BEVERLY HILLS (MI) — The onslaught of football season means that college basketball is that much closer. Like a robin in springtime, the harbinger of hoops is, of course, the arrival of the annual College Basketball Yearbooks and Lindy’s and The Sporting News have already started releasing some of their content.

This is a link to their respective Top 10 picks, courtesy of RushTheCourt.com:

http://rushthecourt.net/2013/08/30/analyzing-lindys-and-sporting-news-preseason-top-10s/

— Here is an in-depth look at UD 2014 SG prospect Brady Ellingson:

http://ny2lasports.com/article_one.aspx?articleid=1551

— Scratch 2014 SF Justin Tillman from Detroit (MI) Pershing HS off of Archie’s wish list. Tillman committed to former UD assistant Shaka Smart and A-10 foe VCU immediately after his official visit:

http://www.scarberrymedia.com/2013/05/27/the-next-paul-george-introducing-detroit-pershings-justin-tillman/

— The Atlantic 10 Conference launched its brand spanking new website this week:

http://www.atlantic10.com/

— Meanwhile, 2014 will unfortunately be the 10th and final season for one of my favorite college hoops sites, The Mid Majority:

http://www.midmajority.com/a/x

Thanks for all the hard work, Kyle!

— College Chalk Talk continues its “One Thing to Watch” series on A-10 teams, with profiles on:

Rhody: http://collegechalktalk.com/2013/08/12/one-thing-to-watch-rhode-island/

GW: http://collegechalktalk.com/2013/08/15/one-thing-to-watch-george-washington/

— The NCAA is kicking the tires on possibly moving “The First Four” to somewhere other than UD Arena after 2015. Here are two viewpoints on that announcement, first from NBC Sports:

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/08/19/theres-nothing-wrong-with-the-ncaa-weighing-their-first-four-options/

And from RushTheCourt.com:

http://rushthecourt.net/2013/08/20/the-first-four-doesnt-need-to-leave-dayton-but-maybe-it-should/

— Andy Glockner from Sports Illustrated does a two-part interview with stat freak Jeff Sagarin.

Part One: http://college-basketball.si.com/2013/08/26/verbatim-jeff-sagarin/
Part Two: http://college-basketball.si.com/2013/08/27/verbatim-stats-guru-jeff-sagarin/?sct=obinsite

— With the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech this past week, an amazing story came out concerning Hall of Fame Head Coach George Raveling. He has the original copy of Dr. King’s speech from that day! Here are the details on how it came to be in his possession:

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/08/28/hall-of-famer-george-raveling-has-dr-kings-i-have-a-dream-speech/

— Two of my favorite things together in one video: a Larry Bird “greatest passes” highlight reel, set to music by The Alan Parsons Project:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhnRtgBGMl4

— Speaking of birds, I have never had this happen before. Mrs. Swampy and I were heading home from Stone Harbor, NJ on I-80, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a large one — either a hawk or an owl — taking flight from the low-hanging trees along the interstate. The big bird flew directly into the side of our vehicle and made a loud thump, which startled the hell out of my then-sleeping wife. She was convinced that when we stopped we were going to find a sizeable indentation in the door of the SUV. As we drove along I had some time to think about it. We were headed west going 75 MPH, but the bird was only travelling at maybe 5 MPH to the north. Had we hit him head-on, I’m sure he would have shattered the windshield. Much to our relief, when we stopped for gas we discovered that there was no sign of impact.

— North Korea’s goofball dictator Kim Jong Un certainly knows how to put the “ex” in ex-girlfriend, as in “executed”:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/29/hyon-song-wol_n_3837098.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl8%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D366141

— For the hoopster who has everything, how about a $12,900 Hermes basketball:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hermes-unveils-12900-basketball-604366

How about no?

That’s it “From the Swamp.”
You can email me at: [email protected]