Omar Bolden rapidly becoming everyone's favorite Sun Devil

Fans always gravitate to the new guy, but this will be especially true over the next few months as Omar Bolden quickly endears himself to Sun Devil Nation.

Quoted in today's San Bernardino County Sun, Bolden says:

I was waiting on SC forever. That's where I wanted to go. It was getting ridiculous. It got to the point where I wanted to hurt them.

Please hurt them on Thanksgiving Day.

Thanks to AStateAStateAState for the link!

If anyone posts video of his signing day announcement to YouTube, please add a link to the comments.

Wake up kids, it's Christmas!

Sun Devil Law: no matter what, welcome each and every recruit today with open arms. Remember, they are signing their Letters-of-Intent today because they want to be Sun Devils. Don't worry about the kids that sign elsewhere -- why would we want them here if they don't want to be Sun Devils?

Now, let's run downstairs and find what Santa left under the tree.

Update: well, we found pretty much what we were expecting. A solid class capped by the addition of Omar Bolden. Before you get too excited or too disappointed, keep in mind that it's the 2008 and 2009 classes that really matter.

Spotted: Another in-state enemy prep coach

Tucson Salpointe's Dennis Bene made no secrets about where he attempts to steer his kids in an Arizona Republic article on Tucson prep blue-chipper Kris O'Dowd and Agua Fria All-Everything Everson Griffen. Of their commitment to USC, Bene said:

"That's unfortunate. You expect with a program like (the University of Arizona), that's up and coming, right on the verge of making some noise on the national level, they would get some of these kids."

If by "making some noise on the national level," he meant something that sounds like this, I might be in agreement with him.

What happens if you have a computer and too much time

MapGameDay.com is planning to allow you to waste your time tomorrow in truly awesome fashion.

Thanks to The Wizards of Odds via Deadspin for the link.

Also, it looks like you'll be able to watch a webcast of the signing day press conference, although it's not clear whether this will be free, or for subscribers of The Sun Devils Sports Network only.

When is an official site official?

One of my pet peeves with the Athletic Department is their seeming inability to create a single, consolidated website. It seems like each part of the organization has their own site, and it makes it very frustrating for the humble Sun Devil surfer.

First, of course, is the official site TheSunDevils.com. First off, I hate that URL. SunDevils.com was taken early in the days of the 'net, but now looks like it's available. Couldn't ASU claim that domain name as the copyright owner to the Sun Devils name?

Next is Devil's Domain which requires a free registration. This then allows you to download the Devil's Domain Domain Communicator and Screensaver which is, essentially, a small application that provides links to articles from the official site. Not sure why this requires its own URL!

Next up is The Sun Devils Sports Network which requires an insane $80 annual subscription. Heck, for $99 you can subscribe to ESPN GamePlan which offers about 100 times more content. You don't even get video of the football games for your eighty bucks, by the way.

The fourth "official" site is Sun Devil Central, which is actually the most impressive of the bunch. It offers a nice choice of videos, wallpaper, posters, etc., and it's free.

Last but not least is Answer The Scratch, which is the only site devoted to a specific sport (football). It will be interesting to see if Dennis Erickson keeps the ATS slogan from the previous regime. Again, quite a good site, but seems to overlap Sun Devil Central.

So I'd love to know why these five URLs can't be combined into one or two sites. Anyone from the Athletic Department care to comment?

Updated 2/7/07: apparently, one of the things you get for your $80 subscription to the Sun Devil Sports Network is "All Dirk Koetter radio shows" -- way to keep the site updated! Also, as well as football not being included, neither is men's basketball. Please explain how this subscription is worth $80 per year -- $30 or $40 would seem more reasonable.

Updated 2/8/07: as another example of how badly priced this subscription is, one option offered is $10 per month for a handful of Olympic sports on video and audio of the two big sports. Meanwhile, for $13 per month, I subscribe to Sirius, where I get 100 stations of satellite radio 24/7 and every single NFL game. Please, ASU, re-consider your pricing.

Make sure that fax machine is plugged in

Well, in 48 hours the fax machines in Athletic Departments all over the country should start humming as high school kids start sending in their Letters of Intent.

The NCAA mandates that this week is a dead period, so no more contact is allowed. Of course, some coaches believe these rules do not apply to them, and play pickup basketball with recruits despite the "no contact" rule.

Despite my earlier proclamation that surprises never happen on LOI day, this year could be different. Expect a couple of additions to the latest list of commitments.