The Forum in Inglewood has not changed after all these years

Jerry Crowe of the Los Angeles Times writes about what happened to the old Forum in Inglewood... "Actually, the doors have swung open quite often in the last 10 years, not only for religious services but also for concerts, video shoots, rehearsals and whatever else the owner can book into it, including USC and high school basketball games. Even the Lakers are exploring the possibility of returning to the Forum -- for an exhibition game in October. Their former center, Shaquille O'Neal, participated in graduation ceremonies at the Forum when he received his MBA from the University of Phoenix in 2005." ...

Jerry Crowe

College football writer Tony Barnhart of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution released his Spring Top 25 for the 2009 football season... "We did our RE (Ridiculously Early) Top 25 back in January, just hours after Florida had won the BCS national championship. Now we’re done with spring practice and June will be here before we know it. So let’s do our Spring Top 25, which should give us enough to argue about between now and two-a-days in August." ...

Tony Barnhart

Paul Dougherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes how the Cincinnati Bearcats dynamic coach Brian Kelly somehow finds time for everyone... "One BK is dropping the puck at a Cyclones game. The other is 100 miles away, speaking to a group of minority coaches in Indianapolis. I swear I heard Kelly was teeing it up at Shaker Run not 15 minutes after I saw him running on the treadmill on campus. The man is so scheduled up, he doesn’t need a Day Timer. He needs a stopwatch. If it’s 12:30 on Tuesday, this must be the Salvation Army luncheon." ...

Paul Daugherty

Jeff Rabjohns of the Indianapolis Star writes how the basketball recruiting battle between Purdue and Indiana has heated up again... "This comes at a critical juncture for both schools. If Purdue lands these recruits, it could go from seasons like last year's when it reached the Sweet Sixteen to making a Final Four push. If IU wins, it could rebound quickly from the decimation of the Kelvin Sampson era." ...

Jeff Rabjohns