ESPN.com has confirmed that small forward Khyle Marshall verbally committed to Butler on Tuesday. The 6-foot-6 Marshall is ranked No. 22 at his position and chose the Bulldogs over Miami, Florida State and Penn State.

ESPN.com Recruiting Coordinator Reggie Rankin likes what Butler is getting in Marshall.

“Khyle gives the Bulldogs a versatile athlete who can defend multiple positions while also playing a variety of spots on the offensive end,” he said. “He has a great motor and is aggressive on both ends of the floor, competing for rebounds and loose balls.

“This wiry-strong lefty can also get to the rim with quick first-step slashes and can score with athletic moves over or around defenders. He has great body control as spins off defenders to score in the middle of the lane.”

Marshall will need to continue to work on his jumpshot at the next level.

“He can knock down 3’s with time and space but his jumper is an area that needs more consistency,” Rankin added.

“This young wing is very versatile and will be a treat for Butler fans with is size, athletic ability and versatility.”

Marshall joins Eric Fromm (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South H.S.) and Chrishawn Hopkins (Indianapolis, Ind./Emmerich Manuel H.S.) in the Bulldogs’ 2010 class.

Hopkins is a bit of an enigma at this point, having sat out of basketball early in his career, living in Vegas for a bit, coming back to Indy and enrolling at Manual, and now transferring to the charter school Herron. He appears to be a stellar athlete, and his enrollment at Herron seems to indicate he’s serious about getting his academic house in order. It’s good to see Butler recruiting it’s own backyard, particularly the IPS system, as it has traditionally been chock full of basketball talent. Unfortunately the school system is so god-awful that the recruits typically can’t achieve the grades necessary to get into Butler. Let’s hope Hopkins takes this offer seriously and puts in serious study time. Per Rivals.com:

The Butler pledge will definitely add a lot of athleticism to the Bulldogs the moment he gets on campus. Quite simply Hopkins is one of the premier athletes in the entire 2010 class. He showed that with multiple dunks where his head was well above the rim. Hopkins is more than just an athlete though, he does have basketball skill. He showed an ability to shoot beyond three point range off the catch, and also is capable of handling the ball well in traffic while driving to the rim. The next step for him is to be able to shoot of the dribble, but you just don’t see too many athletes like him. Hopkins is definitely one of the more undervalued 2010 recruits.

Here’s Hopkins showing those hops:

I love baseball, but damn if it gets old around August of every year. I’ll go back to baseball in about a month, just to see if my beloved White Sox can limp their way into playoff contention. For now though, there are fantasy football projections to pour over and Notre Dame analysis to sift through over at Blue-Gray Sky.

Speaking as someone who grew up watching the game passionately, and playing the game passionately into my college years, there’s nothing like next fall and the anticipation of another season. I can still taste the freshly cut grass, hear the pads popping, and feel the sweat pouring off my heaving and exhausted body. IMHO, it is the only sport that truly reaches the limits of human pain and endurance. I admire the athletes in the NFL, but only because I know the physical and mental discipline one needs to achieve that level of success is extraordinarily rare. Yes, some of them hit the genetic lottery, but so did many others that failed to reach that level. NFL players are masters of their craft, no different than the workaholic CEO or world renowned artist.

Okay, enough of the hyperbole. On to the actual subject. Last night, in case you missed it, the Colts WON a preseason game. This is shocking because they’re only won four preseason games in the past four years.

My main concern going into this year is the offensive line. Without a stable, strong offensive line, Peyton Manning is meat. See last week’s game in which our starting right tackle (subsequently CUT) was burned on three consecutive passing plays, all leading to sacks. The Colts are done without Manning. Whether injured or on his back all day, they can’t win without his arm. After the third sack, I looked at my friends nervously and wondered if we could cut the guy fast enough. Of course then I realized that if *this guy* is starting, how bad is *his* backup?

Of course the toreador of a tackle was cut, Ryan Diem got healthy, and suddenly a week later we have something that resembles a starting offensive line. They played pretty well last night, although I’m not sold on Charlie Johnson as a starting left tackle. Nothing against CJ, he seems like a nice guy and played very well off the bench in the ‘06 Super Bowl, but he shouldn’t be starting. He allowed a sack & strip of Peyton last night, and didn’t exactly inspire confidence. So clearly, we’re going to have depth issues on the offensive line this year. I’m not sure what’s going on with Tony Ugoh, as he’s been moved around like a military family the past few weeks. Starting LT last year/preseason game 1, then filling in at RG, then second string LT, and I’m pretty sure I saw him holding on extra points last night. This shuffling CANNOT be good for his confidence.

Overall I thought the offense looked great. We ran a nice double-bunch package with two splits & two receivers shadowing each other. That was a neat wrinkle on the trips-bunch that we saw last year. The double-bunch formation worked well last night, as Reggie Wayne was able to get free and make an easy catch. The running game looked pretty good. Joe Addai is showing a burst that we didn’t see last year. Maybe it’s the fact that the line is a year older & wiser, or maybe it’s that his backup, Donald Brown, is a freaking STUD. It wouldn’t surprise me if Brown was starting by the end of the year, but clearly Addai isn’t going to give up his starting position without a fight. Between Brown pushing Addai and the line improving over last year, I can see the Colts averaging between 90 and 105 YPG rushing, FAR better than the 75-80 they were averaging last year. This is the kind of running game the Colts will need if they want to reach the Super Bowl again.

The deifense looked pretty good, too. I like our new DC, Larry Coyer. The man likes to blitz. I love blitzes, and as anybody who’s ever played defense can tell you, blitzing is FUN. It energizes the defense and absolutely punishes the opposing offense, whether it works or not. I’ve never been a fan of the bend-but-don’t-break defense the Colts have employed in recent years, so this new attacking defense is a breath of fresh air. It confuses the offense, and in particular the offensive line. It keeps opposing linemen just a bit off balance; just a step slow in their blocking reads. This in turn allows the defensive linemen to penetrate, or a linebacker to roam free. These are the key ingredients to stopping the opposing team’s running game.

I liked what I saw last night. The 2009 Colts (the entire organization, in fact, and not just the players) have apparently dedicated themselves to getting better at running the ball and conversely, stopping the run. They are a very deep, young, and talented team. Barring injuries or a continuation of last year’s offensve line woes, the smart money is on the Colts getting back to the Super Bowl.

The Trotter family has been pretty damn busy lately. In the span of nine months, we’ve decided to build a house, sold our old home, moved in with friends for two months, moved into our newly built house, discovered the social networking crack that is Facebook, welcomed two new nephews into the world, had great friends move, other great friends divorce, and nearly lost our minds during the process.

Oh, and Carson has gone from a wobbly little man-baby to a full-on little boy. You know, the kind that rides toys down stairs, jumps off furniture, torments slugs & bugs in the backyard, and excitedly points out the otherwise mundane.

Not that I’m complaining. Life certainly isn’t worth living if you know exactly what every day is going to bring. Despite the crazy juggling act we’ve endured, this has been the most exciting nine month stretch that I can remember. Now that we’re finally back on firm footing, we can enjoy the rest of the summer and have some time for introspection. And maybe a few more blog updates:)

How about this??
A Modest Plan: Not to mention $700 Billion to bail out Wall Street, while mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren!

Hi Pals,

I’m against the $85 BILLION bailout of AIG. Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a “We Deserve It” dividend. To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000 bona fide U.S. citizens, aged 18+.

Our population is about 301 million counting every man, woman and child. So, 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up. Now, divide 200 million, 18+ adults into $85 billion - that equals $425,000.00 each! Yes, my plan is to give that $425,000 to every adult as a “We Deserve It” dividend.

Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So, let’s assume a tax rate of 30%. Every person would pay $127,500.00 in ta xes. That sends $25.5 billion right back to Uncle Sam! It also means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife would have $595,000.00!

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00?

• Pay off your mortgage? – housing crisis solved

• Repay college loans? – what a great boost to new grads

• Put away money for college? – it’ll really be there

• Save in a bank? – create money to loan to entrepreneurs

• Buy a new car? – create jobs

• Invest in the market? – capital drives growth

• Pay for your parent’s medical insurance? – health care improves

• Enable D eadbea t Dads to come clean? – or else.

Remember this is for every adult U.S. citizen, 18 and older (including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehmann Brothers and every other company that is cutting back) and of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we’re going to re-distribute wealth let’s really do it! Instead of trickling out a puny $1,000.00 economic incentive.

If we’re going to do an $85 billion bailout, let’s bail out every adult U.S. citizen!!

As for AIG – liquidate it! Sell off its parts. Let American General go back to being American General! Sell off the real estate! Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

We deserve the money and AIG doesn’t. Sure it’s a crazy idea, but can you imagine the coast-to-coast block party?!

How do you spell Economic Boom? W-e D-e-s-e-r-v-e I-t d-i-v-i-d-e-n-d! I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion “We Deserve It” dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington, D.C..

And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 billion because $25.5 billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh…I feel so much better getting that off my chest.
Kindest personal regards,
Birk (T. J. Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic)

Um, $85,000,000,000 / 200,000,000 = $425 per person, not $425,000. This jackass must be working for one of the firms we’re bailing out!

The past couple months have been incredibly busy for us. We had Carson’s first birthday party, which was a bittersweet week-long affair of putting together Little Tyke wagons, writing checks, and cleaning. There was a party in there somewhere, and we’ve got the video to prove it:

Right now, Carson has just a few words, Hello, Ball, Doggie, Momma, Dadda, Green, and Yellow. Green just started a couple days ago and sounds more like “grin”. Yellow sounds a lot like “Yao”. Yellow is the weird one. I think he likes the Ys and Ls, because the kid goes into yodeling fits at the most random times, and it cracks me up. He’s walking like a champ, and is surprisingly quick when he wants to get somewhere in a hurry. He also caught his first pass last night when Daddy tossed a stuffed football to him. Sadly, he could not repeat the feat. Kind of like Kenton Keith!

His personality is definitely coming out, and I think we have a fairly easy kid on our hands. We were able to drop the bottle at 12 months without any problems, and he’s quickly learning what stern “no” means. He still likes to test us occasionally, though. I expect the testing to increase over the next two years. But yeah, so far, easy kid…he wakes up happy, falls asleep quickly, and is in a good mood pretty much all day.

Unless he’s hungry. When he’s hungry he gets REALLY moody (like father like son), and his only focus is on getting fed, even if that means pulling the chairs out from under the dining room table to get our attention.

So that’s my Carson story, and I’m sticking to it.

We went to our final wedding of the summer a few weeks ago in Schererville, IN. Congratulations to Kevin and Erika! You two threw one helluva party, and your priest cracked me up. It was the first time I’d heard a Catholic priest use the phrase “well, we won’t get into that right now….it’s all Jesus-ey”. That sound you heard immediately thereafter was me choking back pure laughter. I’m surprised he didn’t yell out the score of the Notre Dame - SDSU game, and kind of saddened. Is it just me, or do women purposely schedule their weddings on days of hugely anticipated football and baseball games?

Mike and Emily brought their girls home last week, which is awesome news. The girls had been in the NICU for a month and a half, and it was absolutely driving Mike & Em crazy with worry and anticipation. Everyone seems to be doing well, but I don’t expect to hear from Mike for at least another three months. Having just survived the first few months of Carson’s life, I can only imagine the difficulties and stress that TWO newborns bring. *Shudders* That said, Mike & Em are strong willed and very hard workers, so they’ll be just fine. Good luck keeping that blog updated, Mike!

I downloaded the new Metallica album from iTunes a few days ago after reading lots of positive reviews. I was a huge, huge fan in the ’80s and early ’90s, but something about the Black album turned me off (maybe it was the nonstop radio play), so I tuned them out. Their releases between ‘91 and this year were embarrassingly bad, and sounded nothing like the metal shredders I grew up mimicking on guitar. Metallica was dead to me, until now.

They’re back, and I mean BACK.

I’ve listened to the new album about ten times over, and I can say that without a doubt, this is their best album since “And Justice For All”. They’re back to playing crushing thrash metal with intricate song structures. They SOUND like Metallica again, despite the terrible mixing that plagues this album (my only beef), and James Hetfield’s nearly 50 year old smoker’s voice. Most of the songs are fantastic, and there’s even a ten minute instrumental that hearkens to the days of Orion and Call of Kthulu. This is a must own for old-school Metallica fans who hated the direction the band has taken in the last 15 years.

Well, that’s it. I promise I’ll update more frequently from now on. Peace.

Here are three videos of Carson that Courtney & I have shot over the past month:

Carson has transformed from baby to little boy. I think the change occurred slowly over the past few months, when he was uttering his first words, cutting a tooth, practicing temper tantrums, and throwing everything he got his hands on. Allow me to break down each one of these items separately….

First words! He’d been saying variations on ‘dada’ and ‘mama’ as early as 6 months, but I think our interpretation was more of a confirmation bias. We WANTED to hear him say those words, so we interpreted any gibberish as variations. Well, we were pretty much full of shit then, but now he’s really turning it on. The long, drawn-out ‘dadadadadada’s and ‘mamammamama’s have turned into clearly definable ‘dada’ and ‘mama’ when he sees us for the first time that day, or gets upset, or is curious about something. His curiosity is easy to pinpoint as he’s pointing at absolutely everything now. This weekend we watched him look at his granddog, Libby, and say ‘doggie’. I’m amazed that he picked up on ‘doggie’ in particular, and not one of the colorful metaphors we spew when our own doggie goes into a barking fit. We were thinking it was only a matter of time before he started speaking, because he’s been babbling incessantly by conjugating consonants and vowels for 4 months now. We’ve been good about having ‘conversations’ with him, and definitely encouraging him to speak. Given how much his mama and dada like to talk themselves, it may be a good idea to start teaching him NOW how to turn off the babbling.

Cutting teeth! SUCKS. ‘Nuff said.

Temper tantrums! These are actually kind of cute now, but I know they’re going to get old quickly. He throws up his arms, arches his back, and puts on the pouty lip with a little ‘waaa!’ thrown in just to make sure we get the message. They pop up a few times a day, and they’re over pretty quickly. Kind of like thunderstorms in Florida. Only without beaches or Buicks. We had a lovely experience yesterday driving back from Courtney’s folks’ house as Carson screamed for the last hour of the drive, solid. He just can’t be confined by a carseat or high chair for more than 20 minutes or he’ll get bored and go nuts. Of course the second you remove the restraints, and he stops crying and laughs at you. Wonderful. This child may have a future in acting.

Throwing stuff! Self explanatory. Throws everything you put into his hands when he’s done inspecting it. Sometimes throws his fists into daddy’s face when excited. Good times!

Still, you can’t be mad at this face, EVER.