LOTS OF STUFF ... VATECH LINEMAN INCREASED VALUE AT ALL-STAR GAME

 Of All Things:

NFL scouts came from the Senior Bowl raving about 

Virginia Tech defensive lineman AENEAS PEEBLES

 … despite the fact he’s too short at around six feet. He 

could go higher than a projected fifth rounder in the 

April 24-26 draft. Stay tuned.

After announcing he would enter baseball’s hall of 

fame as a member of the Houston Astros, Virginia 

native BILLY WAGNER learned the team would retire 

his No. 13. The left-handed relief pitcher from Tazwell 

played for five MLB teams including the Atlanta 

Braves. Last Astro to have his number retired was

 CRAIG BIGGIO in 2008.

Not good … not good at all … a survey of game 

officials by U.S. Soccer … reported 90 percent think 

abuse has increased over the past five years … and 60 

percent are getting out because of harassment and 

threats … With that in mind, the governing body is 

strengthening its “Referee Abuse Prevention” policy, 

effective next month.

Fired by North Carolina (Chapel Hill) to make way for

 BILL BELICHICK, MACK BROWN has moved 

back to Austin, Texas, where he re-built the U. of Texas 

football program, winning a national championship in 

2005 … and told a reporter he’s coached for the last 

time (“I’m done … I had enough.”) … In addition, 

Brown, 73, said he wasn’t interested in becoming a 

much-needed someone to, in effect, become a czar over 

the college game … What he really wants to do is 

rejoin ESPN … studio or game analyst? … “I don’t 

care which one I do,” he said,

Saying “Coach Belichick going back to school [is] 

cool,” former Washington Football Team coach RON 

RIVERA told the world he’s returning to alma mater 

California (University of) as football’s general manager. 

Rivera was working on TV as NFL analyst and, like 

Belichick, wanted to coach somewhere … but no one 

wanted him. 

This has got to be a record … MARQUIS GRANT-

MENTIS, 26, a 5-7, 168 -pound forward, was released 

Monday by the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Venom of the 

Federal Prospects Hockey League – the eighth FPHL 

team to cut him in less than four seasons … starting in 

2021-22 with the Columbus, Ga., River Dragons, 

owned by JEFF CROOP, who has called Richmond 

home since 2004 when he arrived as general manager 

of the United Hockey League’s expansion RiverDogs 

… By the way, Columbus was party of the second part 

to a league record Friday when the defending champion 

Binghamton, N.Y., Black Bears became the first team in 

the FPHL’s 15-year history to have three players notch 

a hat trick (three goals) in one game. Final score was 

11-4.

Ratings for the NFL’s Pro Bowl, which includes 

coverage by three networks over several days, were 

down 18 per cent to an average of 4.4 million viewers. 

Sounds like a lot here, considering the game is flag 

football, and the rest is a bunch of individual nonsense 

hardly worthy of much attention.

Meanwhile, the National Hockey League has been 

doing disappointing regular-season numbers on TNT 

and ESPN … which shouldn’t be too surprising when 

you consider games like Seattle/San Jose … not to 

mention competition from the rest of the night’s 

schedule on ESPN-plus … The occasional offering on 

ABC has averaged an OK 800,000 to a high of 1.1 

million for last week’s Bruins/Rangers matchup of a 

couple of Original 6 teams.

I know, I know … pro rasslin’ is scripted. Contestants 

in Saturday night’s Royal Rumble women’s match 

practiced two days to get it down right … and still blew 

a couple of key spots … as did the men which actually 

left some genuinely upset … Nevertheless, once again 

fans were reminded how much real punishment must be 

endured in the name of sports entertainment when

 CODY RHODES and KEVIN STEEN took turns 

throwing each other into ladders (among other things) 

virtually non-stop for about 20 minutes … which 

should have felt like a lifetime for Steen … sorry, 

Owens, who wound up a bloody mess, his head stuck 

between a ladder’s rungs, the loser … but reportedly 

gaining all kinds of respect from fellow competitors.

Finally, in a post-Senior Bowl rating of the top 175 

collegians declared for the 2025 NFL draft … four 

played in the Old Dominion … from No. 96 DORIAN 

STRONG (Virginia Tech), rated the 13^th best corner 

back; to No. 102 CHARLES GRANT(William & 

Mary), ninth best offensive tackle; to No. 143 JONAS 

SANKER (Virginia), 11^th among safeties; to No. 172 

Peebles, 17th-rated defensive tackle … Strong and 

Grant both finished with 7.0 in a convoluted scoring 

system that translated to … “High Level Backup … 

Potential Starter … 2d Round.” … With a 6.5, Sanker 

was considered a “Potential Role Player … 4^th Round.” 

Peebles got a 6.0 … “Developmental Prospect … 5^th

 Round.”

To get some perspective … top-rated was Heisman 

Trophy winner Colorado’s TRAVIS HUNTER, who 

came in at 9.2 as a cornerback: “Top 10 Prospect … 1^st

 Round.” … Miami’s CAM WARD, No. 8 overall, led 

QBs with 8.0 (“Year 1 Starter … Late 1st/2d Round) … 

followed by No. 16 Colorado’s SHADEUR 

SANDERS, also 8.0 … then Ohio State’s WILL 

HOWARD(No. 51, 7.5), JAXSON DART of Ole Miss 

(No. 75, 7.3), Alabama’s JALEN MILROE (77, 7.3),

 KYLE McCORD of Syracuse (82, 7.2), Notre Dame’s

 RILEY LEONARD (142, 6.5), DILLON GABRIEL

 of Oregon (145, 6.5) and Indiana’s KURTIS 

ROURKE (170, 6.1).

Until next time ...