If you see an unfamiliar 6-foot-11 guy roaming around town this weekend, it’s very likely to be Angel Garcia, who verbally committed to play for the Tigers over Labor Day weekend. Garcia, who has already visited Memphis once, is coming this time with his uncle, Israel Rodriguez, who has not yet seen the city or the campus.

Garcia, a forward whose strength is on the perimeter, is now the centerpiece of Memphis’ 2008 recruiting class after the de-commitments of Marcus and Markieff Morris. Though most scouting services rank Garcia somewhere in the 20s or 30s, the Memphis coaching staff believes Garcia has a chance to be the best player in the country simply because it’s rare to find someone so big who has such tremendous skills.

Garcia is a native of Puerto Rico, but he now lives with Rodriguez, who is a police officer in East Chicago, Ind. The big question is whether Garcia will qualify academically for college in 2008, since he was behind the curve when he came to the U.S. We’ll try to catch up with him while he’s here and get an update on his academic progress and his thoughts about becoming a Tiger.

The one player you had to feel for after last weekend’s postponed game between Memphis and Arkansas State was running back T.J. Pitts.

A heralded recruit out of Gainesville, Ga., two years ago, Pitts, a redshirt sophomore, was scheduled to make his first start of the season against ASU in the place of injured starter Joseph Doss. But the heavy rains and lightning combined to ground Pitts for another week.

Pitts was anxious to atone for a lackluster performance last year against Tennessee, a game in which he was a last-minute starter for Doss, who was benched for showing up late to a team meeting.

Pitts closed the 2006 season with a solid performance at UTEP and had a strong effort off the bench in the opener against Ole Miss.

He’ll get another chance against Jacksonville State, the U of M’s 1-AA opponent Saturday night at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Pitts is a physical, punishing running back who rushed for 2,422 yards and 29 touchdowns as a high school senior. He’ll have the ability to soften up defenses for the more elusive, breakaway style of ex-Millington High star Miguel Barnes, who’ll back up Pitts.

Doss, a senior, won’t play Saturday. He’s expected to return for the team’s Conference USA opener Sept. 22 at Central Florida.

Sometimes blessings come in disguises. It wasn’t that long ago that Grizzly fans were depressed for not landing the top pick in the NBA lottery, a pick that would have landed them the rights to 7-foot center Greg Oden. Instead, Portland landed the top spot and swiped Oden.

Unfortunately for the Trail Blazers, they won’t be seeing their coveted star in uniform anytime soon. Arthroscopic surgery today revealed much more damage to Oden’s knee than what was originally thought. It was announced that Oden will be out for the season.

Meanwhile, Grizzly fans have since gotten over not getting Oden, and after a strong summer league showing, are looking forward to seeing what point guard Mike Conley can add to the team - knock-on-wood.

UAB: San Diego native Jacob Tauanuu got an early sign that UAB would be the best place to display his football talents.

SOUTHERN MISS: Last year’s game against East Carolina came down to a play in the end zone that the Golden Eagles won’t soon forget.

TULANE: Quarterback Scott Elliott sustained a sprained foot against Mississippi State last week, but appears ready to go for the Green Wave’s conference game against Houston.

EAST CAROLINA: If running back Chris Johnson is coming your way, don’t blink. He’s so fast that he might be gone when you look again.

MARSHALL: The foe is “just” a Division 1-AA New Hampshire team. But with an 0-2 start, Marshall players know better than to look ahead.

HOUSTON: Sebastian Vollmer is a big dude, at 6-8 and 290 pounds. But a back problem left him in pain on the sidelines last year. He’s making a mark in the Cougars’ offensive line this year.

RICE: Expect a wide-open game when the spread offense of Texas Tech meets the spread offense of Rice.

UTEP: Record-setting quarterback Jordan Palmer is gone, but the Miners have been a model of efficiency without him.

TULSA: When the Hurricane take on Brigham Young, both sidelines will be controlled by defensive minds.

THE BIG STORY

Will LSU quarterback Matt Flynn start on Saturday against Middle Tennessee or won’t he?

Flynn practiced without a brace on his ankle during the portions of practice available to the media on Wednesday. LSU coach Les Miles said early Wednesday he thought Flynn “would be able to play without question,” but after practrice wasn’t so certain.

“It will be day to day,” Miles said. “If we feel like his rehabilitation, his progress, will be slowed, the choice then is to whether or not he can play at a strong enough level for us to win. If he can, then he plays. If not, then we wait. If he can demonstrate his abilities Thursday, that’s good. Sometimes though — I’ve got to be honest with you — a guy plays a little bit during the week, and then yet it’s not really clear until we get to game time. And it becomes a game day decision. I’ve done both.”

Miles isn’t worried if he has to start backup Ryan Perrilloux. Perrilloux has completed 7-of-8 passes for 105 yards in two games for three touchdowns and no interceptions.

“We’re really confident in Ryan Perrilloux,” Miles said. “He really has a great understanding of the entire offense, and so there will be nothing that we won’t do with Ryan Perrilloux that we would’ve done with Matt. We look forward to the opportunity to play with both guys anyway.”

A look at the league:
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Imagine you’re a parent and your child walks in and says “Mom/Dad, my report card was passed out today but I’ve got some errors to fix on it before I give it to you. I want to go over the facts about my grades before I hand it over for your approval. The teacher made some assumptions that I need to…hmm…validate. Yeah, that’s the ticket, I need to validate what she has assumed about my work. Oh, and don’t worry you’ll like what you see when I’m done with it. Oh, and don’t expect to see the report card in its original form either. I just don’t think you should worry with that.”

Ok, so how would you react? I know my child would regret the day they tried to pull that one off. So why would anyone allow the city of Memphis to get away with this?

My only dog in this hunt is that I’m an avid supporter (which means I give money in addition to my time) of the University of Memphis not just a fan who attends games. I am an ardent advocate of an on-campus stadium. So I know that if this report is in favor of another fairgrounds stadium and the city approves it then my dream of seeing the Tigers play on-campus is done for my lifetime. It might kill any chance of my grandson seeing it. Which is why it worries me when the city admits it has the report but needs some time to put their own touches on it. I say this because the school’s leadership has said it will be reactive to the city. Which is wrong in my opinion. The school should be proactive in developing its own plan.
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Former University of Memphis star Dajuan Wagner, who saw his NBA career cut short due to injuries and illness, has signed a one-year deal to play with the Polish team, Prokom Trefl Sopot. The team competes in the Euroleague. They won the Polish League title from 2004-07.

Wagner is a former first round pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers (and sixth overall pick), and was attempting to make Golden State’s roster last year before having his contract bought out when he failed to keep up with the daily rigors of playing. Wagner, 24, had his colon removed in 2005. He has also suffered from severe colitis and a knee injury. it’s been two years since he played in his last regular season NBA game.

The Denver Nuggets has expressed some interest in Wagner this summer, but an ankle injury prevented him from playing on their summer league team. While in Poland, Wagner hopes to show he’s regained his stamina and that he’s overcome his illness. If he can do that, at 24, he’ll almost assuredly get another look by some NBA team next season. He averaged 9.4 points in three seasons with the Cavs, but only played in 102 of a possible 246 games.
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