Daily Swarm

RANGERS SIGN MIKE NICKEAS
Our catcher has signed a deal with the Rangers, who picked him in the 5th round.

BLAKE DEWITT SIGNS WITH DODGERS
Our top high school signee for next season is now officially an LA Dodger. Story here.

“It feels good,” said DeWitt. “I was so ready to get this over with — the whole contract thing and get it out of the way. I’m ready to get out there and play and show people what I’ve got.”

With the signing, DeWitt had to turn down his scholarship offer from Division I powerhouse Georgia Tech.

Mike DeWitt said the school handled the news with class. “Georgia Tech was great about this whole thing,” he said. “They felt like he was a big-time recruit and Blake wanted that scholarship. He knew if the draft didn’t work out that he was going to Georgia Tech. He shut the door on the third and fourth rounds and he let everybody know up front that that’s what it was going to take to sign him. It was an opportunity that he couldn’t pass up.”

SCRAP THE SUPER-REGIONAL CONCEPT?
Does the superregional concept give an unfair advantage to home teams? Hard to support that case looking at GT's performance last weekend, but road teams have only won 3 of last 24 superregionals. So it is the rare team that can't defend at home. Hhhhmmm. Story here.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW - DAVID DUVAL
I mentioned he would be returning this week for the US Open. This story talks about his return, including this:

But the other day in Denver, the former Georgia Tech player hit a golf shot so pure that he cried.

"I've been waiting and practicing and working," Duval said. "The way I look at it, I forgot how to play golf. I wanted to feel like I had some type of control again. I've had some good days and some bad days, hit some good shots and some really bad shots.

"When I felt like I knew what I was doing, I was in tears."

Will be interesting to see how he returns - not exactly a forgiving tourney he picked. But here is David's take:

"I just want to go play," he said during a recent interview with The Associated Press. "I have no expectations. I just want to enjoy being out there. It's very hard to miss the U.S. Open. Am I playing great? No. I just want to be there."

WHERE ARE THEY NOW - JASON VARITEK
Foxsports.com looks at which catchers are best at certain skils. Varitek gets votes as the best catcher at blocking balls in the dirt, calling a game and toughness. Story here.

RECRUITING - HOOPS
Louisville has a big recruiting week, nabbing some recruits being sought after by ACC programs, including Amir Johnson, who was high on our list........ Duke will definitely NOT see Shaun Livingston ever step foot on campus, as he will sign with an agent........ Anthony Goods, who GT was after, decided to become a Stanford Cardinal....... Top 2005 recruits Kevin Rogers and Calvin Miles are still a strong possibility to sign as a pair with the same school, similar to Buck Fredrick and Ra'Sean Dickey. GT is in the running, along with Kansas, Oklahoma and others may show up later........ Remember D'Angelo Alexander? He is the transfer leaving Oklahoma that GT might have been pursuing. Looks like he will end up with the Charlotte 49ers. He was a top 50 recruit out of high school........ GT is showing interest in Jessie Sapp, out of NYC, and ranked the 105th best prospect by Rivals. He is a 6'3" guard.

RECRUITING - FOOTBALL
UVA Keeps racking up the recruits, getting a verbal from their 14th recruit, the TOP-RANKED OT in the nation and #11 overall. 6'6" 320lb. Wow, 14 verbals already. GT has one so far - Tony Clark....... Top 150 WR Rendrik Taylor chose Clemson over many other top programs including GT....... Some recruiting notes out of South Carolina - LB Ryan Stamper (6'3" 220) has an offer from GT, but we are not in his top 5. GT is also showing interest in OL Zane Bruhin (6'6" 315)..... GT is also after talented LB Quincy Marshall, but so are the buttsniffers....... The top RB prospect in the nation, Maurice Wells, still has GT in his top 3 along with Ohio State and USC. However Ohio State is probably the front-runner, since he has family in that area.......... GT continues to recruit strongly in the state of Texas, going after QB Todd Walker, who visited GT last weekend, along with Maurice Wells. They are going after other TX recruits as well, such as DL Brad Sellers, who likes GT.

WANT TO BUY A HOUSE??
...in the GT Golf Club?? Story here.

The builder of a gated-retirement community at Georgia Tech is soliciting 100,000 former Yellow Jackets to buy into a $66 million, 600-acre golf course community offering 206 homes on $240,000 lots.

Colleges also see a chance to bolster current revenue and the local economy. The Georgia Tech community, once completed, will generate an estimated $1 million per year for that school's athletic and alumni associations. What's more, experts say, university-linked retirement communities create 2.5 jobs for every retiree.