Hometown Report

It's hard to be 6-foot-4, 335 pounds and viewed as a hidden commodity, but that's Larry Wriedt.

Now that Sacramento's top college football recruits – Pleasant Grove's Arik Armstead and Grant's Shaq Thompson – have decided what schools they'll attend, today's national letter-of-intent signing day figures to be one of celebration more than suspense.

Wednesday's national letter of intent day is just as important as it was, say, 15, 25 or 35 years ago.

John Gagliardi wonders about his mortality.

In the business of high school football recruiting, players are ranked with stars by national scouting services.

Gordon King has towered since his middle school days in the Midwest.

Football recruits learn certain tricks to catch the attention of college scouts.

Arik Armstead is ready for the rest of his life. With ambition in his tone, the 6-foot-8, 290-pound national football recruit informed his Pleasant Grove Eagles basketball coaches and teammates that he had grabbed his last high school rebound and fired his final outlet, a decision both player and team anticipated.

The old place never wears on Ryan Anderson, like a driver settling into his relic ride, appreciating the look and feel.

The Johnson Warriors lost a high school girls basketball game 105-2 Thursday night in one of those horrific, "Is that a typo?" outcomes. It's likely the most lopsided score to ever appear on The Bee's scoreboard page.

Basketball coach Andrew Jones can relate to the players he mentors and coaches at Sacramento City College.

Big Red can matter again. The Cordova Lancers' brand and legacy still resonate, so it's no wonder the school's administration hopes to restore the program's storied past with the school's next football coach.

Gary Gerould rarely is rattled on the air, but this was different. It felt like a memorial, a crushing conclusion to a deep-rooted relationship.

College football seasons end, but recruiting almost never does. It's an exhaustive, year-round effort for coaches who pitch their teams and plead with prospects to come to their school.

Coming soon to a football stadium near you: CIF regional and/or state football playoff games. Probable? For sure?

Bobby Jackson found himself in a predicament Friday night, balancing his roles as father and uncle with his new job as a coach.

Arik Armstead is 6-foot-8 and 290 pounds of intrigue. He has barrel-thick legs and muscled arms, seemingly long enough to dust the crossbar of a goal post or basketball rim – flat footed.

After 15 years and 13 winning seasons at Fresno State, Pat Hill was fired Sunday night. He was scheduled to be in Sacramento this week for in-home visits with recruits, who are now scrambling, as if a job offer suddenly has been pulled. Hill loved to mine the Valley for prospects, and he culled players from Del Paso Heights, Elk Grove, Placer County and points in between.

Longtime UC Davis football coach Bob Biggs, who told his team this week he'll retire following the 2012 season, isn't sure what he'll do once he hangs up his whistle, but here's a thought: concert tickets, anyone? Biggs, who has been known to play some air guitar, wants to learn to play a real one.

Funny thing about retired football coaches. They can't stay away.

Former Sheldon High School basketball star Darius Nelson, one of the area's most prolific scorers, has decided to transfer from UTEP, where he was a freshman.

Matt Barnes returns to Del Campo High School on Wednesday night to have two of his jerseys retired and play in an alumni basketball game.

At this time a year ago, Jerry Haflich sported a Frankenstein-like gash across his forehead, stitches and all. Halloween had passed, but he still looked the part without trying.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about Joey Ortiz at 40 is this: He's still alive.