- BLEACHER REPORT dissects why Wes Welker isn’t the answer to Tom Brady’s early season troubles.

- SPORTSbyBROOKS details the fight between two high schools in Mississippi, where one player got hit in the head with a helmet.

- REAL CLEAR SPORTS writes that Chicago’s “Glitz Blitz” fails to win the Olympic games.

- THE DRAFT ZOO breaks down Week 5 in college football, with keys to victory and what to watch for.

- YARDBARKER provides info about Rio de Janeiro and their winning bid for the 2016 Olympic Games.

- Although I feel bad for this kid because he’s quickly becoming an internet sensation for all the wrong reasons, UNCOACHED has video of the dumbest high school football play of the year:

An Iowa high school football coach who helped get current pro players Casey Wiegmann, Jared DeVries, Brad Meester and Aaron Kampman to the NFL was shot and killed in the weight room of the school on Wednesday morning by a former player.

Ed Thomas, who has produced four NFL linemen as the football coach at tiny Aplington-Parkersburg High, was shot and killed Wednesday inside the school’s weight room, authorities said.

The gunman, identified by authorities as 24-year-old Mark Becker, shot Thomas multiple times just before 8 a.m. local time, authorities said. About 50 students were in the school, including several in the weight room, at the time. School was not in session, and no one else was injured in the attack.

Thomas, the 2005 NFL High School Football Coach of the Year, was airlifted to Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, where he died, his family said in a statement. He was 58.

Becker, a former student and football player at the school, was arrested shortly after the shooting and charged with first-degree murder, authorities said. He is being held in Butler County jail.

“No kids were hurt, we’re thankful for that,” superintendent Jon Thompson told KOEL radio. “They did witness this and so we have counselors at the site to talk with the kids.”

Thomas made national headlines last year when he insisted that the high school’s football field, named in his honor, be rebuilt as a way to help restore community pride in Parkersburg after it was hit by a powerful tornado in May 2008 that killed six people and destroyed the high school.

“A lot of people know coach Thomas for his success as a football coach, but a lot of people here locally know him as a person, as a dad and grandfather, and that’s where our thoughts are right now, with Coach Thomas,” Thompson said.

It’s sad that a man who obviously had such an impact on so many lives was lost this way. Thankfully no students were harmed, but a man lost his life for absolutely no reason.

My heart goes out to Thomas’ family.

Norman Chad, the Couch Slouch, over on Sports Illustrated’s website brings to light a rather interesting development in professional scouting:

Just the other day, while grazing the Internet over a glass of Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio 2006, I discovered the following information on the home page of JuniorRank.com:

“At 6-4 and over 230 pounds, Kyle Bosch of St. Charles, Illinois is no ordinary 8th grade tight end. With good hands, good grades and a ‘nasty’ disposition on the field, this JuniorRank.com Preseason Regional ‘Top 20′ candidate is definitely ‘One to Watch.’”

There was even a photo of Kyle lifting weights.

I marked him in my notebook as a top-5 prospect for the 2017 NFL draft.

(Of course, Hoopscooponline.com has been scoping out stellar basketball-playing SIXTH GRADERS for years. It’s tireless work that must be done.)

Facetiousness aside, Mr. Chad asks the very real question of “How young is too young?” While I don’t feel quite so hard lined about athletes skipping college in order to go pro, I think there are some times where people need to butt out of kids playing games. Perhaps we need a moratorium on scouts going south of high school.

Joe Montana’s son, Nick, who is entering his senior year at Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, California, has officially committed the University of Washington. This news comes on the heels of the Huskies losing out on Skyline High School’s Jake Heaps, who spurned Washington to commit to BYU.

Montana (the son, not one of the greatest quarterbacks to have ever lived) actually had offers from Notre Dame, LSU, Ohio State, Stanford, Alabama and Georgia, but chose Washington despite the Huskies’ brutal 0-12 season in 2008.

Even though the Huskies have a ton of work ahead of them in order to be competitive again, it’s nice to see that Montana wants to help play a role in turning Washington back into the proud program it once was. Nick could have gone to his dad’s alma mater Notre Dame, but that probably would have created unnecessary pressure on him to succeed.

For three SEC programs to be interested in Montana, you know the kid has some immense talent. It’ll be fun to follow him at Washington after he wraps up his senior year of high school.

- AWFUL ANNOUNCING says that Jeff Van Gundy is making it no secret that he’s rooting for the Magic in the Finals.

- SPORTSbyBROOKS has the lowdown on the three Texas high school cheerleaders who decided to pull a prank on one of their classmates by crapping in a sock and then smearing it in the victim’s locker. Man, high schoolers are really turning up the notch on pranks these days. I remember when knocking books out of the hands of unsuspecting schoolmates while they were walking down the hall was considered cruel. Now we’ve got kids crapping in socks and smearing it lockers…yikes.

- THE LOVE OF SPORTS compiles a list of five athletes they’d like to share a meal with and details how the conversation would play out.

- In wake of Cardinals’ shortstop Kahlil Greene being placed on the DL with “social anxiety disorder”, (the third major leaguer to miss time with this complaint) DEADSPIN tries to get to the bottom of what is wrong with our fragile baseball players.

- YARDBARKER details 100 things that NBA commissioner David Stern would enjoy more than a LeBron-less Finals.

After a long dance, top high school recruit John Wall is headed to Kentucky to play for John Calipari.

Wall, ranked the No. 1 point guard, No. 5 overall, on the ESPNU 100, informed Miami coach Frank Haith Tuesday morning that he had committed to Kentucky. The reasoning, according to a source, was because he just wanted to play for Calipari.

If Calipari had stayed as coach at Memphis, there would have been no drama in Wall’s commitment. Privately, Calipari was convinced Wall would have chosen the Tigers, but the coach’s departure to Kentucky created a soap opera in the renewed recruiting chase.

Wall teased Duke, and actually gave Miami an informal commitment last week, according to a source close to the situation. But ultimately, the Word of God Christian Academy playmaker out of Raleigh, N.C., didn’t stray from his original plan: He chose to play for Calipari, except the pursuit for a national title will be out of Lexington instead of Memphis.

According to sources, this had been an issue for Wall’s adviser, Brian Clifton, who likely will be the one to represent Wall when the player eventually declares for the NBA draft.

A source close to the situation at Duke said multiple times that if Clifton were making the call, Duke would have been selected. But Wall, according to sources, made the decision.

Dajuan Wagner, Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans…It’s clear that Wall sees Calipari as a conduit to the NBA, not that he’d have much problem becoming a lottery pick at Duke or Miami. It will be interesting to see how Calipari uses both Wall and Eric Bledsoe, who also recently committed to Kentucky.

Top point guard recruit Eric Bledsoe is going to play for John Calipari at the University of Kentucky.

Bledsoe had narrowed his choices to Memphis and Kentucky last week and visited both schools over the weekend before making up his mind.

The Tigers were hoping that Bledsoe, who is ranked as the nation’s No. 3 point guard by Rivals.com, would fill their hole in the backcourt next season. Instead, Bledsoe chose to play for former Memphis coach John Calipari, despite the possibility of sharing the position with top-ranked point guard John Wall, who is also favoring the Wildcats.

Bledsoe said today that Calipari told him that he “can come in right off the bat and start.”

Memphis promoted Josh Pastner to head coach because of his reputation as a recruiter, but he lost out on this one. It will be interesting to see where John Wall is headed because the general consensus is that he favors Kentucky as well. Will he and Bledsoe share the same backcourt?

- DEADSPIN has quotes from Jay Cutler’s supposed gal-pal, self-promoter Julia Allison (right), about the night they met (and whether or not they “banged”).

- MONDESI’S HOUSE says that the Madden Curse is going to strike twice this season since both Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu are on the cover of Madden ‘10.

- NO GUTS, NO GLORY has the story of Kim Kiper, who is responsible for Mel Kiper’s hair. (I wonder what Todd McShay’s significant other is like.)

- SPORTSBYBROOKS gives props to a 12-year-old girl who threw a perfect game against the boys.

- THE LOVE OF SPORTS turns the tables on the draft, and takes the top 25 teams in college football and allows them to fill a need.

- NESW SPORTS has video of Chris Bosh and some friends spoofing MTV’s “The Hills.” Pretty good stuff.

- AWFUL ANNOUNCING slams SI.com for getting the B.J. Raji story wrong and then continuing to stand by their (bad) sources.

- EAST COAST BIAS says that Jason Campbell deserves better than the Washington Redskins. And they make a good point.

- SPORTSBYBROOKS has quotes from Nick Saban blaming the Crimson Tide’s fan base for his team’s poor showing at the Sugar Bowl. Way to take responsibility, Nick!