Turkey Bites

• Rape charges against Brian Edmonds and James Crawford were certified by a Montgomery County grand jury on Wednesday, so they will go to trial. I don't have any details - I'll have to admit, folks, I dropped the ball on covering this one. I knew they were going before the grand jury on Wednesday, but I neglected to follow up by watching the early part of the news where they report this kind of stuff. I heard about it through the message board late Wednesday night. Watch the online version of The Roanoke Times for details.
• For those of you who were wondering what number Druck is going to wear out in San Francisco, he was pictured during the press conference the other day sporting a #14 jersey. It seems that the Niners have retired the #16 jersey. Anybody know who wore that? Just kidding! Don't send me email!
• Jerome Preston (remember him?) signed a free agent contract to try out with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jerome, who last sported a Tech jersey in 1992 (according to my Tech Football Yearbook), has been playing the last couple of years with the semi-pro Roanoke Rush. According to Greg Roberts of Channel 10, Jerome is currently 25 years old (I know, the numbers don't add up, unless he graduated when he was 20), and he told Channel 10 that if he doesn't catch on in the NFL this year, he's hanging it up. Good luck, Jerome!
• Along those same lines, Jim Pyne signed a new contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Denver Broncos had made an offer to Pyne, but Tampa Bay matched it, so the former Hokie center and All-American will be staying in Tampa. Jim started at left guard for the Bucs the last two years, and they must have liked what they saw enough to want to keep him. His contract is for two years and $800,000.
• As much as I like to rag about ESPN and their umbilical cord to ABC, I have to admit that ESPNet's coverage of the NFL draft was nothing short of spectacular. If you never checked it out, you missed the boat. They had individual profiles, including strengths and weaknesses, on every player in the NCAA, at every level, who had a chance of getting drafted into the NFL. You could look the players up by school, by conference, and by position. ESPNet was right on top of everything from beginning to end.
• The five-second rule will be reinstituted in college basketball next year, after a four-year absence. The rule states that if a defender is within six feet of an offensive player who is in possession of the ball, then that offensive player must either pass or shoot within five seconds, or else it's a turnover. I always liked that rule, because I like any rule that rewards good defense, and I wondered why they did away with it. Yes, this is an obscure little thing to report, but it struck me when I heard it today, and I wanted to pass it on to you.

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