Friday News and Notes is fighting the heat

You probably know by now that Xavier pitcher Jacob Bodner was drafted in the 27th round by the Kansas City Royals. You may not know some of his backstory, which is the focus of this piece from MLB.com. Bodner has had to battle - as detailed in the article, I'm trying not to give away the story here - but his stuff is good and his superficially unimpressive numbers are underpinned by good peripherals. Here's hoping he makes it.

I don't usually spend too much time on other teams' recruiting here, but Providence has received a commitment from Quadree Smith. Smith was one of my favorite players on the prep circuit because he's listed at 6'8", 250. One, I like roly-poly dudes dating back to ol' Ron Rollerson himself, and two, I loved watching the success Xavier had against similarly stout Joshua Smith.

I like The Sporting News's Mike DeCourcy because he's easily engaged and usually has good ideas. I'm not sure I'm sold on his pitch for college basketball to transition from halves to quarters. His hook is simple: there would be fewer stoppages of play. While his thought makes sense and I'm all about fewer stoppages, there's something about the rhythm of two twenty-minute halves that I'm not sure I want to give up.

For a long time, the New Jersey Institute of Technology was my go-to school for off-hand, dismissive references. They were both bad and obscure. Then they beat Michigan and got all the headlines for a news cycle, then they put together a season that I didn't feel comfortable diminuating with my rhetoric. Now they've made another step up and joined the Atlantic Sun conference. Good for you, Highlanders.

It's hot out there, friends. I can understand if you just want to sit in the air conditioning all day. If you need some motivation to get out there and be productive, how about Sammy Wanjiru's incredible finish in 88-degree weather in the 2010 Chicago Marathon? Get out there and do it for Sammy: