Josh started the fire. I started a fire in the NCAA national office this morning. Why is this pertinent, you ask? Well, lest anyone think I???m not serious about my job, this is proof that I drink my morning coffee while penning this entry each day. I usually brew my java at home, and today was no exception. I put it in a travel mug and usually take a sip or two in the car to get me sufficiently fired up for my first task of the workday. This morning, however, my coffee was lukewarm by the time I got settled in my office, and I decided to give it a whirl in the microwave. It turns out that my coffee mug was actually made of metal and it burst into flames in the kitchen on the second floor. I don???t mean just itty bitty flames ??? this baby was smoldering. With constant ribbing from my colleagues and mother-in-law an absolute certainty for at least the next couple of weeks, I put in for immediate vacation time. My supervisor couldn???t stop laughing long enough to grant it. Anyway, I couldn???t drink that mug of coffee, so I brewed another and am now drinking it from a Styrofoam cup.

What???s your name worth? If I were eligible for tonight???s NBA draft, I might be selected higher than you think. In this world, however, my draft position wouldn???t have anything to do with my basketball skills. On The Futon Report yesterday, Matt Sussman decided to post a mock draft based on the scrabble value of your name. While the 21 points assigned to Joshua Centor wouldn???t assure me a huge rookie contract, it looks like I???d sneak in at the end of the second round with 21 points. Thanks Mom and Dad for giving me the all-important J to start my name!

Earn that job. During the Division III Men???s Ice Hockey Championship this winter, Wisconsin-Superior senior Devin Pacheco was assigned as a student host to Manhattanville. Head coach Kevin Levinthal, who is also the school???s athletics director, was so impressed with Devin???s work ethic that he offered him a scholarship to serve as a graduate assistant this fall.

Historic first. Hampton track and field student-athlete Yvette Lewis recently won the national championship in the triple jump. It was the second national title for Lewis, who also won at the 2006 indoor championships. Lewis is the only individual in the 139-year history of Hampton to win a Division I NCAA title. Hampton???s men???s tennis and women???s basketball programs won national titles when the program competed at the Division II level.