A National Look at Signing Day

All around the country today local newspapers are highlighting the success of their local schools during National Signing Day.

Here are a couple of front pages from around the country:

The Tuscaloosa News: Goes nuts over Julio Jones and the rest of the 'Bama class.

The Quick: Highlights all of the action in Texas

The Daily Reflector: Greenville, North Carolina: Highlights East Carolina's Class.

Athen Banner-Herald: Highlights the Dawgs Class

Marietta Daily Journal: Also highlights UGA class.

The Advocate: Highlights the defending BCS National Champions class.

Florida Today: highlights the Canes, Noles and Gators recruiting success.

Miami Herald: Tells the story of 'Canes great class.

Latrobe Bulletin: Highlights the recruiting saga of America's best player Terrelle Pryor.

The State: Raves about Clemson top class.

Hurricanes are National Champs

For the first time in a couple of years there are reason to smile at the U. ESPNU has the 'Canes class ranked as the number one ranked class in all of the land, yes even better then fat boy at Notre Dame and the king of the text messaging that leads the Gators.

This class has speed and a winning tradition which is something that has been lost on the 'Canes over the last couple of years.

Here is the class:

Travis Benjamin	WR	5-11	160	Belle Glades, Fla.	Glades Central HS
Arthur Brown*	LB	6-1	210	Wichita, Kan.	Wichita East HS
Ramon Buchanan	LB	6-1	181	Melbourne, Fla.	Palm Bay HS
Laron Byrd	WR	6-3	205	Boutte, La.	Hahnville HS
John Calhoun*	FB	6-2	233	Micco, Fla.	Sebastian River HS
Theron Collier	WR	5-9	163	Miami, Fla.	Booker T. Washington HS
Taylor Cook	QB	6-7	230	Eagle Lake, Texas	Rice Consolidated HS
Marcus Forston*	DT	6-2	286	Miami, Fla.	Northwestern HS
Jordan Futch	LB	6-3	202	Hollywood, Fla.	Chaminade Madonna College Prep
Gavin Hardin	LB	6-4	240	Jackson, Tenn.	Central-Merry HS
Antonio Harper	LB	6-3	220	Memphis, Tenn.	Melrose HS
Brandon Harris	CB	5-11	185	Miami. Fla.	Booker T. Washington HS
Jacory Harris*	QB	6-4	170	Miami, Fla.	Northwestern HS
Patrick Hill#*	FB	5-10	248	Torrance, Calif.	Fairfax HS (Calif.) / El Camino C.C.
C.J. Holton	S	6-2	195	Crawfordville, Fla.	Wakulla HS
Aldarius Johnson*	WR	6-2	200	Miami, Fla.	Northwestern HS
Davon Johnson	WR	5-11	170	Miami, Fla.	Booker T. Washington HS
Ben Jones	OT	6-5	280	Miami, Fla.	Northwestern HS
Zach Kane	FB/LB	6-3	220	Toms River, N.J.	Toms River North HS
Jeremy Lewis	DT	6-3	295	West Palm Beach, Fla.	Palm Beach Lakes HS
Brandon Marti	LB	6-0	196	Miami, Fla.	Gulliver Prep
C.J. Odom	S	6-0	210	Fort Myers, Fla.	Fort Myers HS
Micanor Regis	DT	6-3	300	Pahokee, Fla.	Pahokee HS
Marcus Robinson	LB	6-2	210	Homestead, Fla.	Homestead HS
Andrew Smith	DE	6-3	240	Coconut Creek, Fla.	Monarch HS
Cannon Smith*	QB	5-11	200	Chatham Va.	Olive Branch (Miss.) HS / Hargrave Military Academy
Sean Spence*	LB	6-0	186	Miami, Fla.	Northwestern HS
Tommy Streeter	WR	6-4	190	Miami, Fla.	Northwestern HS
Vaughn Telemaque	S	6-2	190	Long Beach, Calif.	Long Beach Poly HS
Kendall Thompkins	WR	5-10	165	Miami, Fla.	Northwestern HS
Brandon Washington	G	6-4	315	Miami, Fla.	Northwestern HS
Jake Wieclaw*	PK	6-2	180	New Lenox, Ill.	Lincoln Way Central HS
Joe Wylie	S	6-2	172	Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.	Boyd Anderson

* marked players that are all ready enrolled at the U.

Other ranking services have the 'Canes in the top five, but there is nothing negative you can say about the Randy Shannon's first true recruiting class.

Rest In Peace Busby Babes

Fifty years ago today, the face of Manchester United Football Club was forever changed. On their way back from a European Cup game against Red Star, the plane carrying the team stopped in Munich to refuel. On take off the plane crashed killing 23 of the 44 passengers on the plane including Manchester United players: Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Taylor, and Liam 'Billy' Whelan. At the time Manager Matt Busby was also seriously injured and would end up spending three months in the hospital. At the time Busby called the team one of his best.

This weekend when United play their cross town rivals Manchester City, both sides are going to wear kits from the era honoring the tragic events in Munich.

Today United fans all over the world should take a minute and remember those who lost their lives during the tragic event.

The Landlord Should Move to the D-League

Known as the Landlord while at Duke, Sheldon Williams has shown that he should be evicted from the League, look at those stats 2.7 points and 3 rebounds a game.

Wow glad the Hawks spent the fifth overall pick on him. For all of those reasons that is why the Landlord is our next selection in our on going Duke Players that Suck in the League series.

Camp Fabio

The FA hired a drill sergeant, when they hired Fabio Capello and that is starting to show. During his first England Camp, the former Juve and Real Madrid manager has started to lay down the law. First he did not pick David Beckham for his 100th cap and now he has all kinds of rules that the players have to follow.

• No more being late.
• Room Service is banned.
• Cell phones can only be used in the bedroom.
• Players must eat together and be dressed in professional attire.
• Players must wear their England blazers to the game.
• All players will be called by surnames.
• No Wags or agents. Wow no Wags what is Ashley Cole going to do.

Compared to Sven and Second Choice Steve this is going to be like going to jail for the likes of Fat Frank, Rio, Rooney, and Owen.

Sheldon Williams is Stunned!

During his freshman year, Tyler Hansborough wrecked Duke's Sheldon Williams and JJ Redick Senior Night at Cameron Indoor and for one I could not be happier. Just check out the look on Williams face as then freshman Hansborough knocks down the winning shot. The next chapter of the North Carolina vs. Duke feud will take place Wednesday night.

Both Redick and Williams have failed to do anything in the NBA, more on those two in the league to come in the coming weeks during our own going series about great Duke players in the NBA.

Jose Hangs Up on Nelson from South Africa

The Special One sings for the press and announces a possible new signing for his show. Who could it be, could it be a puppet of Glenn Hoddle. Plus he hangs up on Nelson from South Africa. It's Fantastic.

Duke Keys to Success

The big Carolina vs. Duke game is less then a week away and I can not wait. Back during UCLA's great runs, they followed the pyramid of success at Duke that is no different. I think that UCLA's blocks might have been a little different.
Thank the guys at North Carolina State blog Section Six for this creation.

A letter to the Special One

Endy in the Outfield is at it again, now he is trying to fix his beloved Liverpool Football Club. He penned this letter seeking help from someone.

Dear Special One,

Consider this an open invitation Jose. Since September 20th you have been out of football, and those 4 months have been very long for Prem fans across the globe. Especially for the kop. After 23 games and only 10 wins, and zero wins since boxing day, it appears the Rafa Rotating Manager has basically rotated Liverpool out of the BPL title chances and maybe even out of the Champions League next year altogether (good chance Joe Wolf's vertical will see his AC Milan vs. Liverpool UEFA Cup final in Turkey next year). Of course Rafa will try to use the Champions League or the FA Cup to try and save his job. However, the season is more than just 13 Champions League games, or an FA Cup. Scousers want the Prem title which we have never seen since the BPL came about. This is where I offer, actually I beg you Jose, to come to Anfield and lead us to a BPL title.

Rafa and our American owners are making a mockery of LFC and once again seemed to have given up on the Prem this year. The only way to right the ship is with the manager who is fantastic. So Jose if your reading Only Time Will Tell today, please consider making the move to Liverpool. Your our only hope, of course you will realize that Ryan Babel is more than a Carling Cup player, that Harry Kewell is overrated, that Fernando Torres can play every day, and selling Sissoko to Juventus was a dumb move.

My guess is that after February 10th LFC will need a new manager after they play Chelsea, and that man is you, Jose Mourinho.

After all YOU ARE FANTASTIC.

Sincerely an upset LFC fan,

Endy in the Outfield

Another Super Strike from Ronaldo

EPL Manchester United v Portsmouth Ronaldo - Freekick

Cristiano Ronaldo's freekick against Porstmouth in the English Premier League, might be one of the best ever.

There is something in the water at Mater Dei

Every time you turn around a certain high school in California is producing a quarterback that will excel in college and this year will be no different at Mater Dei. Approximately eight years ago, Mater Dei has led by Matt Leinart, who later was a top ten pick in the NFL and won a Heisman Trophy at USC. During his time there Leinart was backed up by Hawaii gunslinger Colt Brennan.

Over the course of the last couple of years, the school has been grooming their next great signal caller, junior Matt Barkley. Very few high school freshman step in at a top ranked program like Mater Dei as a quarterback, but that is exactly what he did. Barkley is the number one ranked junior in the land by Rivals.com. Just like Leinart, Barkley will be playing for Pete Carroll and USC.

Mater Dei has been one of the best football programs in the country for some. Mater Dei is one of two high schools in the nation with two Heisman-trophy winning alumni. Who knows in a couple of years there might be another star quarterback getting ready to lead Mater Dei.

Special One looks good in a Liverpool kit

With Liverpool loss at West Ham United, the idea of the 'Pool having a new manager seems more and more like a possibility. The best choice might be the Special One. During his Setanta skit last week, the Special One showed how he would like in a Liverpool kit, and to some members of the Kops its the perfect look.

Santana, Santana, Santana, Santana

After a winter of watching his favorite teams destroy his life, Endy in the Outfield is back with his view on Johan Santana's trade to his beloved Mets.

By Endy in the Outfield

For once one of my teams doesn't let me down. Being a Mets, Eagles, and Liverpool fan usually means disappointment, so after hearing all week on Mike and the Angry Puppy, ESPN, and the New York Papers that the Mets were in the lead for Santana I figured not to get my hopes up.

After all we didn't have the prospects to match the Yanks and Sox, we didn't even have Jared Camp. All we had was 2 good OF prospects (Fernando Martinez, Carlos Gomez) and a couple decent pitching prospects (Mike Pelfrey, Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey, Deolis Guerra). Of course I figured we'd part with our number 1 pitching and outfield prospects in Martinez and Humber if they had the chance to get Santana. So imagine the level of happiness I felt when I learned that not only did we get the 2 time cy young award winning lefty, but we only parted with Gomez, Humber, Mulvey, and Guerra. No Martinez and no Pelfrey in the deal meant we wouldn't have to rape our farm system to acquire Santana.

Obviously everything hinges on the Mets actually signing the Johan. Which shouldn't be a problem (hand over the keys to the vault Mr. Wilpon, give this man his 7 years). With a rotation of Johan Santana, Pedro Martinez, John Maine, Oliver Perez, and 60 year old El Duque, the Mets should be primed to win the NL East and shut up Jimmy Rollins. Now the only problem is, who do we call up when the inevitable happens when Alou misses a month, and Endy Chavez' balky hamstring flares up that he recently re injured again in winter ball?

Now I'm waiting patiently for the Eagles to acquire that play making receiver (Chad Johnson?), and Liverpool to acquire the man we know as The Special One (rotating Rafa Manager anyone?)

Thank God He Chose Duke

The Only Time Will Tell Crew has selected Shavlik Randolph as our next Duke player that sucked at the next level. Randolph could go any where he wanted for college and in the end he chose Duke over North Carolina and North Carolina State. Thank God.

If not for the fact that NBA teams can not release injured players, Randolph would be out of the league. Check out those stats, .5 rebounds per game, yes that is it. Randolph has lacked that scoring touch averaging zero points a game.

United vs. Arsenal in the FA Cup: Oh the Memories

With United and Arsenal being drawn together in the FA Cup fifth round, it's only proper to look back at Ryan Giggs great goal in the 1999 FA Cup semi-finals.

Here are the other fifth round ties, to be played Feb 16 & 17:

• Bristol Rovers v Southampton
• Cardiff City v Wolverhampton Wanderers
• Sheffield United v Middlesbrough
• Liverpool v Barnsley
• Manchester United v Arsenal
• Preston North End v Portsmouth
• Coventry City v West Bromwich Albion
• Chelsea v Huddersfield Town
  

SEC's Power starts in February

Every year fans and talking heads talk about how great the Southeastern Conference is and that can be tied to one thing: recruiting. Every year four or five teams from the league are ranked in the top ten of recruiting.

• 2006: Florida, Georgia, LSU, and Auburn were all ranked in the top 10.
• 2007: Florida, Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Georgia and Alabama were all ranked in the top 10.

This year is no different, with signing day a week away, the SEC has again showed its true colors with three schools in the top four and four in top 15. The drawing power of the conference has been on full display this year as high school seniors like Patrick Johnson (above) and Omar Hunter have switched their commitments after visiting SEC schools. Johnson first committed to Miami and then switched LSU, while Hunter committed to the fat man and Notre Dame then switched to Florida.

One of the things that has made the conference so dominate over the last couple of years is their willingness to recruit other sections of the country. In the past the SEC used to stay in the South to recruit, but now that has all changed. Florida has gone to both Pennsylvania and New Jersey to get top players, while Georgia in the past has gotten both Knowshon Moreno and Kade Weston out of the Garden State.

As SEC teams continue to win BCS Bowl games and National Championships, the conference will continue to win the recruiting National Championship.

Havant & Waterlooville are a great pub team and they know it

With the fourth round of the FA Cup well underway, Havant & Waterlooville fans show that they are the best drinking team left.

2008-2009 Dream UEFA Cup Final

I can see the promos now: two classic clubs one trophy as AC Milan battle Liverpool for the 2008-2009 UEFA Cup.

Did you think that I was going to say Champions League?

At this point the two teams meeting at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul (Turkey) in the UEFA Cup finals seem more likely to happen then the two making the group stages of the Champions League.

While both teams have advanced to the knocked out stages of this years Champions League, their qualification for next years Big Ears Cup through the league seems to be in question as Liverpool sit in 5th place behind Everton, while AC Milan sit in 10^th place 10 points behind a qualification place.

The image of Scousers and AC Milan fans cheering their team on as they battle for the second chance vase is a priceless image.

Another Bad Duke Player in the NBA

Just like Josh McRoberts, Dahntay Jones has shown he really does not belong in the league. Check back as the Only Time Will Tell Crew continues to highlight how bad Duke players have been in the league.

Enigma begins break out

For years soccer fans have been told that Jermaine Jenas has all of the skills to be a superstar at both the club and international levels.But since Juande Ramos took over at Spurs, Jenas has started to show that his play might be living up to his potential .

During the recently completed Carling Cup semi-final against Spurs’ hated rival Arsenal, Jenas might have been the best player on the field. According to The Sun’s player rankings for the second leg of the tie, Jenas was ranked at a 9 out of 10 and the Man of the Match.

Jenas started his career Nottingham Forest during the 2001-2002, and then he moved to Newcastle United before the start of the 2002-2003 for 5 million pounds. Jenas started to show his true skills and he was named PFA Young Player of the Year during his first season in the white and black of Newcastle.

Jenas then moved to the Spurs before the close of the Aug. 2005 transfer window for 7 million pounds, where he was a stalwart for former manager Martin Jol, but under the Ramos, Jenas has shown great improvement and his performances during the Carling Cup semi-finals could only be the tip of the iceberg.