About Rushel Shell, Deion's son and Barry Sanders' son

 By Mike White | Tuesday, July 28, 5:20 p.m.

Hopewell sophomore running back Rushel Shell was selected one of the top 100 sophomores in the country by MaxPreps.com. Two of the other players in the top 100 are Deion Sanders' son and Barry Sanders' son.

MaxPreps does an excellent job in covering high school athletics around the country. It had to take a lot of research to come up with the top 100 sophomores and find out information and stats on the players. The selection of Shell is no surprise. He was MaxPreps' freshman of the year in 2007.

Here is the link to the story on the top 100:

http://www.maxpreps.com/news/p754CHpUEd6OEwAcxJTdpg/maxpreps-fresh-faces-class-of-2012-top-100.htm

Football recruiting updates: Hagan likely to pick Ohio State

 By Mike White | Thursday, July 23, 2:10 p.m.

 Many of the top football players in the WPIAL Class of 2010 have already made college decisions. But at least a handful are still undecided. Here is an update on a few players who haven't made a college choice.

CHAD HAGAN, CANON-McMILLAN, LB-DB – It is almost certain Hagan will commit to Ohio State, possibly within the next two weeks. "Ohio State is No. 1. I love everything about them," Hagan said. "I plan on making a decision where I want to go soon, probably before the end of this month. I’m going to visit Ohio State again. If I go up there and I’m sold on it again, then that’s where I want to be."

The other two schools in Hagan’s top three are Wisconsin and Michigan. All of his favorites have offered scholarships. Neither Pitt or Penn State has offered. "That just drives me a little more," Hagan said.

Hagan looks different than last season. He has added 25 pounds and is now 6 feet 2, 230 pounds. He said he has not lost any speed, though, and said he can still run the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds. Most schools like him at either defensive back or linebacker. He also plays running back for Canon-McMillan.

CULLEN CHRISTIAN, PENN HILLS, DB - "Michigan is No. 1," Christian said. "I’ve been up there three times. I have a real good bond with everyone up there."

Christian (6-1, 180) said he probably will make a college decision at some point during the upcoming season. "I want to take some official visits," he said. But he is quick to point out his top choice.

Christian’s other favorites are Virginia, UCLA, Maryland and Pitt. Christian has played cornerback at Penn Hills, but will probably play safety this year. He also will play receiver.

BRANDON IFILL, PENN HILLS, WR-DB - Ifill plans to visit Michigan July 31, but said he will probably wait to make a decision during the season.

Ifill (6-0, 180) said he has narrowed his of colleges to Pitt, Rutgers, West Virginia, Maryland and Michigan. He has visited all of those schools, except Michigan. "Right now, I’d probably say it’s between Michigan and Maryland," Ifill said.

"I’m going to take some official visits," he said.

Some schools are recruiting him as a receiver and a few as a defensive back. He said he doesn’t have a position preference.

Krakoff to be named Woodland Hills coach

By Colin Dunlap | Wednesday, July 22, 11:11 a.m.

Dave Krakoff will be named the new boys’ basketball coach at Woodland Hills High School tomorrow.

Krakoff, 36, who will also serve as an assistant principal at Woodland Hills Junior High School,  previously coached at West Allegheny and Pine-Richland.
He spent the past year as an administrator for special projects at the Villages Charter School in Florida and also assisted with their athletic program.

PIAA director makes new 4A, 5A and 6A proposals for football

 Mike White | Monday, July 20, 8:05 p.m.

The soap opera of Pennsylvania high school football has another new storyline.

The PIAA Board of Control was expected to vote Thursday night on a proposal that would add two classifications in football around the state, and also shorten the season by a week, starting in 2010. But Brad Cashman, Executive Director of the PIAA, has come up with three new proposals that will be addressed.

Cashman, who came up with the original six-classification idea, has altered his original playoff bracket for six classes. But he also has come up with proposals for a five-classification bracket, and a four-class bracket.

So, now the PIAA can consider AAAA, AAAAA, and AAAAAA. And you get an A if you understand all of this.

The PIAA strategic planning committee, made up of 16 Board of Control members that represent the 12 districts around the state, will consider Cashman’s proposals and then make a recommendation to the PIAA Board of Control. A vote could still be taken Thursday night.

The strategic planning committee has three basic choices. It could recommend one of Cashman’s three proposals. It could recommend keeping the system the way it is, with four classifications and a 16-week season. Or it could come up with its own new proposal.

Stay tuned on this one. I’ll interrupt some vacation time to cover the meetings later this week at PIAA headquarters

In case you’re wondering how the WPIAL feels about the new proposals, you need to know they are against all of them. Just like the league was against Cashman’s first six-class proposal.

The main reason the WPIAL is against the new proposals is because it still ruins the WPIAL playoffs. Consider:

Under Cashman’s new six-class proposal, the WPIAL still couldn’t play all of its championships in one day at Heinz Field. Although Cashman changed the Class A bracket to the WPIAL’s preference, the WPIAL would only have eight teams in its 6A playoffs and would have to play a championship game a week before the other five classes.

In Cashman’s Class 5A proposal, there would be no "true" WPIAL champion in either AAAA or 5A. In this proposal, 16 teams would be in the WPIAL playoffs in Class A, AA and AAA. But in AAAA and 5A, there would be only 12 teams – and four of those teams would be involved in playoffs against districts outside the WPIAL.

Under Cashman’s AAAA proposal, 16 teams would make the WPIAL playoffs in A, AA and AAA. But only 12 in AAAA. Four AAAA teams would be involved in playoffs against districts outside the WPIAL.

Here is what WPIAL Executive Director Tim O’Malley had to say today:

"What we would like to see maintained is what we’ve been doing since the state playoffs were developed [in 1988]," O’Malley said. "We are of the opinion that Dec. 19 is too late to play the state championships, like they are doing this year. We also freely admit that the state football championships overlapping two weeks of the winter sports season is something we’d like to see corrected. But we are of the opinion that the solution to those two problems lies more with the beginning of the season, than with adding more classifications."

Translation: The WPIAL wants only four classes. The league is fine if the PIAA wants to cut a week at the end of the season. But let each district around the state decide if they want to start their seasons a week earlier. That way, everyone might be happy.