.

Lorenzen's availability for Saturday is questionable. Regardless, the Huskies are going to play a real game this spring. First team offense vs. first team defense.

More later...

Friday thoughts

It's been a week, I know. I have been busy with non-uconn work and other things. I am president of the Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance and we have the yearly Gold Key dinner coming up at the Aqua Turf. For a list of award recipients visit our site www.ctsportswriters.org. If you want to come to the dinner, the prime rib is $75.

Anyhow, even though I wasn't at practice, Thursday was Moe Petrus day. The reason I know? Moe Petrus day was supposed to be Tuesday but he was one of the dozen players who were shuttled off for a drug test per NCAA rules (all athletes are tested at some point).

I do like the way Petrus and Hurd play and the idea behind having those two at guard. Mike Hicks is massive, but he is slow with his footwork and he isn't mobile enough in the pro-style offense the Huskies run. If they ran a power option running game, Hicks would be a great tackle to just get behind. But, asking him to become a pulling guard isn't possible. He isn't that quick.

Petrus fits nicely at guard, and I know Hurd is someone the coaching staff has always liked. He was even impressive as a defensive lineman as a true freshmen. Ryan and Hicks have to be able to to handle the speed rush outside better. Both struggle against speed.

Look forward to practice on Saturday. Blue White game next week!

Some non-UConn football thoughts:

Looks like the UCF player who died was engaging in a rigorous workout. I smell disaster coming. UCF has tired to say he was doing light workouts etc. Now, players are saying he showed signs of distress etc. This smacks of a cover-up even if there isn't one. This is going to get ugly regardless of the culpability of the UCF coach or trainer running the workout.

NBA! It's fantastic!

The NBA this season has for the first time in about 15 years swallowed up college basketball. I get annoyed when I talk to hoops fans who swear by college instead of pro hoops. Let's be clear on this, and I do watch hoops religiously, the NBA at it's best blows the NCAA out of the water. College basketball is so dependent on the NCAA tournament for drama that when you get the worst NCAA tournament in 20 years (typical that the title game was blown by Memphis) it leaves you wanting more.

The NBA's run in the Western Conference has been incredible. 48 or 49 win Golden State, a team almost approaching the fun to watch level of Run TMC (Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin) will not make the playoffs. The Nuggets would have fit in in the ABA. Shaq and the Suns are intriguing, Chris Paul is great, the Mavericks are the most dangerous 7 seed I have ever seen and of course, the Spurs will raise their level and win the West.

Combine a legendary playoff push in the west with the resurgent Celts and then Pistons in the East and it is going to be an electric postseason. The NBA playoffs are superior to the NCAA tournament anyway. The playoffs always deliver drama and good games.

On the subject of the NBA: UConn center Hasheem Thabeet's draft stock is about as volatile as Bear Sterns share price. Where does he go? Should he come out? As a militant NBA fan, I don't see anyway he gets in the lottery being so raw. He has lottery potential, but the analysis an NBA GM has to make is how long will it take weighed against the likelihood he never reaches it.

The analysis that you are taking him high as a project because of is potential is lazy. First off, how long will the project take? That is as important as his potential. Is he going to need 6 years? If so, he is radioactive as a draft pick. Two years? Then he is probably between 10-20.

If you are a GM and you project that he needs three years or more to be ready he will drop like a stone. GM's are in the business of keeping their jobs and you can't sell a project to a 25 win team. Not three years. Draft a project and it's the first step towards your eventual firing.

The era of drafting the project for the sake of a project is over. It's not economical. Look at what hapend to Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry and Desagna Diop. None of these guys panned out for their current team. Look at Jermaine O'Neal. Took five years, and he flourished with another team.

Why should an NBA team draft a player if he won't help the team that drafted him? A worse case scenario is that at year three you have to either commit big money or let him go not really knowing what he is. Too much uncertainty there. This runs in cycles in the NBA. The "potential vs. ready now" debate has swung back towards the ready now crowd. Brandon Roy is a perfect example.

Thabeet has a ton of ability, and I love his profile, but I can't see any team 20 or earlier taking a shot at him. If I am the Spurs or Celtics late then you take a flier, but if you need a player? I don't see how you can justify it. He won't get off the bench next year, or maybe two years at the earliest.

But, all it takes is for one GM to fall in love.

In Friday's JI

In today's JI, a story on UConn's linebacker corps. New website and actually easy to navigate and read, check it out.

I think it is inevitable to go faster and quicker at the linebacker spot. I don't know how many times Danny Lansanah was in position to make a play and couldn't get there in time.

The one play that sticks with me is West Virginia's Pat White's TD run early in the third quarter against the Huskies. Lansanah had him contained for a short gain, but was unable to complete the play. White made the UConn defense look silly scampering in for the touchdown. That signaled the rout was on.

Lutrus can make that play, athletically anyhow. Moving Dahna Deleston to linebacker will also help with speed. He played close the line anyways and is comfortable. You do have to worry that a power running team may just try and power it down the Huskies' throat. The Big East is all about speed and play making ability offensively, and the Huskies have to find a way to match up.

Spring game to be televised

Cox Sports Television And WCTX/MyTV9 To Televise Blue-White Spring Football Game

STORRS, Conn. — Cox Sports Television will televise the UConn Blue-White Spring Football Game live on Saturday, April 19, 2008 from Rentschler Field at 12:00 p.m. The 2008 spring game marks the second consecutive year that Cox has broadcast the spring game and this year’s contest will also include involvement from WCTX/MyTV9, including two taped-delayed rebroadcasts.

The rebroadcasts will be on Sunday, April 20 at 7:00 p.m. and then on Saturday, April 26 at noon.

ESPN International play-by-play announcer Mark Brown will call the action of the game for the second-straight year and will again be joined by former UConn All-American (1990 and ’91) and Pittsburgh Steeler Mark Didio. Sportscaster John Pierson of WTNH-TV and MyTV9 will be the sideline announcer.

Cox Sports (Cox channel 3) is a regional sports network that delivers exclusive, high profile professional, amateur and collegiate men’s and women’s sporting events to viewers in its coverage area of Connecticut and Rhode Island. UConn's partnership with Cox Sports started last spring and has televised Husky sporting events in baseball, softball, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball and women's lacrosse.

The Connecticut cities and towns serviced by Cox include: Cheshire, East Granby, East Windsor, Enfield, Glastonbury, Granby, Hartland, Manchester, Meriden, Newington, Rocky Hill, Somers, Southington, South Windsor, Suffield, Wethersfield, Windsor Locks and Union.

WTNH-News Channel 8 and WCTX-MyTV9 is the local television home for UConn football and men’s basketball through its agreement with ESPN Regional Television. In addition to its game day programming and local sports coverage, the stations also produce a monthly magazine show on UConn athletics titled “Huskies All-Access.”

Aiken commits

The Huskies picked up their third recruit for 2009 with St. Paul-Bristol junior Marcus Aiken. Aiken was up at practice on Saturday and accepted the Huskies' scholarship offer. He was initially offered just before Christmas.

Aiken is likely to be a receiver, but is a jack-of-all trades in high school rushing for 933 yards, over 700 receiving and 23 touchdowns. Aiken lives in New Britain and is a three sport athlete at St. Paul.

Spring practice April Fools Edition

Boy, spring practice is boring. It's just, umm, well, err.... practice.

I don't know what else to say. I am interested in the scrimmages and seeing how that plays out, but I find football practice incredibly boring. I am a fan of watching practice in basketball, a lot can be gleamed from that. Football? No wonder they film it. There is no other way to breakdown what half the team does.

It could just be the air in the Shenkman. It's stale and the conditions are pristine. I could take a nap there. Beats being outside in the cold. I don't think I would have accepted the beat if we had to sit outside in the cold.

There are some observations worth noting however and there is value in viewing practice. Here are some of mine:

• Wide receiver play has been a bit shaky. Marcus Easley and Robert Theoudele have made some strides according to QB Tyler Lorenzen. The most interesting part of practice was watching D.J.Hernandez, Brad Kanuch and Ellis Gaulden work on their hands. Kanuch and Gaulden caught tennis balls out of a machine. Hernandez was doing one armed catching drills with his air cast on. Gaulden is in a boot, not sure if he had to get a new boot or he had one leftover from the other myriad of injuries the poor kid has had. I am skeptical of Kanuch playing this spring. The wide receiver position desperately needs someone to step in this summer. This is like the Democratic presidential nomination, it's going to be decided late in the summer.
  

• The quarterback play has been spotty too. Lorenzen has looked shaky out there. If it wasn't for what he did in the actual game I would be scratching my head a bit. Perhaps the best part of Lorenzen's game is something you can't practice -- game management.

• Lorenzen acknowledged as much to me after. In a game situation he wouldn't force things and he would probably take off and run. The defense also knows where the play is going. "I consider myself a gamer, but I do take practice seriously. Sometimes you can be out there in practice over-thinking. At game time, you live off reaction, Lorenzen said. He then paused: "Hopefully, I don't look that bad in practice."

• Zach Frazer has a good arm and throws a nice ball. He has been wildly inconsistent however and is a work in progress. Frazer spent all of last season on scout team, so this is his first experience with the offense. I like the way Cody Endres has looked. Throws a nice ball and has good size.
• 
  
• Love the running backs. Meme Wylie is a powerful runner and has more speed than I thought. It's going to be tough to get those guys all on the field. Adding Jordan Todman and the running back position is loaded.

That's about it for today. Martin Bedard and Scott Lutrus were out sick.

Go Yankees.