The college basketball season is officially underway!
Fifth-ranked Duke defeated Presbyterian in the season opener last night, 80-49, and Georgia Southern edged Houston, 65-63. With college football in high-gear and the beginning of college hoops, is this your favorite time of year?

Texas TV channel
While it is becoming common for conferences to form their own television channels, there hasn't been an individual institution that has done it until now. Texas announced plans to launch a new athletics network, which is tentatively named the Longhorn Sports Network. Negotiations are underway for the channel to be picked up by national cable providers. While the channel won't be able to show live football and basketball games, it will still be a great recruiting tool for the school. It's only a matter of time before other major athletics departments follow Texas' model.

Experienced chain gang
While football student-athletes play at Gustavus Adolphus only four years, one thing has remained constant on the school's sidelines - the chain gang. The four men who hold the first down sticks have a combined 145 years of experience on the job, and it sounds like they have loved every minute of it.

HBCU love
ESPN's "College GameDay" will broadcast its weekly show this Saturday from the campus of Florida A&M. This marks the first time the show has ever been to a Historically Black College. The game between Hampton and Florida A&M is a pivotal matchup in the MEAC, as both schools are chasing frontrunner South Carolina State.

Former Olympian passes away
A bit of sad news in the collegiate sports world. Richard Stockton athletics director Larry James passed away late last week after a stint with cancer. As a Villanova track and field student-athlete in 1968, James overcame a 15-yard deficit to help his team win the Penn Relays. Later that year, at Mexico City Olympics, James won gold and silver medals.

Yankees preserving history
The Yankees are preserving their old stadium's history in the move to the new ballpark across the street. On Saturday, a group of Bronx youth and former Yankee stars moved some of the dirt from around home plate and the pitching mound to the new stadium. It will be fun to see how the team moves the historic monuments to the new ballpark.