Kansas Jayhawks
As the championship battle heats up at the newly reconfigured Kansas Speedway, actor-comedian Rob Riggle, has decided to join in on the action and has been named Grand Marshal for the Hollywood Casino 400, the sixth race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Riggle recently hosted the 20th annual ESPY Awards on ESPN, which is also airing the Hollywood Casino 400 live from Kansas Speedway on Oct. 21 at 1 PM CT.
“I am so honored to be the Grand Marshal for the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway! I love NASCAR racing and I love going home to Kansas City,” said Riggle, a native of Overland Park, Kan. and a University of Kansas graduate. “I’m not 100% sure what my responsibilities are as Grand Marshal? Do I get my own race car?”
Press Release
Kansas 2012-13 Schedule
Big 12/College News
North Carolina chancellor Holden Thorp, whose tenure has been marred by several athletics-related scandals over the past two years, will resign at the end of the 2012-13 academic year, the school announced Monday.
ABC
Former Duke basketball player Lance Thomas has reached a settlement with the jeweler suing him for defaulting on his payment.
“We have reached a settlement,” Mike Bowers, the attorney for Raefello & Co. wrote in an email. “I cannot make further comment.
Thomas purchased $97,800 worth of custom jewelry on Dec. 21, 2009, while the team was on winter break. He made a $30,000 down payment and signed a purchase agreement that said he would pay the remaining $67,800 within 15 days.
Raefello & Co. filed a lawsuit in January after repeated attempts to collect payment. Bowers confirmed to the News & Observer last week that his client had declined to speak with the NCAA about a possible extra benefits investigation.
News Observer
ESPN Tip-Off Marathon schedule
2012-13 Early Season Events List
Recruiting
No. 1-ranked Julius Randle, 6-9 from Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas, visited with coaches from KU, Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and N.C. State last week. He has upcoming in-home visits with Florida, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor and Texas.
“I think coach (Bill, KU) Self’s visit was probably one of the best of the week or maybe even the best at selling his program and why I would fit there,” Randle told Rivals.com. “He explained to me what he would want me to do and how he would help me get better. It was at the end of the week and it was the shortest too, so that wasn’t bad either.”
Randle plans to wait until the spring to commit to a school.
“I’m not even sure what is next right now,” Randle told Rivals. “Maybe after these in-homes I will cut it down to five or something like that. Or I might just take a quiet period away from it all. I need to focus on school and getting ready for the season. Since I’m not deciding until the spring some time away might not be a bad thing. We’ll just see.”
… No. 65-rated Detrick Mostella, a 6-3, 170-pound guard from La Lumiere School in LaPorte, Ind., tells jayhawkslant.com he has a list of KU, Georgetown, Florida and Texas A&M.
LJW
Hey, what’s up everybody it’s Julius Randle, and I’m kicking off my blog today with USA TODAY High School! Of course I’m excited about it. I’ll definitely be putting a lot of stuff out up here.
As some of you know I had half of the coaches on my list come out to my house last week and talk with me and my family about their school. But before I get into that, I’ll tell you guys about my visit to Kentucky this past weekend.
…This was my first official visit and it’s definitely gonna be a tough act to follow. It’s easy to understand why so many elite players go there.
I was scheduled to go to Florida early next month, but since I’m gonna take my time with deciding they told me they really wanted me to come out for a game so I’m gonna reschedule that.
This week will be my second round of in-home visits. The first round was great. My man Jason Jordan from USA TODAY was here in Texas all last week doing a story on my in-homes so that will give you all the details. Check for that.
I’ve been really impressed with all of the coaches so far. This decision will be the hardest decision I’ve ever made, by far. I can honestly say that I have no idea where I want to go yet.
Of course there are different rumors and things going around about my recruitment, but if you don’t see it up here in my blog then it’s not true.
USA Today
Simeon Career Academy forward Jabari Parker, the nation's No. 1-ranked senior, will have Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo and North Carolina coach Roy Williams in for home visits this week, and Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins will visit next week before Parker cuts his list to five schools and sets up official visits, Parker's father said on Monday.
Parker released a list of 10 schools in July, and it consisted of BYU, DePaul, Duke, Florida, Georgetown, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina and Stanford. BYU, DePaul, Florida and Kansas have already made in-home visits.
Parker's father, Sonny Parker, said Monday he was unsure whether Georgetown and Kentucky would be given in-home visits.
Sonny also thought it was doubtful Illinois would be allowed an in-home visit. The Illini did not make Parker's initial list, but Illinois coach John Groce has continued to recruit Parker.
…Sonny said the visits to date have gone well, but he and his wife haven't discussed them much with Jabari yet.
"They've pretty much been the same with a lot of similarities," Sonny said of the visits. "They're all good. They're selling their program in terms of him fitting in their system, fitting in their program. We haven't sat down and talked about which one he likes over the other.
"Kansas has a tradition and winning program. With BYU, they've been to the tournament and won 25 games. DePaul is local and needs a player like him to take it over the top. You can't compare them. They're all different."
ESPN
North Carolina State freshman guard Rodney Purvis has been cleared by the NCAA to play this season, Wolfpack coach Mark Gottfried told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.
ABC
Not long after taking his official visit to Kansas State, Wesley Iwundu could tell he wanted to play for the Wildcats.
When that sentiment still existed two weeks later, the 6-foot-6 small forward from Houston gave them a verbal commitment.
“I’ve been feeling it in my heart for awhile now,” Iwundu said. “So I decided to make it official.”
Iwundu also had scholarship offers from SMU, Miami, Richmond and Drake, but said last week that he was only considering K-State and SMU.
KC Star
My 2012 KU Alumni games, 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos and more now on YouTube
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