Celtic steal Boston made a great move by trading for Ray Allen, says Charley Rosen, who examines the draft wheelings and dealings. Tiger's girl We don't know how Sam Woods will affect Tiger's game. It's clear from these first pics she's already affected his life. Get the hint? The Bears finally had enough and released Tank Johnson. Kevin Hench hopes the rest of the NFL gets the message.

About Mark Kriegel Mark Kriegel is a national columnist for FOXSports.com. He is the author of Namath: A Biography and Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich, both New York Times bestsellers. MORE BY Mark Kriegel: • 'This is about watching loved ones die' • On the Mark: The Doc is out on this one See all articles >   MOST ROOTED FOR STORIES   Lottery results a surprise to Oden   Donovan makes no excuses for reversal   Eighth grader commits to USC   On the Mark: The Doc is out on this one   Mock draft: A third take, picks 1-30   Smith won't have to sit out transfer year   A year later, little has changed   Youth movement a scary trend   Summer camps to stress skill development   Porter was bigger than life View all headlines... • How to fight with your wife & stay married • A new 'alternative' vehicle: the amphibious car • See the 10 scariest roller coasters in the U.S. FOX SPORTS STORE View the FOX Sports Store >

On the Mark: The Doc is out on this one

Mark Kriegel FOXSports.com, Updated 2 days ago  STORY TOOLS:                         print send blog RSS LIKE THIS STORY?

Dr. Sample, according to his official bio, "is an electrical engineer, a musician, an outdoorsman, an author, and an inventor." Certainly, with a résumé like that, he'd be able to help me with my questions, which had to do with kids being offered college basketball scholarships before they are done with middle school.

The latest recruit to verbally accept a USC scholarship is Ryan Boatwright. He is 14 years old, from Aurora, Ill., and as of last week had yet to decide whether he would attend East Aurora or West Aurora high school. News of Boatwright's decision comes a year after Trojans coach Tim Floyd received a verbal commitment from Dwayne Polee Jr., another 14-year-old who had yet to play his first high school game.

USC isn't out there all alone, of course. Way back in 2003, a soon-to-be freshman named Taylor King announced his intention to attend UCLA. As it happens, King will matriculate at Duke. Still, his example hasn't exactly proven a deterrent in the recruitment of middle schoolers. DePaul and Illinois have received verbal acceptance of scholarship offers from 14-year-olds. Earlier this year, an eighth-grader named Matt Carlino — whom Lute Olson had come to watch as a seventh grader the previous spring, according to the Arizona Republic — got a scholarship offer from the Wildcats.

So, as university presidents are supposed to be the collective conscience of college sports, I thought Dr. Sample might be able to help.

I thought wrong.

The PR guy, who seemed to be hearing the news of these scholarship offers for the very first time, tried to pawn me off on the athletic department. He told me that Dr. Sample doesn't give many interviews. Then, finally, he came back with a statement: "Any athletic scholarship from USC offered to a high school student is contingent on the student's ability to earn admission to USC. The student's age at the time of the offer is only an indicator of his or her athletic potential."

That's really good to know because, as it happens, Ryan Boatwright's father told FOXSports.com's Jeff Goodman that the big factor in the family's decision was "the academic standards at USC."

Don't blame Tim Floyd for taking advantage of the rules. Or for having to fear so much for his job that he's extending scholarship offers to junior highers. (Jim McIssac / Getty Images)

"That's what really got us," said Mike Boatwright.

What really gets me is that the kid's 14. With all due respect, he can't know who he will be — athletically, academically or socially — in four years' time. You don't have to be a college president to understand that.

Universities don't behave this way with preternaturally gifted cellists or poets or engineers. But ballplayers are different. They bring out the fiercely cynical side of higher education. One wonders if all these prepubescent recruits are an unintended consequence of the NBA's new rule requiring players to be at least 19 and a year out of high school. Kids who may have considered going pro now think about where to park themselves for a year or so.

Whatever the case, the trend is younger. And unless the Dr. Samples of this world begin to consider the issue, you'll soon hear of 13-year-olds verbally committing. Then 12-year-olds. And so on.

It's easy to blame the coaches. But a guy like Tim Floyd is only doing what he's been allowed to do. Floyd made his offer to Boatwright after seeing him play at the USC camp. He explained his offer as a reality of competition, citing UCLA's offer to Taylor King. Sure, King is headed to Duke. And maybe Boatwright winds up somewhere else, too. But there's also a chance that the next middle school kid is the one who can make or break a program.

The way it is in college ball, Floyd has to play scared. If things go bad for the Trojans, Dr. Sample won't pick up the phone to save the coach's job, will he?

On the Mark

Strange but true: If Tank Johnson had only made a Pro Bowl, he'd be enjoying a groundswell of support right now.

Same for Pacman, of course.

Even stranger: The Kobe Video Guys got more grief for being unethical than the networks bidding for an interview with Paris Hilton.

Paris says she wants "to start using what I've been given by God to bring light to the causes that I believe in."

Like, shoes.

Couple big questions in the NBA draft. First, which lottery pick will go on to be a bust and win the dunk contest?

Did all that hair go to Alexi Lalas' head? (Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images)

Second, what's a Tiago Splitter?

Sounds like the out pitch Pedro's been working on for his comeback.

Or maybe something from Tank's gun rack.

Shawn Green says he'd like to play for Israel. I'd like to see him play for the Mets first.

The New York Times has uncovered the existence of Freegans, a bizarre cult that subsists on other people's discarded junk.

This is nothing new, though. The Knicks have been doing it for years.

Sad to see that Marion Jones, who won five medals in Sydney, is now broke.

The real question, though, is how she managed to do this without Don King.

Alexi Lalas, GM of the LA Galaxy, says Beckham is going to be bigger than Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan.

Obviously, Major League Soccer needs drug testing fast.

With his victory at Sonoma, Juan Pablo Montoya has now won at the highest levels of open wheel and stock car racing.

"He got lucky," said Robby Gordon, who finished 16th.

Sixteenth? Now I'm no authority on racing cars, but isn't it better to be lucky than to be unlucky and suck?

The Yankees scored five runs in three games in Colorado.

What do you expect for $200 million?

Rough couple of days for Foxy Brown. (Louis Lanzano / Associated Press)

DNA tests reveal that Eddie Murphy had a kid with Scary Spice.

I'll never watch Daddy Day Care the same way.

Ricky Hatton put on a good show against a shot Jose Luis Castillo. More impressive, however, were his fans from Manchester, England. Spies in Vegas report that they don't bother with hotel rooms. Rather, they prepare for the fight by sitting in threes at the bar. They drink until it is time to rest, at which point the two wingmen place their heads on the shoulders of the middle guy, who keeps drinking. This arrangement keeps everyone from falling down. Every few hours, they switch positions.

So, basically, being a Hatton fan is like going to a state college.

More fight news: Kimbo Slice choked out Ray Mercer in the octagon.

Kimbo has skills? That's scarier than A-Rod in a contract year.

By the way, has Joe Torre thanked A-Rod yet for saving his job?

Or is the Skipper still upset about the way he runs the bases?

Three things I might actually pay to see:

1. The Kobe tape.

2. Barbara Walters' exclusive with Kobe.

Sorry, Ari. Amanda's better looking than you. (HBO / Special to FOXSports.com)

3. Kimbo Slice versus Wladimir Klitschko.

And one thing I would not: The Police.

Tommy Morrison says he's not HIV positive.

Of course, this is the same guy who used to say he was related to John Wayne.

From the New York Daily News: "Trouble-prone rapper Foxy Brown was attacked yesterday by three of her ex-boyfriend's gal pals — who pulled out her hearing aid and tore her hair weave at his prompting, police sources said."

C'mon, people. We're supposed to be remembering the Summer of Love.

Not only does catcher Russell Martin have more stolen bases than Rafael Furcal and Nomar Garciaparra together, he has more than the entire Dodger outfield.

My interest in Wimbledon is directly proportional to the Williams sisters' chances.

Have you ever met anyone who rooted for Roger Federer?

I just can't get into Entourage since Vince and the hot agent parted ways. I've had a thing for that girl since she played the mom in Spy Kids.

Hey, fatherhood alerts me to all sorts of new possibilities. Like, just the other day I learned that electric blue is now the universally recognized color for raspberry.

And I make sure my kid gets all the blue-raspberry stuff she wants. After all, she's a lefty.

Down the road, that's got to be worth something, right?