Hampton twin brothers Ryan and Collin Luther have let it be known they are not a package deal for colleges. The Hampton juniors don't necessarily have to go to the same college.

But if they wanted to play together in college, the opportunity is there.

Duquesne had offered a scholarship to Ryan Luther a while ago. But the Dukes also recently offered Collin Luther.

That makes three Division I colleges that have now offered both Luthers. The others are George Washington and New Hampshire.

Ryan Luther, a 6-8 forward and member of the Post-Gazette Fabulous 5, also has offers from Virginia Tech, Dayton and Holy Cross. Dayton coach Archie Miller would really like Ryan (pictured in the WPIAL final against New Castle). Davidson also is showing interest. Collin is a 6-6 guard-forward.

Does Duquesne have a shot at the Luthers? Well, their father, "Big" Bill Luther, is a Duquesne grad. (He reportedly was an intramural phenom). One of the Luthers' uncle is Brian Shanahan, a former Hampton star who scored more than 1,000 points at Duquesne.

Duquesne would like to get some local players, if they are good enough to play at that level. And it would be nice to see some local players on the roster. Duquesne will have Highlands graduate Micah Mason, who is transferring from Drake. Duquesne also has showed interest in Beaver Falls guard Elijah Cottrill.

Lastly, speaking of Drake. Coaches from Drake are now showing interest in Bethel Park senior Wyatt Haggerty, a 6-11 center. He was going to attend a prep school, possibly IMG Academy in Floria. But he might look at Drake. The Drake staff is different than the one that recruited Mason. Drake's staff was let go after this past season.

OK. Back by popular demand, it's time for a version of that wildly popular...

"I"M JUST SAYIN"

The WPIAL baseball committee meets tomorrow to determine playoff pairings, seedings and scheduling. Here's to hoping the committee finally stops the practice of scheduling the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals so far apart that teams can throw their No. 1 pitcher in every one of those games.

Seriously, what level of baseball - from Little League on up - has a playoff tournament where a team can throw its ace pitcher in the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. But the WPIAL has allowed it to happen in recent years because of the time it puts between those three rounds. I know a lot of people, including coaches, who think that's wrong. Shouldn't it be about who has the best team, not who has the best No. 1 pitcher?

For example, Seneca Valley won the Class AAAA title last year after receiving a bye to the quarterfinals. Ace Matt Smith pitched the quarterfinals, semifinals and final. Teams with byes in the past have really been at an advantage. But this year, only the No. 1 seed in Class AAAA should have a bye this year because there are at least 16 teams in every classification of playoffs except Class AAAA, which has 15.

Wait, my phone is ringing. Oh, it's WPIAL czar Tim O'Malley. Apparently he wants to know how to schedule the playoffs. I'll be happy to give him the plan that should be forwarded to WPIAL baseball committee Bob Bozzuto.

Here goes: Have preliminary-round and first-round games Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Use Thursday and Friday if needed because of rain. Play the WPIAL quarterfinals Monday, May 20 and the semifinals May 22. Use May 23, 24 and 25 if it rains. The finals already are scheduled for May 28 and 29. That way, a No. 1 pitcher could work the quarterfinals and be available for the finals.

Now, some with the WPIAL will say they don't want to schedule the quarterfinals and semifinals May 20 and 22, because if it rains they might have to push back games to Friday and Saturday of that week. They might claim they don't want to mess with schools that have proms or graduation. Understandable. But hold on a second. WPIAL volleyball championships are scheduled for May 24. And what about all the track and field athletes that are in Shippensburg May 24 and 25 for the PIAA championships? Why can they deal with proms and graduations, but not baseball teams?

So c'mon, WPIAL, and do the baseball schedule differently this year.

More "I'm Just Sayin" 

**** A little groggy again today after staying up late and watching "Inside the NBA" on TNT. To me, it's better than any sitcom on television. Barkley, Kenny "The Jet", Shaq and Ernie have just the right combo of serious insight and humor. Shaq was "breakdancing" on the set the other night.

**** Phil Shar (pictured) is back coaching girls basketball. Thomas  Jefferson athletic director Bill Cherpak said the school has hired Shar as its new coach.

At West Mifflin, he was in-out-in again-out again Phil Shar. He coached West Mifflin for 19 seasons, had a 379-153 record with five WPIAL championship game appearances until the board opened his position in 2009. It has been a crazy story. Shar got his job back again in 2010, coached one year, won 17 games and the board opened his position again.

Can Shar win at Thomas Jefferson? I say yeah.

*** Speaking of Thomas Jefferson, senior quarterback Joe Carroll was the West MVP in the Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Association East-West all-star game this past weekend. Carroll completed 18 of 30 passes for 177 yards, but the West got handled by the East, 48-27, at Downingtown West High School. The game is supposed to be for the best players in Pennsylvania who didn't make the Big 33. 

The Daily Local News covered the game. Former Seneca Valley quarterback Jordan Brown was 6 of 13 passing for 108 yards.

*** Speaking of Brown, his brother got some good news recently. C.J. Brown is now a quarterback at the University of Maryland and the NCAA granted him an extra year of eligibility because of an injury. Brown was slated to be the starter last season but suffered a torn ACL in preseason practice. He redshirted as a freshman and then missed all of last season. He was a redshirt junior at the time. With the NCAA's decision, Brown will now have two years left. He has been named the starter for next season.

Brown's father said C.J. will graduate this spring and attend grad school in the fall to start working toward his masters degree. 

*** If you follow high school sports in the WPIAL, you might know of Don Rebel, the director of MSA Sports network and a voice heard round Western Pennsylvania on radio and internet broadcasts of many WPIAL events. Well a shoutout to his youngest son, Carson. He recently picked up his second pitching victory for the Seton-LaSalle baseball team. He's only a sophomore. Carson must get his athletic ability from his mother.

*** It's time for me to "call out" baseball coaches. They might be the worst in terms of cooperating with things that actually "help" their teams. In the past, getting them to vote for all-section teams is like asking for their right arm. despite repeated phone calls and emails. Now we're trying to get season-ending stats from the coaches to compile a list of WPIAL statistical leaders. Let's just say the coaches aren't exactly cooperating a ton.

So here's the call to those coaches. Please read below:

Some items that fell off my laptop

Serra baseball player Wayne Hydak had an unforgettable inning a few weeks ago against Geibel. Actually, it was one that would put him in the national record book.

Hydak, a senior who plays first base and pitcher, had nine RBIs - yes, 9 - in the first inning of a 25-0 win against Geibel. Hydak had a grand slam, three-run double and two-run single all in that inning. Unheard of? Almost.

A check of the National Federation of State High School Association record book shows that Hydak's nine RBIs would be the second-highest total in an inning - ever. In the entire U.S.

According to the NFHS, the national record is 10 in an inning, by William Campbell of Middlesboro, Ky., in the first inning of a 1984 game. Hydak (pictured) would be next. A number of players had eight RBIs in an inning.

It should be pointed out the NFHS record book uses only records that are reported to the NFHS by schools. Has some else had nine RBIs in an inning? It's hard to say. But think of it: In order to have nine RBIs, a player must bat three times in an inning. That's crazy.

Serra would have to report Hydak's mark to the NFHS in order to be part of the record book.

Geibel's woes

Serra and Hydak aren't the only ones to give the Geibel baseball team trouble this year. The Gators are 1-13 and have been outscored 224-40. Nineteen of Geibel's runs were scored in a 19-17 victory against Clairton.

Clairton allowing 19 runs? Think of this: The Clairton football team has allowed 19 points or more only five times in the past four seasons.

Another for record books

The athletic talents of Hopewell's Shatori Walker-Kimbrough have been well-chronicled. But she added to her resume of impressive feats at the Baldwin Invtitational track and field meet last Friday.

Walker-Kimbrough, a senior and a Univeristy of Maryland basketball recruit, long jumped 19 feet, 3 1/2 inches to finish first. She became only the third girl in WPIAL history to reach 19 feet. She also is an excellent volleyball player. Can you say athlete of the year?

Walker-Kimbrough has a ways to go to reach the best long jumpers in WPIAL history. According to WPIAL girls track and field historian Jim Faiella, Nikita Lewis of South Park jumped 19-11 1/2 in 1998 and Cassie Richards of Winchester Thurston also jumped 19-11 1/2 in 2001.

Baldwin's 6-8, 295-pound lineman

It's hard not to notice Baldwin's Sterling Jenkins on the football field. He's a 6-8, 295-pound junior. And he is getting noticed by more colleges lately.

In the past week and a half, Jenkins has received scholarship offers from West Virginia, Michigan and Virginia. This was after he attended a one-day camp (combine) put on by Rivals.com at Montour High School two Sundays ago.

I have never seen Jenkins play. Reportedly, he is "raw" but has loads of potential.. And with that size, you can bet more offers are likely to come his way.

A $1 million scoreboard

You think they take their high school football in Texas seriously, or what? One high school is about to purchase a $1 million scoreboard for its stadium.

Weslaco Independent School District plans to buy the new 27 by 48 foot scoreboard, which would be the biggest for a high school in the country. Now get this: The school thinks the scoreboard will pay for itself in 10 years.

According to an article in the Valley Morning Star the school currently makes $82,000 annually from advertising and marketing revenue from its current scoreboard. Wow. And apparently there is a waiting list for advertisters.

One day after it was announced that Highmark and West Penn Allegheny Health System have merged, the WPIAL and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds announced an agreement that gives the WPIAL soccer championships a home at Highmark.

All six of the WPIAL soccer championships - boys and girls - will be at the new Highmark Stadium, a 3,500-seat stadium next to Station Square on the South Side. The stadium's primary tenant is the Pittsburgh Riverhounds pro soccer team.

Under the plan this year, two soccer championships will be played Friday, Nov. 1 and four on Saturday, Nov. 2. (Pictured is a shot of Highmark Stadium during a Pittsburgh Passion football game).

"With the incomparable views of Pittsburgh's skyline as a backdrop, Highmark Stadium will set the stage and create and unforgettable moment with each youth participant," Melissa Lazar, president and CEO of Highmark Stadium, said in a release. 

Highmark Stadium also hopes to play host to one WPIAL boys and one girls soccer game per week. Highmark hopes to attract some of the WPIAL's top teams to the games. Would schools be willing to move one of their top section games to the stadium?

More on Highmark Stadium: Central Catholic is close to finalizing a deal to have its home football games at Highmark. Stay tuned on that one.

You wonder if the WPIAL would ever have maybe a Class A or AA playoff game at Highmark? It does seat only 3,500 but that would be perfect size for some of those playoff games. It seemingly isn't big enough for a big AAA or AAAA playoff game. A big question, though, is parking.

Check this out

***Baldwin has a 6-9, 280-pound sophomore lineman named Sterling Jenkins. He apparently opened some eyes at the Rivals Camp Series (sort of like a combine) Sunday at Montour. 

*** The Peters Township baseball team missed the playoffs last year for the first time since 2002. The Indians are in danger of missing again. They are 4-4 in Class AAAA Section 4. Bethel Park is 6-2, Canon-McMillan 5-2 and Mt. Lebanon 5-2. Only three teams make the playoffs and teams in Section 4 play only 10 section games.

*** You want to see a possible basketball star of the future? Take a look at this YouTube video of Seventh Woods (yes, that's his real name). He is only 14 and a freshman and his highlight tape has people buzzing. IT HAS OVER 6 MILLION HITS ON YOUTUBE. He averaged 19 points a game this past season for Hammond High School in Columbia, S.C. Yeah, he reminds me of myself when I was 14. (ha ha)

Seriously the kid is amazing.