Monday's Tidbits: August 24

Welcome back friends to another edition of this week's tidbits. Although football season doesn't officially kickoff for another week, the stories that dominated the headlines this past week were pigskin related. I'm sure you are fine with that. We'll also discuss Bob Knight finally being inducted in the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame, as well as provide the new Rivals.com updated rankings for the class of 2011. Let's do 'dis.

1. Bobby is Back

On September 11, 2000, Bob Knight said goodbye to Indiana fans after being fired as head coach of the Hoosiers for 29 years. On November 7, 2009, he may say hello once again.

Former Indiana Hoosiers coaching great Bob Montgomery Knight has been inducted into the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame, according to Indiana Athletic Director Fred Glass in a press release distributed to the media last Friday. Knight, along with former Indiana head men's soccer coach Jerry Yeagley, and a handful of other past great Indiana athletes, will officially be enshrined in front of an expected sold out crowd for the Indiana vs. Wisconsin football game on November 7, 2009.

While this is a great honor for all involved, one important question remains.....will Knight attend the ceremony? Early speculation suggests he will not, due to the remaining animosity he holds to the athletic department that ran him out of Bloomington almost a decade ago. Indiana fans, however, suggest most of that administration, most notably former Indiana President Myles Brand, is no longer associated with the school. Reportedly, only six people from that administration still work for the athletics department.

Although many Knight loyalists and Indiana fans are calling for his appearance, at the moment, I have a weird feeling coach Knight will not attend. Bad blood still runs thick, and it make take a strong personality, i.e. Tom Crean, to convince the one time Hoosier coach, to come back to Bloomington. I hope I am wrong, but Knight has been silent on this matter since the story broke.

Could he be setting the plot for a surprise entrance?

Indiana fans can only hope this story ends well.

2. New 2011 Rivals Rankings

The most interactive recruiting service on the web, Rivals.com, recently released an updated version of its high school basketball rankings for the 2011 class. And to no one's surprise, many Hoosier names appear from top to bottom. In fact, nine players from the state of Indiana made the list. For a state as small as Indiana, this is extremely impressive and shows that the Hoosier state still remains a hotbed for basketball talent. Take a look at the list of players and let's see where they might end up in two years....

Indiana High School Players on the 2011 List

2. Marquis Teague, Indianapolis Pike-Considering: Louisville, Kentucky, Indiana
10. Michael Chandler, Indianapolis Lawrence North: Committed to Louisville
16. Brandon Dawson, Gary Lew Wallace: Considering Purdue, Indiana, UCLA, Georgetown
35. Cody Zeller, Washington: Considering Indiana, Purdue, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Butler
40. Jeremiah Davis, Muncie Central: Considering Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee
41. Marshall Plumlee, Warsaw (Arden, N.C.): Considering Duke, Purdue, Indiana, Florida
49: Ryan Taylor, Indianapolis Lawrence North: Committed to Louisville
68: Darwin Davis, Bloomington South: Committed to Xavier
86: Austin Etherington, Hamilton Heights: Committed to Indiana

3. AP and Coaches College Football Polls

The coaches made their voices known two weeks ago with their respective poll. Now, the media gave their opinion. After months of anticipation , the Associated Press of America released its 2009 preseason poll last week, tabbing Florida as the overwhelming favorite to repeat as National Champions. Although the two polls look very similar at first, there are some noticeable differences. Let's take a peak.

AP Poll Coaches

1. Florida (58) 0-0 1,498

2. Texas (2) 0-0 1,424

3. Oklahoma 0-0 1,370

4. USC 0-0 1,313

5. Alabama 0-0 1,156

6. Ohio State 0-0 1,113

7. Virginia Tech 0-0 1,054

8. Mississippi 0-0 1,047

9. Oklahoma State 0-0 989

9. Penn State 0-0 989

11. LSU 0-0 914

12. California 0-0 746

13. Georgia 0-0 714

14. Boise State 0-0 659

15. Georgia Tech 0-0 593

16. Oregon 0-0 587

17. TCU 0-0 521

18. Florida State 0-0 307

19. Utah 0-0 289

20. Brigham Young 0-0 267

21. North Carolina 0-0 261

22. Iowa 0-0 229

23. Notre Dame 0-0 225

24. Nebraska 0-0 207

25. Kansas 0-0 134

Coaches Poll

1. Florida (53) 0-0 1,466

2. Texas (4) 0-0 1,386

3. Oklahoma (1) 0-0 1,358

4. USC (1) 0-0 1,321

5. Alabama 0-0 1,134

6. Ohio State 0-0 1,126

7. Virginia Tech 0-0 1,020

8. Penn State 0-0 988

9. LSU 0-0 917

10. Mississippi 0-0 889

11. Oklahoma State 0-0 861

12. California 0-0 711

13. Georgia 0-0 707

14. Oregon 0-0 694

15. Georgia Tech 0-0 559

16. Boise State 0-0 542

17. TCU 0-0 461

18. Utah 0-0 404

19. Florida State 0-0 371

20. North Carolina 0-0 293

21. Iowa 0-0 257

22. Nebraska 0-0 236

23. Notre Dame 0-0 194

24. Brigham Young 0-0 178

25. Oregon State 0-0 165

4. Indiana Basketball Recruiting Update

The topic line should read the 'Kyrie Irving saga.'

As we have mentioned on this site many times before, Irving has been the number 1 prospect on the Hoosiers' recruiting board the last eight months. While he has said many times that a decision won't be made until this fall, we now know the list of schools he will choose from. Irving provided this list to Zagsblog.

"The six schools are Duke, Indiana, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Seton Hall, UConn, and Texas A&M.”

Irving on Indiana...

"I have a great relationship with all the coaches, the whole coaching staff starting with Coach [Tom] Crean and it just trickles down to the assistant coaches. To Coach [Tim] Buckley and coach [Roshown] McLeod, I have great relationships with them."

Rivals.com ranks Irving as the 9th overall top prospect in the country for the 2011 class.

5. SAC Football

John's 2009 SAC Poll: (After week 1)


1. Bishop Dwenger
2. Snider
3. Harding
4. South Side
5. Bishop Luers
6. Concordia
7. North Side
8. Wayne
9. Elmhurst
10. Northrop


Week 1 Scoreboard:

BISHOP DWENGER 42, SOUTH SIDE 19
ELMHURST 21, NORTHROP 13
CONCORDIA 28, NORTH SIDE 6
SNIDER 27, BISHOP LUERS 13
HARDING 26, WAYNE 21

Player of the Week: Harding running back Roderick Smith rushed for 298 yards on 28 carries, and two touchdowns, to lead the Hawks to a 26-21 win over the Wayne Generals.




Ramblings:

-Michigan head football coach Rich Rodriguez recently said he plans to use three quarterbacks in the season opener next week against Western Michigan. The three QBs for the Wolverines this season are Tate Forcier, Denard Robinson and Nick Sheridan. Forcier should win the starting job outright by week 2.

-Lou Holtz is at it again. The former Notre Dame legendary head coach recently said in an interview on ESPN that he believes the Irish will take on Florida for the 2009 National Championship. Most know I'm a big Notre Dame fan, and I do enjoy watching Holtz's personality on air. However, this prediction is borderline insane. If he's somehow right in a few months, I will quit writing the tidbits each week. I still believe the Irish can go 10-2.

-Former Duke point guard Greg Paulus has been named the starting quarterback for the Syracuse Orange. Either Paulus still has a cannon from his high school days, or the Orange program is desperate.

-Finally, Brett Favre made his Minnesota Vikings debut last Friday evening against the Kansas City Chiefs. While the future hall of famer finished the game with a sub par stat sheet, going 1-4, 4 yards, in two series, he looked comfortable running the West Coast offense he was so accustomed to in Green Bay. Look for a better showing from Favre against the Texans on August 31.

-Former Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals running back Edgerrin James signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks.

-While I may get into trouble for this saying this, since I am one of them....Cubs fans, maybe next year.

Thanks for reading sports nuts!