MORNING NEWS – BULLDOGS • UPDATED: 11 A.M.

Ya, I know. My doctor tells me to stay away from the computer. But I can't. I'm hooked. And when I checked my messages and buzzed around the Web this morning I found two interesting Gonzaga basketball nuggets.

• Point guard Jeremy Pargo recently was part of an elite group of 10 college and 22 high school points who had a chance to learn at the foot (or should that be hand?) of the NBA master, Steve Nash. This KU student newspaper story goes into what they did.

• Speaking of point guards, an Iowa star has reportedly winnowed his college choices to Iowa State and Gonzaga, eliminating Iowa and Wisconsin from his list. Grant Gibbs, a 6-foot-5 senior-to-be, is expected to announce his choice soon. It seems it will come down to whether he wants to stay close to home.

UPDATE: • There was also a game announcement concerning Gonzaga and UConn. The two will play Dec. 1. You can see the particulars at the link.

• One quick baseball story. The Times' Larry Stone examines Ichiro's future with the M's at the All-Star break. Let's see: The M's are winning (check). He's got the manager he wanted (check). Now show me the money (the only check that matters).

• That's the best of it. It has been a week since I announced to the world – our little chunk of it, anyway – that I'm playing in Hoopfest next year. I want to thank all of you who have offered advice and encouragement – especially those of you whose "encouragement" started with "what the hell are you thinking?" – over the past week. Keep it coming. For your information, the past week I walked more than 20 miles and tried to limit my fat intake, in the process losing three pounds – and about six golf balls.

Till later …

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