Colin Dunlap weighs in on some recent happening with a certain Jeannette High School graduate who has moved to Columbus:

Take a look at this from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and please pay special attention to the photos.

No, Terrelle Pryor is not being cloned.

No, Terrelle Pryor is not being measured for some video game.

Yes, he is pictured with his shirt off with some electrodes affixed to his body.

It seems the Ohio State football program is working with the school's Sports Biomechanics Laboratory to put their incoming freshman through a battery of tests to determine, precisely, the weakest part of their bodies. I'm no biomechanics expert, but, um, by the looks of Pryor, it ain't his pectoral muscles.

Got something to say?

Got something you think I should say?

If so, shoot me an email at cdunlap@post-gazette.com.

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A little something from Colin Dunlap as he finds some idle time on his hands while working a copydesk shift on a slow, slow sports night:

So, there is this cat named Brandon Jennings who is a tremendously talented young basketball player.

Jennings, a point guard, played at Oak Hill Academy last year and was all set to head to Arizona this coming Fall to play for the Wildcats.

One small problem ... remember that whole "student" part of "student-athlete?"

Well, it seems young Mr. Jennings is having a little trouble gaining his eligibility. That said, he's no dummy -- in actuality he might just end up being a pioneer.

Take a look at this story from The Arizona Daily Star: Jennings may go to Europe if not eligible"

The long and short of it --- Jennings is thinking of saying to heck with Arizona if he is ineligible for next season, going to play in Europe, and then coming back to the states after that, when he is old enough to enter the NBA Draft.

My thoughts on this? Brilliant.

Too many kids who really do not want to be, or have no business being in college (or a mixture of both) are taking up seats in a classroom in universities all over this country in the name of athletics. If Jennings feels his future is in basketball - and it almost certainly is - why not go the Europe-to-the-NBA route.

It just makes sense on a whole lot of levels.

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Colin Dunlap offers a follow-up from a post last week:

And then, the other shoe dropped ...

Well, well, well, remember the Varsity Blogs post from June 3, where a high school catcher down in Georgia looked to intentionally miss a fastball allowing the pitch to zing an umpire he was unhappy with right in the kisser. If you need a quick refresher, the video is right here:

Now, it seems as if I'm not the only one who feels like the catcher was up to a despicable act, as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has followed the story and the catcher has now lost his invitation to play baseball in college as a result of his actions. Take a look here:

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/printedition/2008/06/06/hswild.html

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Mike White takes a look at Pitt's first football recruit from the class of 2009.

Lakeview High School football player Cory King visited the Pitt campus earlier this week, and decided he'd like to spend his college days there.

King, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound junior lineman, made a verbal commitment to Pitt Wednesday. He is the Panthers' first recruit from the class of 2009. Lakeview is in Mercer County.

"Him and his dad are really big Pitt fans, so this doesn't suprise me," said Lakeview coach Dan York.

King also had scholarship offers from Bowling Green and Minnesota. York said Wisconsin also had been showing heavy interest lately.

"A lot of schools didn't hear about him until lately," York said. "Pitt was after him hard for a while."

King has been a starter since his freshman year. He has played offensive tackle and guard, and will play guard as a senior. He also plays defensive tackle, but was recruited to play offense. He runs the 40-yard dash in 5.4 seconds.

"Actually, he was bigger as a freshman and sophomore," York said. "He weighed 320 or 325 back then. He fought to get his weight down."

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Mike White takes a look at some rematches in the PIAA baseball and softball playoffs:

The PIAA quarterfinals bring about the same situations for the two teams that won the WPIAL Class AAAA baseball and softball championships. Peters Township's baseball team and Latrobe's softball team can look at their opponents and say "Haven't we met before?"

Peters Township plays Canon-McMillan in the baseball quarterfinals Thursday (6 p.m.) at Consol Energy Park in Washington. The two teams played in the same section during the regular season and met three times, with Peters Township winning two.

In the softball quarterfinals Thursday (2 p.m.) at Fairhaven Park in Kennedy Township, Latrobe takes on Shaler for the second time in seven days. The two met in last Thursday's WPIAL championship game, won by Latrobe, 1-0.

"I don't think it matters how many times you've played each other," said Canon-McMillan coach Steve Bucci. "I know we're excited. We kind of feel like this is the state championship game."

Peters Township beat Canon-McMillan by scores of 10-5 and 10-1, while Canon-McMillan won once, 16-11.

Canon-McMillan will face Peters Township ace Jordan Jankowski for the second time this season. Jankowski beat Canon-McMillan, 10-5.

"He had 14 strikeouts the first time," Bucci said. "We're going to have to cut that in half to have a chance."

Canon-McMillan will pitch Chris Ditmar (4-1).

"What this game is going to come down to is simply who is better on the mound and who is going to hit with runners in scoring position," Bucci said.

Meanwhile, the Latrobe softball team has never seen an opponent cross home plate in the postseason. That's because star senior pitcher Alexa Bryson has pitched four shutouts -- three WPIAL games and one PIAA game. When she beat Shaler in the WPIAL final, Bryson allowed only two hits and struck out 17.

"I think it helps to have faced her once because the kids know what to expect now," said Shaler coach Skip Palmer. "A bunch of our kids went to watch her pitch against Mt. Lebanon [in the WPIAL semifinals] and they were impressed. But they were even more impressed when they got in the batters box against her."

Bryson, who is 18-2 overall, has allowed only six hits and has struck out 49 in 31 postseason innings. She has 16 shutouts for the season.

"We talked to the kids about being mentally ready for her," Palmer said. "We just have to find a way to put the ball in play. We can't have 17 kids going down with strikeouts.

"She's really good. She's the best. It's a big challenge for our kids, but our kids are looking forward to the challenge."

The PIAA semifinals for all classifications are Monday and the championship games are next Friday. The baseball championships are at Altoona's Blair County Ballpark and the softball championships are at Shippensburg University.

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Colin Dunlap weighs in on a wacky situation that happened recently in a high school baseball playoff game in Georgia.

Well, first things first, I guess you have to take a look at this film before you proceed any further. It is right here:

Now, it sure looks to me --- and probably most of you --- that Mr. Catcher and Mr. Pitcher were, in fact, on the EXACT same page and what happened to Mr. Umpire went exactly as planned. As a guy who has played a lot of baseball, I can say this: doing that to an umpire is a downright sacrilege and one of the most despicable and deplorable things you can do in the realm of a baseball game.

Hey, if the ump gets hit with a foul ball, so be it.

If the ump gets hit with a pitch because the pitcher and catcher genuinely get their signals crossed, so be it.

But zinging the umpire with a fastball in the face on purpose? No, never.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has followed the story here.

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