The following BYU football recruiting National Signing Day primer is provided by Vanquish The Foe, SB Nation’s excellent BYU blog:

The 2012 recruiting class for BYU includes some highly-recruited prospects, including Elite 11 QB camp MVP Tanner Mangum. Mangum is a four-star QB out of Idaho who turned down Arkansas, Boise State, and Utah to go to Provo. Mangum’s ratings from scouting services have done nothing but rise during the past season after his Elite 11 camp performance. There are high hopes for the Mangum era. The Cougars’ other highly-rated recruit is DE/LB Troy Hinds, also a four-star player, who had offers from many in the Pac-12.

The problem with those commits? Well, this is BYU, and those kids are Mormon, I believe (c. Bobby Bowden). Mangum and Hinds will serve two-year missions for the LDS Church before starting their BYU careers.

But what the missionary program taketh, it also giveth. BYU secured a commitment from QB Taysom Hill, who while a missionary rescinded his commitment to Stanford after Jim Harbaugh left for the NFL. At the time of his recruitment from high school, Hill was a four-star prospect, and as of now BYU fans should have a “Good enough for Harbaugh, good enough for me!” attitude. BYU also welcomes home DT Russell Tialavea and S Craig Bills from missions, both of whom have good playing time under their belt.

The gem of the 2012 class for BYU may be linebacker Butch Pau’u out of Anaheim, California. He’s a player Brandon Huffman, West regional recruiting manager of Scout.com, reports “there’s not a better linebacker in the West.” Pau’u brings along his Anaheim teammate DE/LB Jherremya Leuta-Douyere, another three-star prospect. With a group of defensive lineman set to graduate after 2012, the Cougars are also bringing in junior-college defensive tackle Marques Johnson from El Camino in California. The 300-pounder should help BYU’s success in stopping the run.

Offensively, a few three-star skill players boost the class. Wide receiver Josh Weeks comes from Show Low, Arizona, and at 6-4 could be a steal from a small town just like BYU got with Cody Hoffman. Fellow receiver Dylan Collie, the younger brother of Austin, is the fourth Collie to play at BYU, while there is hope that 6-2 running back Jamaal Williams will become the gamebreaker the RB corp needs.

BYU doesn’t have a lot of scholarships left to give, as Bronco Mendenhall and the Cougars tend to get recruiting done early. But there are a couple spots, one thanks to the departure of Jake Heaps. A final target for BYU is Texas offensive lineman Hiva Lutui, a four-star prospect with many suitors. Lutui could be an anchor for BYU’s line going forward, a line that always seems to produce.

Follow @SBNRecruiting on Twitter

The following BYU football recruiting National Signing Day primer is provided by Vanquish The Foe, SB Nation’s excellent BYU blog:

The 2012 recruiting class for BYU includes some highly-recruited prospects, including Elite 11 QB camp MVP Tanner Mangum. Mangum is a four-star QB out of Idaho who turned down Arkansas, Boise State, and Utah to go to Provo. Mangum’s ratings from scouting services have done nothing but rise during the past season after his Elite 11 camp performance. There are high hopes for the Mangum era. The Cougars’ other highly-rated recruit is DE/LB Troy Hinds, also a four-star player, who had offers from many in the Pac-12.

The problem with those commits? Well, this is BYU, and those kids are Mormon, I believe (c. Bobby Bowden). Mangum and Hinds will serve two-year missions for the LDS Church before starting their BYU careers.

But what the missionary program taketh, it also giveth. BYU secured a commitment from QB Taysom Hill, who while a missionary rescinded his commitment to Stanford after Jim Harbaugh left for the NFL. At the time of his recruitment from high school, Hill was a four-star prospect, and as of now BYU fans should have a “Good enough for Harbaugh, good enough for me!” attitude. BYU also welcomes home DT Russell Tialavea and S Craig Bills from missions, both of whom have good playing time under their belt.

The gem of the 2012 class for BYU may be linebacker Butch Pau’u out of Anaheim, California. He’s a player Brandon Huffman, West regional recruiting manager of Scout.com, reports “there’s not a better linebacker in the West.” Pau’u brings along his Anaheim teammate DE/LB Jherremya Leuta-Douyere, another three-star prospect. With a group of defensive lineman set to graduate after 2012, the Cougars are also bringing in junior-college defensive tackle Marques Johnson from El Camino in California. The 300-pounder should help BYU’s success in stopping the run.

Offensively, a few three-star skill players boost the class. Wide receiver Josh Weeks comes from Show Low, Arizona, and at 6-4 could be a steal from a small town just like BYU got with Cody Hoffman. Fellow receiver Dylan Collie, the younger brother of Austin, is the fourth Collie to play at BYU, while there is hope that 6-2 running back Jamaal Williams will become the gamebreaker the RB corp needs.

BYU doesn’t have a lot of scholarships left to give, as Bronco Mendenhall and the Cougars tend to get recruiting done early. But there are a couple spots, one thanks to the departure of Jake Heaps. A final target for BYU is Texas offensive lineman Hiva Lutui, a four-star prospect with many suitors. Lutui could be an anchor for BYU’s line going forward, a line that always seems to produce.

Follow @SBNRecruiting on Twitter

With the news that Rutgers football hs lost head coach Greg Schiano to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, many Scarlet Knights fans are left to wonder what will happen with Rutgers’ recruiting. SB Nation’s excellent Rutgers’ blog, On The Banks, is on the case with an excellent roundup.

Before the Schiano departure, Rutgers had the best class in the Big East, with 22 percent of Rutgers’ non kicker/punter high school commitments being consensus blue-chip recruits (rated four or five-stars by the four major services). And that percentage was expected to skyrocket, as the Scarlett Knights looked poised to sign some of the top players in New Jersey, including Darius Hamilton and Devin Fuller.

Now that class is very much in jeopardy not only of failing to close strong, but of failing to keep its committed prospects as well.

The timing of Schiano’s departure is simply a disaster, and especially in the recruitment of Hamilton and Fuller, with whom Schiano skipped his meeting Thursday while rumors swirled about his departure for Tampa Bay. Local high school coaches said the Rutgers assistants were shocked when Schiano missed the scheduled meeting with recruits:

“The coaches were kind of shocked,” Don Bosco coach Greg Toal said. “They said ‘Coach Schiano, he’s never late for anything.” – Don Bosco prep coach Greg Toal

The impact at Don Bosco could be pretty severe, according to NJ.com:

At Don Bosco alone, where the assistants were in place to secure Leonte Carroo, a four-star wide receiver, and woo Darius Hamilton, one of the top recruits in the nation, Schiano’s departure is already evident. Hamilton was leaning toward Rutgers, [Don Bosco head coach] Toal said, but now that’s uncertain as he takes an official visit to Miami today. Carroo, committed for months, is now openly looking around and will accompany his teammate.

Mike Giacone, a tight end from St. Peter’s, is now also reconsidering his options, Hansen said.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reached out to the coach of Quanzell Labert, one of Rutgers’ top recruits. The linebacker was concerned, but has yet to decommit:

He has not de-committed from the Scarlet Knights but was “shocked” by Schiano’s departure, according to Timber Creek coach Rob Hinson.

“He’s going to give it a little time before making any decisions,” Hinson said of Lambert, who is scheduled to sign with Rutgers on Wednesday, which is the NCAA’s National Signing Day for football recruits. Lambert was a first team all-South Jersey linebacker.

Another recruit affected by this decision is offensive lineman Ryan Brodie, an offensive lineman from New Jersey. Brodie committed to Rutgers on Wednesday. But 24 hours later, his head coach was gone. Brodie’s father spoke with Steven Falk:

“It hit me like a ton of bricks,” said Bryan Brodie, Ryan Brodie’s father on Thursday afternoon. “We had no idea whatsoever. He (Schiano) always told us he would be there, never planned on leaving and had his dream job.

Bryan Brodie said, “right now it is “70-30” that his son eventually signs a National Letter of Intent to attend Rutgers. “He fell in love with the school,” Bryan Brodie said. “You have to really think, do you love the school and the coach. I think he still loves the school. If the staff stays intact, he could stay.”

Brodie holds multiple BCS offers.

But not all recruits are considering leaving Rutgers. Davon Jacobs spoke to The Record Thursday:

DePaul’s Davon Jacobs, who verbally committed to Rutgers on June 30, remained committed to the Scarlet Knights as of Thursday.

“Obviously, hearing that Coach Schiano has decided to leave Rutgers was a shock to me, especially so close to Signing Day,” Jacobs said in a statement released by DePaul. “I can imagine it was a difficult decision for him to make and I’m sure he did what he thought was best for him and his family.

And Jacobs is not alone in standing by Rutgers, per the Courier Times:

Archbishop Wood’s Desmon Peoples and Brandon Arcidiacono and Pennsbury’s J.J. Denman still likely will sign letters of intent for Rutgers on national signing day next Wednesday.

There’s no way Rutgers can recover in time to have the class it was looking like it would land. Recruiting is about relationships, and those relationships have been irreparably damaged. Many of the lesser-rated kids will stay with Rutgers because they don’t have better offers and want to play close to home. But the top players with options will certainly investigate those before committing the next four years of their life to the uncertainty that is the Rutgers program. The timing is simply awful for a program that was looking great on the recruiting front just a few days ago.

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When the Chicago Bulls last faced the Miami Heat, expectations were high as Derrick Rose and company had rallied to finish with the NBA’s best record and the East’s No. 1 seed going into the playoffs. They matched up with Miami in the Eastern finals, and the winner would become the favorite to win the NBA Championship.

But the Heat smoked the Bulls 4-1, winning both games in South Beach and two of three in Chicago. In the series, Rose, the regular season MVP, got his numbers, averaging 23 points and six assists per game. But Miami held him to an effective field goal percentage of just .379, and Rose averaged just under four turnovers per game as the Heat defense controlled the games.

The Bulls didn’t seek major upgrades in the abbreviated offseason, adding Rip Hamilton and otherwise keeping the roster static. Miami drafted Norris Cole to help out at the point and signed Shane Battier to provide more defense and deep shooting. Those additions and a healthy Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem have helped Miami survive the injury to Dwayne Wade — who is now back on the court — but the Heat still haven’t been able to keep pace with Chicago in the East.

Going into Sunday’s game, Chicago sits atop the conference at 17-4, two games ahead of the 14-5 Heat. Miami is No. 2 in the conference, just a half-game ahead of surprising Philadelphia and Atlanta. While Miami didn’t need home-court advantage against the Bulls in the playoffs last season, they’d certainly prefer it.

Miami and Chicago will meet three more times in the regular season, with the Bulls hosting on March 14 and April 12 and returning to South Beach on April 19. All games will be broadcast on national TV.

For more on the Bulls, visit Blog-a-Bull. For more on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier.

When the Chicago Bulls last faced the Miami Heat, expectations were high as Derrick Rose and company had rallied to finish with the NBA’s best record and the East’s No. 1 seed going into the playoffs. They matched up with Miami in the Eastern finals, and the winner would become the favorite to win the NBA Championship.

But the Heat smoked the Bulls 4-1, winning both games in South Beach and two of three in Chicago. In the series, Rose, the regular season MVP, got his numbers, averaging 23 points and six assists per game. But Miami held him to an effective field goal percentage of just .379, and Rose averaged just under four turnovers per game as the Heat defense controlled the games.

The Bulls didn’t seek major upgrades in the abbreviated offseason, adding Rip Hamilton and otherwise keeping the roster static. Miami drafted Norris Cole to help out at the point and signed Shane Battier to provide more defense and deep shooting. Those additions and a healthy Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem have helped Miami survive the injury to Dwayne Wade — who is now back on the court — but the Heat still haven’t been able to keep pace with Chicago in the East.

Going into Sunday’s game, Chicago sits atop the conference at 17-4, two games ahead of the 14-5 Heat. Miami is No. 2 in the conference, just a half-game ahead of surprising Philadelphia and Atlanta. While Miami didn’t need home-court advantage against the Bulls in the playoffs last season, they’d certainly prefer it.

Miami and Chicago will meet three more times in the regular season, with the Bulls hosting on March 14 and April 12 and returning to South Beach on April 19. All games will be broadcast on national TV.

For more on the Bulls, visit Blog-a-Bull. For more on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier.

A funny thing happened on Rafael Nadal’s path toward becoming the greatest player of all-time. While Nadal was tailoring his game, successfully, toward taking out the great Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic was tailoring his to take out Nadal. Nadal was learning about the angles and power that it takes to hold Roger at bay, while Djokovic was figuring out the depth, positioning and conditioning it takes to knock off Rafa. Nadal cleared an incredible hurdle, dominating the Federer series and, at one point, winning 32 consecutive matches in 2008; and then Djokovic stole his thunder and completely demoralized him for much of 2011.

Match No. 1: French Open 2006 Quarterfinals — Nadal, 6-4, 6-4–RET (Clay)
Match No. 2: Indian Wells 2007 Finals — Nadal, 6-2, 7-5 (Hard)
Match No. 3: Miami 2007 Quarterfinals — Djokovic, 6-3, 6-4 (Hard)
Match No. 4: Rome 2007 Quarterfinals — Nadal, 6-2, 6-3 (Clay)
Match No. 5: French Open 2007 Semifinals — Nadal, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 (Clay)
Match No. 6: Wimbledon 2007 Semifinals — Nadal, 3-6, 6-1, 4-1–RET (Grass)
Match No. 7: Montreal 2007 Semifinals — Djokovic, 7-5, 6-3 (Hard)
Match No. 8: Masters Cup 2007 Round Robin — Nadal, 6-4, 6-4 (Hard)
Match No. 9: Indian Wells 2008 Semifinals — Djokovic, 6-3, 6-2 (Hard)
Match No. 10: Hamburg 2008 Semifinals — Nadal, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 (Clay)
Match No. 11: French Open 2008 Semifinals — Nadal, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (Clay)
Match No. 12: Queen’s Club 2008 Finals — Nadal, 7-6, 7-5 (Grass)
Match No. 13: Cincinnati 2008 Semifinals — Djokovic, 6-1, 7-5 (Hard)
Match No. 14: Beijing Olympics Semifinals — Nadal, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 (Hard)
Match No. 15: Davis Cup 2009 — Nadal, 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 (Clay)
Match No. 16: Monte Carlo 2009 Finals — Nadal, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 (Clay)
Match No. 17: Rome 2009 Finals — Nadal, 7-6, 6-2 (Clay)
Match No. 18: Madrid 2009 Semifinals — Nadal, 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 (Clay)
Match No. 19: Cincinnati 2009 Semifinals — Djokovic, 6-1, 6-4 (Hard)
Match No. 20: Paris 2009 Semifinals — Djokovic, 6-2, 6-3 (Hard)
Match No. 21: ATP World Tour Finals 2009 Round Robin — Djokovic, 7-6, 6-3 (Hard)
Match No. 22: U.S. Open 2010 Finals — Nadal, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 (Hard)
Match No. 23: ATP World Tour Finals 2010 Round Robin — Nadal, 7-5, 6-2 (Hard)
Match No. 24: Indian Wells 2011 Finals — Djokovic, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 (Hard)
Match No. 25: Miami 2011 Finals — Djokovic, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (Hard)
Match No. 26: Madrid 2011 Finals — Djokovic, 7-5, 6-4 (Clay)
Match No. 27: Rome 2011 Finals — Djokovic, 6-4, 6-4 (Clay)
Match No. 28: Wimbledon 2011 Finals — Djokovic, 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 (Grass)
Match No. 29: U.S. Open 2011 Finals — Djokovic, 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1 (Hard)

Despite Djokovic’s relative youth, these two have played more over time than Nadal and Federer, in part because those two have tended to only play in tournament finals, while Nola and Rafa spent quite a few years meeting in quarterfinals and semifinals (with No. 1 Federer alone on the other side of the bracket). Heading into 2011, things had developed a pattern: Nadal wins on clay (9-0 before 2011) and grass (2-0), and Djokovic, at worst, breaks even on hard courts (7-5 before 2011). Djokovic was always built to challenge Nadal — he ended Rafa’s 32-match winning streak in 2008 and did, after all, hold a winning record on hard courts — but Nadal was still superior overall.

But then Djokovic got a little lighter, a little faster, and a little more well-conditioned; suddenly, the things he had always been able to do on hard courts were working on all courts. He won 14 of 18 sets versus Nadal in 2011, including all four on clay and 12 of the final 14 overall. He was able to avoid breaking down physically against the incredibly hard-hitting Nadal, and eventually Rafa would break down mentally.

Heading into the finals of the 2012 Australian Open, however, it is unclear where Djokovic is from a physical standpoint. He appeared to tweak a hamstring against David Ferrer in the quarterfinals, and he was immersed in the longest, greatest, most grueling match of the tournament (his amazing, five-set semifinal win over Andy Murray*) while Nadal was resting, having already defeated Federer the night before. (Yet another way tennis does the No. 1 no favors: not only might they draw tougher opponents in earlier rounds because of uneven, random draws, but their opponents might get an extra full day of rest heading into the finals.) Djokovic was stretching his legs between points quite often against Murray, and while that may have been gamesmanship to an extent, it was still a sign that Nola might not be 100 percent. And you almost have to be 100 percent to take out a healthy Nadal.

* While Nadal tuned his game to beat Federer and Djokovic aimed for Nadal, it appears that Murray might be in the process of mastering the “beating Djokovic” blueprint. For two straight years now, they have played in a serious match-of-the-year caliber outing.

Djokovic has dominated, in part, because of his ability to let Nadal (and everybody else on tour) punch himself out, then respond with body blow after body blow. Nadal almost killed himself to win the third set of their U.S. Open final last September (like Murray winning the third set in the semifinals), then Djokovic just ran him ragged and stole his legs in the fourth set. If he cannot maintain that physical edge, the going gets rough.

Men’s tennis has become so incredibly grueling and impressive, and these two players are the major reasons why. Federer created angles that have never been seen before, but Djokovic and Nadal (and to a lesser extent thus far, Murray) can chase down shots at all angles, respond with power, turn defense into offense in a way that has to completely blow Michael Chang’s mind, and force their opponent to hit one more shot to win the point. And then maybe one more on top of that. And when these two play each other, just watching is exhausting. And rewarding. Very, very rewarding. Because of conditioning alone, I give Nadal a slight edge this time around, but Djokovic could make that pick look very, very foolish after a day of rest in the hyperbaric chamber.

—–

Indian Wells 2007

Miami 2007

Montreal 2007

Masters Cup 2007

Cincinnati 2008

2008 Olympics

Cincinnati 2009

Paris 2009

ATP World Tour Finals 2009

U.S. Open 2010

ATP World Tour Finals 2010

Indian Wells 2011

Miami 2011

U.S. Open 2011

The deciding fifth set was a visualization of what happens when the legs give way to adrenaline. Both men played 100 percent every point, seemingly every step as fast as the first set, only showing the signs of fatigue after points concluded. At one point, Djokovic collapsed onto the court after hitting a ball wide, but got up and managed to take the next point. That was just a snapshot of the effort and exhaustion these two men put forth.

Djokovic fell down a set early, but battled back and stormed ahead up two sets to one, seemingly poised to take the match in four sets, but Nadal, as Patrick McEnroe said afterward, “literally willed himself back in the match.” He won the fourth set and broked Djokovic’s serve in the fifth to go up 4-2. Djokovic, however, broke him right back and again at 5-5, eventually closing it out after five hours and 53 minutes.

By the match’s final moments, Djokovic was kissing the cross around his neck, crossing himself, pleading to his higher power for the strength to continue, and it was granted to him. All hyperbole granted to this match is well deserved. In the last few years, there have been countless titanic tennis matches worth of the Match of the Century designation, but those who woke up early and caught this one were left breathless by the sheer effort these two champions put into it, vaulting it up there with Nadal-Federer at Wimbledon a few years back as the best in tennis’ new golden age.

Djokovic has now won four of the last five Grand Slams, and has a chance to be the defending champ at all of them if he can manage to overcome his greatest weakness, and Nadal’s greatest strength, on clay at the French Open later this year.

CBC’s coverage will begin with Ron McLean hosting Hockey Night In Canada at 4pm ET. Jim Hughson has the play-by-play with analysis provided by Craig Simpson. Former NHL goalie and current analyst Glenn Healy will be at ice level. Rink-side reporters Scott Oake and Elliotte Freidman will also provide analysis and background throughout the game.

The NHL Network’s pregame show begins at 1pm ET and runs until NBC picks up their coverage at 4pm ET. NHL Tonight hosts Kathryn Tappen and Brian Duff, analysts Barry Melrose, Kevin Weekes, Mike Johnson and EJ Hradek and reporter Heidi Androl will be on the coverage during the pregame show. The NHL Network will also air an hour-long special edition of “NHL Tonight” following the All-Star game at 7pm ET.

NBC’s broadcast of the All-Star game will have Mike “Doc” Emrick on the play-by-play with Ed Olczyk joining him in the booth. Pierre McGuire will be stationed “inside the glass” with Jeremy Roenick providing player interviews. Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury and Keith Jones will be broadcasting from NBC’s studio at the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa.

You can find everything you need to know on the 2012 NHL All-Star Weekend in our StoryStream.

Christina Aguilera paid tribute to Etta James today at the iconic singer’s funeral.

“She was the one that cut right through my soul. So tonight, Etta, this song is for you,” the 31-year-old artist said before belting out a version of “At Last.”

Christina Aguilera – At Last (Etta James Funeral)

Stevie Wonder also performed “Shelter in the Rain” with a church choir at the emotional event, while Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy for James, 73, who died last week at the due to complications from leukemia.

Might Taylor Lautner and Sara Hicks be back together?

The Twilight Saga and Abduction star took his 19-year old ex-girlfriend to a performance of OVO by Cirque du Soleil in Santa Monica last night.

The pair, who dated in high school, were photographed coming out of the event, while an insider tells Us Weekly they “have been hanging out a lot in L.A., seeing a few shows and going to dinner.”

Hicks is now a Los Angeles Clippers cheerleader.

Lauter, who has been linked in the past to both Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez, split with Lily Collins in September.