Interesting and Entertaining

Out scanning the blogosphere for interesting and entertaining stories that might interest our vast readership. May take me a little time since I'm also watching Lost. Here it goes.

Adda boy: Former Ohio State receiver Brian Hartline appears to be having LOTS of fun as he awaits the NFL Draft later this month. Many of you may find this appalling. I say let 'em enjoy college.

Second chances: Three former Iowa football players who left Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes at semester have all resurfaced.

Bad news: Spring practice at South Florida took down another player as talented receiver Jesse Hester will probably be out until fall after injuring his ankle.

April Fools: The guys over at SmokingMusket.com have come to a conclusion about WVU coach Bill Stewart.

Mountaineer Maniacs: Speaking of WVU's Stewart, the coach gave a few hundred fans a special treat at a recent spring practice.

WAC on ESPN: The Western Athletic Conference has announced an 11-game schedule on ESPN and ESPN2.

Good move: With the East-West Shrine Game moving to Orlando in 2010, the Orlando Sentinel touts the positives of this change.

Early entrants

Well, Ohio State took it a bit on the chin from early entrants to the NFL Draft this year. While running back Beanie Wells was certainly no surprise, it was the departure of WR Brian Hartline and CB Donald Washington that was unexpected. Rumors had flown for awhile that both would be leaving this season, but it was still in kind of a "really?" sort of way.

I'll try to not judge their decisions as I'm certainly not privy to anyone's financial situation or personal history within the program. Hartline was OSU's big play guy this year at times, but struggled with consistency and was reportedly unhappy after the QB change was made from his friend Todd Boeckman. Washington was suspended for two games this year and never took back his starting job from Chimdi Chekwa, but he played frequently.

Both players were redshirt juniors, so perhaps they felt attached to the large senior class. Hartline I can somewhat understand as his draft position was unlikely to change next year. But Washington could have put another full year as a starter under his belt and likely been OSU's top corner, improving his stock from a late rounder to perhaps as high as the third round.

Oh well.

Here's the complete list of early entrants.

Did a tight end from Rice actually declare early?