??? I caught some of the Women's College World Series last night and enjoyed the action tremendously. Apparently I'm not the only former baseball player who thinks it would be impossible to hit a softball coming from college pitchers - former big leaguer John Kruk was calling the game for ESPN and came to the same conclusion. The championship opened up with an upset, as Louisiana-Lafayette beat top-ranked Florida in eight innings, 3-2. Holly Tankersley blasted the game-winning homer to centerfield and freshman pitcher Ashley Brignac struck out a career-high 15 in the complete-game effort. Texas A&M, Arizona State and UCLA were also winners on opening day.

??? Patrick Ewing has experienced a lot of things in his life, but the former New York Knicks great says seeing his son graduate from Georgetown last month was his "proudest moment."

??? I was a few minutes late to the office this morning because I was watching a piece on the morning news about Butler men's basketball player Avery Jukes, who is headed to Uganda in a couple of weeks as part of an "Ambassadors for Children" trip. Jukes will serve as part of a team that will be building a primary school that will immediately help 350 local children receive an education.

??? The NBA said that referees missed a foul call that could have affected the outcome of Tuesday's playoff game between the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers. "With the benefit of instant replay, it appears a foul call should have been made," league spokesman Tim Frank said Wednesday. The Spurs went on to lose the series last night, but it seems we have another perfect example of why instant replay should be employed. I'm beginning to think instant replay should be used across the board. Am I ridiculous?

??? Syracuse's Mike Leveille and Northwestern's Hannah Nielsen received the 2008 Tewaarton Trophy as the nation's top male and female lacrosse players. Leveille finished the season with 49 goals and 34 assists while Nielsen tallied 51 goals, 63 assists and 63 draw controls. Both players led their teams to national championships.

??? Four years ago, the Wisconsin-River Falls women's track and field team finished last in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). This year, it placed fourth in the WIAC and then two weeks later went on to become a national champion. The Falcons, behind six All-American performances from four different student-athletes, earned the program's first national championship by tying Illinois Wesleyan with 35 points to earn a share of the 2008 Division III title. Even more surprising is that the Falcons accomplished this feat without head coach Martha Brennan, who missed the team's winning performance because she gave birth to her fourth daughter, Bella Rose, the evening before the meet.

??? Former Marshall softball standout and current Western Carolina assistant Jessica Williams began her professional season in dramatic fashion last night, scoring the winning run to lead the Rockford Thunder over the Chicago Bandits, 2-1, in the National Pro Fastpitch opener. Cat Osterman (Thunder) and Jennie Finch (Bandits) were missing from the field due to Olympic training.