The Rivals hockey board blew up with Swystun info yesterday, with articles from all over.

More important, since those articles are pretty lean on information you well-informed fans didn't already know, is this Bob Miller post. In it he says it would be a good idea to ratchet down expectations from Swystun as a freshman since he'll be so young. He destroyed Midget AAA last year and a U17 tournament this year but hasn't been tearing up the AJHL. He does have 13-16-29 in 47 games, so he's doing pretty decently, and UND, BU, and Denver were all pursuing him, so he's certianly not a marginal recruit at all. Sounds like he'd be better served as a class of 2006 player, but he's scheduled as an '05 recruit and that likely won't change. He's ready to graduate HS and move on.

Also in the above-linked post: info on Kessel that basically amounts to "ain't dead yet." Speculation on USCHO and elsewhere had Kessel basically down to Wisconsin and Minnesota, but Spath dropped a hint that while it is indeed a two-horse race, Michigan is one of the contenders.

Sam Young is a tackle from Florida getting early hype as the best tackle in his class and a sure five-star. Sunshine Preps has video of him driving goofballs 20 yards downfield with impunity.

Do we really have a shot at pulling a kid who lives in Miami away from, uh, Miami? Maybe. Take this useless internet speculation for what it's worth, but some dude on the Miami board says, "Believe it or not most knowledgable sources in Florida thaink this kid is Michigan's to lose."

I think I side with "not" in this case but Baas and Hutchinson both came from Florida, along with freshman Grant DeBenidictis, so what little success we've found in Florida has been along the offensive line.

Sometimes-maligned DL coach Bill Sheridan got an NFL job with the Giants... as a linebacker coach. So now there's an opening on the staff. My choice: Rick Mahorn.

Uh... no, that isn't right.

Spadafore says... unless of course he transfers (bunk!). He won't play against Wisconsin, but should Sunday against Indiana.

John Walters' latest Campus Blitz discusses timeouts in basketball a bit and allows me to open fire on one of my favorite sports rules to despise: the live-action timeout. No sport except basketball allows this monstrosity to occur. Quarterbacks cannot politely request a stop in play immediately after they hurl a wounded duck skyward. Defensemen cannot demand the referee put a stop to things if they are pressured by a heavy forecheck and have no place to put the puck. Baseball has no live action. Only in basketball can you get trapped in a corner by good defensive play and simply ask the referee to correct your screwup for you.

I hate all basketball timeouts, actually. And not just because of the infamous Webber Incident, though that certainly didn't help. Timeouts are one of the reasons I can't get as into basketball as, say, hockey or football (primary reason: watching my team lose a basketball game almost always makes me seriously consider buying a shotgun and a permit for Ref season). The end of a tight basketball game is almost always frantic action alternating with boring trips to the free-throw line and commercials for OxyClean. Frantic action, yes. Free-throws and STAIN FIGHTING POWER, no. Coaches use timeouts as a crutch for players who can't think. We're down three with 40 seconds to go. What do you do? Call timeout, ask coach.

Wouldn't basketball be better if teams had a single timeout? Coaches would have to wonder whether they should halt their opponent's run or save the Precious for a critical late-game situation. The decision would be akin to the decision to take a timeout in hockey... it happens every once in a while early in a game, it's infrequent and not terribly important, and no one minds. Occasionally the mid-game timeout dramatically tilts the ice in favor of one team or another. Michigan trailed DU 3-0 in an NCAA tournament game five or so years back when Berenson called his timeout. Michigan scored 5 straight goals in a game that burned itself into my head. Drama!

There's no drama when timeouts are as disposable as Indonesian Nike employees or top-100 defensive ends at USC, so the answer to that question is "I'll take a timeout BOTH times!" That's great if you're a control freak of a coach, but bad if you're anyone else. Timeouts should disappear from basketball.

If you're really patient with maniacs, I can also describe to you why I think hockey should get rid of offsides. Entirely. But maybe another time.

Spadafore's suggestion that Horton might be looking to transfer? Bunk. Bunk, I say!