When the Major League Baseball campaign kicks off in April, there will not be a Manny Ramirez on a roster to be found anywhere, depriving the league of crazy antics and, perhaps, creaky-need hits. Yet, if one prep prospect continues his development apace, there may be a Manny Ramirez in The Show soon. The difference is that this one has a Jr. at the end of his name.

As reported by Perfect Game, Manny Ramirez Jr. has emerged as a star for the IMG Academy elite baseball team, a unit based out of the Bradenton, Fla., sports training academy. Most recently, Ramirez Jr. bashed his way to a .522 batting average, 15 RBI and nine runs scored in leading IMG to the Cleats Sports Classic Invitational title.

IMG is an academy program in Bradenton that also incorporates a full high school experience for its students. All the players on the IMG team go to school just like the high schools they compete against, though they do get to spend a bit more time working out and developing sports specific skills.

[More from Prep Rally: Connecticut female prep star recreates NCAA tourney moment]

Most notably, Ramirez Jr. stepped up when it mattered most, delivering a grand slam and a two-run double in IMG’s 9-1 victory against Desert Ridge (Az.) High in the Cleats Classic championship game. If there is any doubt about Ramirez Jr.'s raw power, it can probably be answered with this video of Ramirez Jr.'s other homer at the event, against Tuscon (Ariz.) High.

While Ramirez Jr. isn’t considered one of the top 20 prospects in the current senior class of 2013, he is a consensus top-250 player with plenty of physical tools. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Central Arizona Community College signee could still see his stock rise to a decent draftable position, or he could spend a year or two playing junior college baseball before trying to follow in his father’s footsteps at the next level.

Whichever path he takes, the younger Ramirez Jr. has made it clear that he’s living for the moment in his final high school campaign, as he told Perfect Game following his stunning tournament performance.

"I just love this team and we just have great chemistry together," Ramirez Jr. told the site. "We just stuck together and fought through it."

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Showing up to any high school dance intoxicated probably isn't the best idea, but it's even worse when your hockey team plays in the state championship game two days later.

That didn't stop Swampscott (Mass.) High senior captain Trevor Massey and sophomore forward Ryan Cresta, who admitted during a school dance to consuming alcohol on Friday night -- less than 48 hours before the team's Division 3 state title game on Sunday, according to multiple media outlets, including Lynn's Daily Item and The Boston Globe.

Needless to say, the Big Blue teammates were suspended from the state championship game (and roughly 25 percent of any spring season), and Swampscott proceeded to fall short of capturing the school's first ever state title, losing 4-1 to Westfield (Mass.) High.

“(The team) took this loss hard,” Swampscott coach Gino Faia told The Globe. “I just tried to tell them that we had a history-making season -- 19 wins, the North title, the EMass title, (our) first-ever state final appearance -- they have a lot to be proud of. ...

“(The suspended players) weren’t in the lineup, there’s nothing we could do about it. The guys that were here today played their hearts out. That’s all we could ask.”

Massey earned conference MVP honors as a defenseman after amassing four goals and 18 assists this season. Cresta totaled seven goals and eight assists. The former recorded an assist in Swampscott's 4-3 upset of Medway (Mass.) High in the state semifinals.

“I’m sad -- I’m devastated,” Swampscott superintendent Dr. Lynne Celli told the Daily Item. “The most important thing for me is the safety of the students. That’s what I’ve been all about since I took this job. I know (how important the game is). I know the whole town’s excited for this. I’m excited. I will be there, rooting them on. But you can’t put anything above the safety of the students.”

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A longtime track and field coach may have solidified his spot as the worst of all prep sports sexual predators when he violated his own parole from a sexual assault charge related to a relationship he had with a teen athlete by again texting and meeting with the teen … then trying to pass off the contact on his desire to give the teen in question an Easter basket.

In a truly disturbing incident, 43-year-old Wisconsin resident Scott Bergman was arrested for violating bond from an original arrest in connection with a relationship he had with a 17-year-old athlete. As covered by Eau Claire ABC affiliate WQOW and CBS affiliate WSAW, Bergman was arrested and charged in February for the initial charges of engaging in sexual contact with a teenage member of the Thorp (Wi.) High track team. At the time, Berman was released on bond provided that he not make contact with the teen again.

As it turns out, it took the coach less than a month to violate that bond, with the pair caught together at a church where they had planned to meet, according to monitored text messages between the two.

When Bergman was caught with the girl by area police, he defended his actions by saying that he just wanted to give her an Easter basket. Yet the prior trail of text messages showed that the two had been discussing their love for one another and plans to meet at the church where they were eventually discovered.

While Berman was already facing severe penalties for charges of sexual assault of a student by school staff and sexual intercourse with a child, those will now be augmented by felony bail jumping charges. Clearly, the longtime coach will not be going anywhere in public any time soon.

Given his actions with one of his former athletes, perhaps that’s for the best for everyone involved.

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On March 12, Prep Rally wrote about Doug Bilodeau, the intrepid Aurora (Ore.) North Marion High football coach who was so desperate to get new helmets for his team that he stood by the side of the road with a “Will Work for Helmets” sign. At the time, the donations and work exchange offers for Bilodeau and his North Marion players were already helping amass many of the funds needed to earn the new helmets.

Now, 7 days later, all the helmets are paid for. For that, Bilodeau can thank both his own savvy idea and the charity of Hampton hotels, one of the Hilton company’s 10 sub-brands, which decided to tap into it’s broader community service initiative called Hands-on-Hamptonality to fund Bilodeau’s new helmets.

According to Hilton Worldwide Vice President for Corporate Responsibility Jennifer Silberman, Hampton officials read about the plight facing Bilodeau’s squad here on Yahoo! and were inspired to help.

That happy ending would be enough of a good story to celebrate, but it turns out that Hampton’s offer came with a twist, as well: The hotel chain would give all $7,000 needed for a full team set of new helmets … but only if the team followed through on its promise for community service. Hampton didn’t care where the community service was done, just that the North squad was active in its own community, giving back for the sake of giving back.

Fittingly, Bilodeau wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“I’m not the kind of person who is going to sit back and just take something,” Bilodeau told Prep Rally. “I was raised to have to work for it. The team is going to clean up some sawdust at a house for part of a donation for a helmet, and the woman who asked us to help said, ‘You’re not going to work, are you? You can just sit with me,’ and I said ‘Of course I’m going to work with my guys.’”

Regardless of how he got there, Bilodeau was adamantly determined to raise the money he needed for new helmets by the start of the 2013 season because, “Failure wasn’t an option.” Now that he has received all the funding he needs, the coach admits that he’s been sleeping a little bit better, all while wondering amazed at what his team can still do with the pledges it has made to do community service.

“This has just been such a blessing,” Bilodeau told Prep Rally. “It’s unbelievable. The ability to give back without asking for anything is huge for us. This community has three local high schools so people get hit up a lot for fundraising. Hampton gave us a way to give back without asking for anything. I can have my guys be Good Samaritans. That’s a valuable experience for them to learn, and it feels good for us to be able to walk up to a house that needs some help and say, ‘Good morning, today we’re going to clean up your yard and fix what we can, and it’s all on us.’”

Of course, it’s precisely that spirit that inspired Hampton to offer up its help unsolicited in the first place. The hotel chain is also in the process of refurbish a Boys and Girls Club gym in inner-city Atlanta, using free labor from Hampton employees to complete the renovation.

“It may not always be a coach, but what Coach Bilodeau is saying is exactly the philosophy of our program: There is no service act too small,” Hilton’s Silberman told Prep Rally. “Every community and every hotel and high school and community center can figure out about those needs and where it’s best suited.

“In general, I think what’s really great about this program is it touches on so many different intersections about community need: A school was facing budget issues but also a community had its own needs. Any time we can be involved on the local level and help both those causes is something we want to jump on to talk more about the importance about community service and volunteerism, and why these stories are so important.”

Bilodeau had a need, and now he somehow has a surplus. The coach said that if all of the odd jobs the team has been commissioned for independent of the Hampton program are completed, North Marion High’s football squad will raise some $30,000.

That’s a lot of new football gear, but it doesn’t even touch on the good will that the coach and his team have helped spread in Oregon, all of which started with a simple intra-familial joke.

“This is a huge relief. And we’re going to work for [the helmets and donations],” Bilodeau said. “When I say that I and my team are going to do something, we’re going to show up and work.

“When I die I can always look back and say ‘I was the guy with the ‘Will Work for Helmets’ sign on the internet.’ That’s pretty cool.”

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Ladies and Gentlemen, we present you with your Little League celebration of the week, courtesy of a youngster who plays under the moniker ‘Lil Papi’. How appropriate.

The video you see above, which was first brought to Prep Rally’s attention by Off the Bench, showcases a young Little Leaguer -- there’s no way this kid is older than 10 or 11 -- who has absolutely figured out how to make his girth and compact power stride work in his favor.

What Lil Papi has also mastered is how to make his home run celebrations as dramatic as possible. No sooner than the youngster made contact with the ball than he started a slow stride toward first base, threw up his hands and pointed to the heavens as if he had just won the World Series, tossing some good vibes off his chest to the crowd as he headed to first base.

One brief skip later and Lil Papi was on his way round the bases, eventually concluding his four-base victory lap with a making it rain motion around third and a flourish in which he tossed off his batting gloves and stomped on home plate while being pounded on the head by his teammates.

Whether or not Lil Papi has celebrations of this sort at a higher level remains to be seen. Regardless, he’s figured out how to make the most of his momentary glories on the way up.

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There are plenty of memorable state title-winning performances from across the nation in years past. Still, what New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva (Mn.) High junior Carlie Wagner belongs right up near the top of any lists.

Facing off against Minnesota’s undefeated, top-ranked team, Wagner scored 50 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, leading NRHEG to a 60-59 victory and Class AA state title against Braham (Mn.) High.

Just consider Wagner’s personal statistics and her team’s final total for a brief moment: Wagner scored 50, NRHEG scored 60. Making matters even more incredible was that Wagner’s 50-point explosion followed a state-record-tying 48-point outburst in the semifinal round.

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Wagner’s final performance helped her set a whopping five individual records at the state tournament, and tie another. By game’s end Wagner had set an all-time record for field goals made in a state tournament with 48, most points in a tournament (129) and game (50), and most field goals attempted in both a tournament (110) and game (43).

Fittingly, Braham was only able to keep close to NRHEG because of an explosive scorer of its own. Braham star Rebekah Dahlman scored 32 points before fouling out with 37 seconds remaining in the game.

"We were this close,” Dahlman told the Tribune. “If we could just stop Carlie Wagner. She's so good. I didn't want to end my senior year sitting on the bench."

Dahlman’s sentiment was rammed home in the final interchange of the season. First, Wagner hit a free throw to give NRHEG it’s one-point margin of victory. Then, just for good measure, she stole the subsequent pass and ran out the clock.

Now that is a one-woman show.

With a first title in school history under her belt, Wagner can now turn to the future, both with her senior campaign at NRHEG and her expected collegiate run at Minnesota, where she has committed. The junior may eventually be a Golden Gopher, but she still has another dominant year with some special additions ahead of her; next year, her twin sisters will be her freshman teammates.

Hear that? Watch out Minnesota, there’s more Wagners on the way.

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Tragedy struck the suburban DC prep sports world when a beloved three-sport athlete at a Virginia high school was shot dead while trying to sneak back into his house after attending a party, only to be killed by a neighbor when he drunkenly broke into the wrong house.

As reported by the Washington Post, 16-year-old Caleb Gordley, a star athlete at Sterling (Va.) Park View High, was attempting to sneak back into his family’s house in Loudoun County, Virginia after he had slipped unnoticed out of his window to attend a late-night party with friends. The teen had been forced to sneak out of the house because he was reportedly grounded for not cleaning his room.

After drinking at the party, Gordley tried to sneak back into his own house. Except Gordley wasn’t at his own house. Instead, he was trying to sneak in through the side window of a house two doors down, all part of a planned development where the houses look almost identical.

When Gordley got through the window the house’s alarm was set off, leading the unnamed home owner to come and confront the teen on the stairs. Wielding a gun, the Loudoun resident fired a warning shot and told Gordley to leave. When he didn’t immediately turn tail and head off -- remember, he was drunk and confused -- the home owner shot and killed the unintentional teen intruder.

The reaction at Park View was immediate, with teens wearing black and orange to school to honor Gordley’s favorite football team, the Cincinnati Bengals, and writing messages of remembrance in the school gym. The Park View junior had emerged as a contributor to the Park View varsity basketball team in the recently completed season and also played varsity football and baseball for the school.

Meanwhile, the man who owns the house where Gordley was shot, who was identified in the Post’s article on the tragedy, has yet to make any public comments. Nor is he likely to be charged. It was his house, after all, and Gordley was an intruder in the middle of the night, even if an unwitting one.

If nothing else, the tragedy speaks to both the dangers of underaged drinking and the silent homogenization of architecture in middle class suburbia. After all, if the two houses hadn’t been mass produced by the same builder in the same development, Gordley probably would have known he was in the wrong place and would still be alive today.

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If you haven't already read Yahoo! Sports columnist Dan Wetzel's tremendous column on the "culture of arrogance" that led to a pair of reprehensible Steubenville (Ohio) High football players receiving rape convictions over the weekend, do that first.

Now that prosecutors secured 17-year-old Trent Mays and 16-year-old teammate Ma'lik Richmond behind bars at a youth correctional institute for at least one year, Ohio officials set their sights on members of the old mill community who helped create the atmosphere that led to the August 2012 sexual abuse of a 16-year-old West Virginia girl.

A pair of teenaged girls who reportedly threatened the victim, the owners of the house where the crime took place and Steubenville head football coach Reno Saccoccia all face potential charges, according to two separate Associated Press reports.

Less than 24 hours after Judge Thomas Libbs delivered the guilty verdict, authorities arrested a pair of girls, aged 15 and 16, for making violent threats against the victim on Twitter and Facebook, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine told the AP on Monday.

The 16-year-old arrestee, reportedly Richmond's cousin, allegedly threatened homicide in a tweet that claimed "you ripped my family apart." Meanwhile, the 15-year-old arrestee also faces a menacing charge for tweeting threats of bodily harm. DeWine's swift actions in the wake of the trial hope to put an abrupt end to such abhorrent behavior.

''People have the right to express their point of view," the Attorney General told the AP, "and they have the right to be stupid, and they have the right to be wrong, but they don't have the right under Ohio law to threaten to kill someone.''

Meanwhile, DeWine also announced an investigation into anyone and everyone aware of the incident who failed to report the rape to authorities. Chief among those many targets could be Saccoccia, the coach of Steubenville's nine-time state champion football team.

Among the thousands of moronic text messages that helped convict Mays and Richmond were a few that implicated Saccoccia in an attempted cover-up, according to another lengthy Wetzel report from Steubenville. Asked to relay what the longtime coach known as Reno said, Mays texted a friend, "Nothing really. Going to stay in for awhile. LOL. And next time (someone is) into something, suspended for three games.

"But I feel he took care of it for us. Like, he was joking about it, so I'm not worried."

And yet another text bombshell from Mays: "I got Reno. He took care of it and (expletive) ain't going to happen, even if they did take it to court."

Likewise, investigators have reportedly interviewed the owners of the Steubenville home where the disturbing photo depicting Mays and Richmond carrying the intoxicated girl by her extremities took place. The house is also reportedly the site of a horrifying video of yet another Steubenville football teammate, Michael Nodianos, describing the victim as "the dead girl" and declaring for his own twisted amusement: "She is so raped."

That vomit-inducing footage is what originally drew international attention to both the trial and the Ohio community of 18,000 people. Now, even after Sunday's convictions, the repercussions for all those involved isn't going away. And rightfully so.

According to the AP reports, coaches are required by state law to report child abuse, and anyone who disseminated the incriminating evidence could face charges similar to the one-year on-and-after sentence Mays received for the transmission of nude photographs.

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Isaiah Hicks has a college basketball career in his future at the University of North Carolina, but he has left a sufficient mark on the North Carolina prep landscape on his way out.

In leading his Oxford (N.C.) Webb High team to the first state title in school history, Hicks put up an astounding state record stat line in the final: 34 points and 30 rebounds, all part of a 73-70 overtime victory against Statesville (N.C.) High.

According to the News & Observer, Hicks also added seven blocks -- a number his coach claimed was far shy of the total that he should have been credited with -- in compiling one of the most dominant single game performances in state championship history … of any state.

“Wow, what a way for him to go out,” Webb coach Leo Brunelli told the News & Observer. “For him to put on a display like that wearing that Webb uniform for the last time – are you kidding me?”

Statesville mounted a late rally to close a 13-point deficit and force overtime, where Hicks eventually fouled out, but the story of the contest was the 6-foot-8, 195-pound forward himself, who rightfully earned the game’s MVP award for breaking the prior state finals record for rebounds in a game.

“We just didn’t foul him out early enough,” Statesville coach Sonny Schofield said. “What a fantastic performance.”

There have been plenty of other impressive performances -- the 50 points scored in a girls title game by Carlie Wagner just hours removed from Hicks' dominance among them -- but at least one national recruiting analyst could think of just one other prep player who had pulled down 30 or more rebounds in a state tournament: Kevin Love.

Needless to say, if Hicks continues to progress at Love's pace, he'll make Tar Heels fans, and those of an eventual NBA club, awfully happy.

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On Tuesday, Lower Merion (Pa.) High advanced to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state finals with a 67-63 victory against previously undefeated New Castle (Pa.) High. The win was a statement victory for Lower Merion, signifying a return to prominence for Kobe Bryant’s alma mater. Yet the Aces’ victory was somewhat overshadowed by what an opponent did on a single drive in the middle of the game.

Playing in Williamsport, New Castle guard Malik Hooker attempted to put his team on his back while building an early lead. Taking the ball from the top of the key, Hooker drove right around the side of the defense and finished with a slam easily among the dunks of the season, a full-extension flush in traffic that required both remarkable athleticism, agility and confidence.

The dunk was notable of its own merits, of course, but the fact that it came against Lower Merion had added significance in a way, because of its Kobe-esque athleticism. In fact, Hooker’s dunk bore an eerie similarity to one of Bryant’s signature dunks from his time at Lower Merion, where he took off down the right side of the court, glided toward the basket, extending and dunked over an opponent and then landed with a massive, moose-eared celebration.

You can see Kobe’s big prep slam directly below.

Incredibly, Bryant’s high school dunk, as impressive as it was, may not have been as overpowering as the one thrown down by Hooker. The difference is that Bryant’s dunk helped lead Lower Merion to a win that night, and eventually to a state title.

In the long run, Hooker’s athletic slam couldn’t quite achieve that. Despite New Castle’s early lead, Lower Merion came storming back and eventually escaped with a win, leading to a rushing of the court by the Aces’ student section.

"We were outmanned out there," New Castle coach Ralph Blundo told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

Maybe they were on the scoreboard, but they certainly weren’t on the highlight reel, thanks to Hooker’s dunk of the year in Pennsylvania, if not even more far and wide.

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Magic Johnson doesn't seem to have any ties to Los Angeles (Ca.) Windward School, other than perhaps owning a movie theater or a Starbucks near the Los Angeles-based private institution. That doesn't stop Magic from predicting a state title for the Wildcats' girls hoop team.

"Good luck, ladies," said Johnson in a video posted on the school's website (tip of the cap to the always great Varsity Times Insider). "Take state. This is the Magic man. I know you're going to win the championship, and you're going to win it in style. Great defense, great rebounding and then great offense. Good luck."

The city issued an ordinance back in the 1980's that required Magic to publicly endorse all L.A.-based basketball teams, or at least Prep Rally likes to think it did. Windward faces Oakland (Ca.) Bishop O'Dowd High in Saturday's CIF state championship Open Division in Sacramento.

During the 2009-10 season, Magic's daughter Elisa Johnson played as a freshman for Los Angeles (Ca.) Campbell Hall School (home of 76ers All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday), but she hasn't played the past three years, so the former Lakers star has clearly been searching for a girls basketball team he can believe in ever since. Enter the Wildcats.

Windward enters Saturday's final with a 32-0 record, including two wins over Campbell Hall by a combined score of 138-42. The Wildcats feature junior point guard sensation Jordin Canada, the No. 2-ranked player in her class, who is reportedly considering Stanford, Cal, USC, UConn and Tennessee -- but not Magic's Michigan St. Spartans?

Maybe Magic read a Los Angeles Times feature on Canada from two months ago, when her former coach Steve Smith described her as "a cross between Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson." No big deal. Just two of the five greatest ever to play the game.

For Windward's sake, let's hope Magic's analysis of prep girls basketball is better than his commentary on ESPN's NBA Countdown. After all, he called the Lakers "the team to beat" this season, but he might have to say that. Part of that whole city ordinance thing.

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There were plenty of top notch names signing on to be a part of Florida State’s latest football recruiting class, but few may have a bigger initial impact than Levonte “Kermit” Whitfield. The four-star wide receiver prospect isn’t on campus in Tallahassee yet, but when he gets there he couldOK turn out to be a virtual clone of former Florida Gator standout Percy Harvin from day one.

In fact, he’ll have a leg up on Harvin for a very clear reason: He’s already even faster.

Whitfield set a new state record in the 100-meter dash, crossing the finishing line in just 10.15 seconds to win the prestigious Bob Hayes Invitational title in Jacksonville. The 10.15 time topped the previous state record which was set by another former Sunshine state prep standout: Jeff Demps, who went on to play football and run track at Florida.

Whitfield’s 100 time is the top in the nation at the prep level so far in 2013, though the Orlando Sentinel reported that it came under wind-aided conditions, with gusts blowing up to 2.4 meters per second. While that might make true track aficionados jot an asterisk next to Whitfield’s time, the athlete himself was more than happy with his March Saturday, on which he also set a new Central Florida record for the 200-meters, crossing the finish line in 20.66 seconds.

That 200 time was only the second best at the meet, behind Jacksonville (Fl.) Stanton Prep star Kendal Williams’ 20.63, but it was also the second best time in the nation so far in spring 2013. For the Orlando (Fl.) Jones High wideout, the afternoon was a strong one for proving just how fast he can be off the field.

“It was good from start to finish,” Whitfield told the Sentinel. “I started strong and stayed with it.”

Now, if he can record those times on a football field come fall 2013, Seminoles fans will be awfully excited every time he gets to touch the ball.

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Much has been made of the dramatic one-year dip of the Kentucky Wildcats’ basketball program, from a national champion to a first round departure from the NIT. While the emphasis in that final chapter has been focused on Kentucky’s poor play at Robert Morris -- which hosted the game because the Wildcats had already booked their own home arena -- perhaps it should start a bit earlier.

Like where the Wildcats had their final shootaround, for instance.

As brought to Prep Rally’s attention by MaxPreps, the Wildcats were forced to hold their pre-NIT practice Moon Township (Pa.) Moon Area High, the alma mater of one John Calipari. The Wildcats were pictured entering the school by students, all of whom were gawking at the top recruits in the class of 2012 just as those recruits were in turn staring at the trophies in the Moon Area hallways.

What happened next was a brief practice in the Moon Area gymnasium. What happened after that was more befitting the Moon Area varsity squad heading out to face off against a college team, as Robert Morris rolled to an early lead and then held off the Wildcats for an upset of epic proportions.

Naturally, Kentucky’s showing won’t necessarily encourage other top flight programs to make an impromptu pit stop at Moon Area. Then again, if Kentucky hadn’t assumed that it would be a shoo-in for the Big Dance, it probably would have enjoyed home comforts and a much more favorable build up to what should have been a relative stroll in the postseason park.

Either way, Moon Area can always claim to have played a small role in one of the biggest upsets in NIT history, with the Wildcats heading back to Kentucky stunned hours after nearby teens were starstruck to get a glimpse of them in the first place.

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From the very strange but true file comes the remarkable photo you see at right. No, that man is not 30. No, he’s not a lumberjack. He’s a high school basketball player who happens to be in the midst of the winning streaks to end all winning streaks.

The teenager in the photo happens to be a senior at Austin (Mn.) High. His name is Tommy Olmstead, and he hasn’t taken a razor to his face since November, when he took part in a “No Shave November” fundraiser.

That type of dedication would certainly lead to a sizable beard on its own, but by the end of November, Olmstead and his teammates were already in action on the basketball court. Yet, according to the Austin High School basketball blog, called Packer Fast Break Club, after some prodding, Olmstead agreed to keep the beard as long as the team was winning. Naturally, he assumed that he’d get a chance to shave soon enough.

He was very, very wrong.

“I was just going to go through no shave November and then shave,” Olmstead said in a YouTube interview. “But then like halfway through the month the team decided that I should shave once we lose. Obviously we still haven’t lost.”

Now, three months later, the Austin Packers are 28-0 and Olmstead is sporting the best beard in basketball since … Baron Davis? Or James Harden?

To be fair, Olmstead’s bear is clearly better than Davis’ strongest effort (Davis groomed, which is almost a sign of weakness with monster beards, after all), though the senior has borrowed Davis’ classic calling card from his Warriors days, or Harden’s today, with the Austin squad rallying behind the “Fear the Beard” mantra.

The school has been energized by the impromptu facial hair focus, with the “Fear the Beard” campaign turning a reserve guard on the Packers squad into the face, hairy or not, of the school’s deep run through the state tournament.

“It’s kind of a big deal at school,” Olmstead said. “Everyone wanted to see who could grow the most facial hair … I won that award.”

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Earlier in March, Prep Rally brought you the story of Atwood-Hammond Little League in Illinois and the association’s bizarre decision to raise funds by raffling off an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle. While the attention generated here at Prep Rally and other outlets brought additional scrutiny to the raffle, the fundraising was steadfastly defended by league officials because of the money generated by raffle itself.

Of course, part of the success of that raffle came from parents’ willingness to support and buy tickets for the raffle itself. Now that dynamic has been flipped on its head in Oregon, where a youth softball league planned to auction off a similar AR-15 assault rifle only to have the fundraiser openly criticized by parents themselves. Now the planned fundraiser may not go ahead, even though all the raffle tickets have been sold.

As reported by The Oregonian’s Stuart Tomlinson on Oregon Live, the St. Helens girls softball league will hold a public hearing to decide whether or not to hold its scheduled DPMS Panther Oracle A-TACS AR-15 assault rifle raffle, which was not reported to the Oregon branch of the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) until Tuesday.

“I was shocked,’’ Oregon ASA Commissioner Mike Wells told the Oregonian. “Apparently a good samaritan offered the gun up for the raffle. When it came up the board probably should have asked for approval.”

As it turns out, Wells and his staff may not need to issue an official ruling on the raffle themselves, because parents of league members may veto the fundraiser on their own. A letter that was sent to The Oregonian by “concerned parents and citizens of Saint Helens” pointed out just how troubled they felt by having a league that serves children aged 8 to 16 profit on a semiautomatic weapon.

“[Opposed parents] feel that this type of raffle is unacceptable with regards to being linked to a youth sports organization. The board members are refusing to listen to our concerns and issues regarding this raffle. They have made it very clear that they do not care about how we feel about this fundraiser and will continue to sell tickets accordingly.”

Those board members are no longer selling tickets because they have already sold out. According to the league's Facebook page, the raffle raised just less than $1,600.

Now, the question is whether the raffle will go ahead against the wishes of the parents who might receive some of the financial relief that the funds from the raffle provide themselves.

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If the time has come for Aquille Carr to leave amateur basketball forever, let the record show that he did so in perfectly appropriate fashion.

In what can only be described as a show-stopping performance, the teen nicknamed "The Crimestopper" scored 52 points in his final high school game for Laurel (Md.) Princeton Day School in a 121-82 victory against New Jersey’s Each One Teach One Academy. The performance from the mighty-mite guard was as comprehensive as any he has put together during his senior season and was capped with Carr officially announcing that he plans to play professionally in Europe rather than attend Seton Hall, for whom he had signed.

“I got a responsibility, taking care of my daughter, so that’s why I picked to take the route overseas,” Carr told the Washington Post, which attended the game along with other media outlets. “I’m ready to make basketball my career and be responsible for my family.”

Carr may be moving to Europe, at long last, but not before he put on a final show for his fans in the Baltimore area. En route to his 52-point total, Carr did everything but work the concession stand. He sliced to the hoop for layups. He hit outside jumpers. He broke free in loose ball situations. He dished out a healthy share of assists.

And, as has always been the case, he broke a couple of ankles along the way.

By game’s end, Carr had the second most points he’d ever accumulated in a single game, behind a 57-point performance while he was still competing for Baltimore (Md.) Patterson High. Yet it was the ease with which Carr scored them, and led his team, that made his coach say afterwards that the heralded, Iverson-esque guard was ready to make the professional leap.

“I think this year has really prepared Aquille for the next step, bringing some needed discipline and structure to his game while playing the toughest schedule that he’s played with a talented collection of teammates,” Princeton Day coach Van Whitfield told the Post. Whitfield added that he had been in contact with teams in both Germany and Italy, as well as apparel manufacturers who might sponsor Carr.

Under Armour was a sponsor of Carr’s teams at Patterson and has long been seen as a likely suitor for his professional endorsement if he went directly to the pros.

For his part, Carr appears to know that the transition abroad won’t be easy, but he appears committed to making it work.

"They tell me to keep my head, go over there disciplined and listen,” Carr said. “I’m a student of the game, so I’m going to learn and grow.”

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Crete-Monee (Crete, Ill.) High's school board voted to replace its longtime AD after he posted a Chicago Tribune article outside his office about a Twitter photo prank played by football star Laquon Treadwell while on a college visit, according to the Tribune.

While visiting his future campus in late January, the Ole Miss-bound wide receiver posted pictures on his Twitter account of a couple coeds kissing him on the cheeks and what turned out to be his hand holding a stack of $100 bills. Naturally, Treadwell's photos -- similar to those posted by former Clemson recruit Will Bellamy in 2011 -- served up a dish of speculation that the internet ate up willingly.

"It was really nothing," Treadwell admitted in a February Tribune article about the ordeal. "I never took money from Ole Miss or anything. That (goofing around) was all it was."

Crete-Monee athletic director Gene Cahan, who has held that position for eight years and also served as the Warriors' baseball coach for the past 26 seasons, must've found some amusement in the entire scenario, since he posted that Trib article in a bulletin case outside of his office.

Three hours later, Treadwell asked Cahan to remove the picture, and the AD obliged, according to the Trib report. No biggie, right? Tell that to the school board, which voted 3-2 on Tuesday morning "to reassign Cahan next school year." Whatever that means.

"Never in my wildest dream after 29 years in district would I think this would happen," Cahan explained to the Tribune's Mike Helfgot. "Everyone admits there was no bad intent on my part. I didn't do it to embarrass Laquon. It was his words saying it was just goofing around. I only have positive things to say about Laquon. He is a great kid."

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound senior wide receiver led the Warriors to a 14-0 record and the Class 6A state championship (the school's first title) this past season, hauling in 81 catches for 1,424 yards and 16 touchdowns. The Tribune's 2012 Player of the Year, Treadwell also recorded 56 tackles and six interceptions as a defensive back. He is a five-star recruit who Rivals.com ranks as the top wideout in the Class of 2013.

All of that shows why there would be plenty of attention on anything related to Treadwell in or around Crete-Monee. The question is why an athletic director who had spent nearly three decades in the district would be forced out for what he thought was a well-meaning tip of the cap to one of the school's favorite sons.

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There are very few people in the world who are talented enough to play keepy-uppy with Brazilian soccer pinball wizard Ronaldinho. Evidently one of them is an elementary schooler.

As noted by the always terrific 101 Great Goals and The Big Lead, Ronaldinho was captured during a pregame workout playing keepy-uppy with the young son of Alecsandro, a teammate at his club Atletico Mineiro.

There's no doubt that the tyke, whose name has yet to surface, has plenty of skills. He may not be at the Ronaldinho level yet, but then again, who is? What's perhaps even more impressive, however, is his confidence in playing alongside a legitimate global star. No only does he freely go back-and-forth with Ronaldinho, he also hijacks the session to work in a bicycle kick at one point.

Well played little man, well played.

While Alecsandro's offspring is clearly a long way from the big time, he already is tipping his hand about who he supports in the larger global football sphere. The marketing executives at AON will be thrilled to see that their sponsorship of Manchester United is earning them valuable time in Brazil, at least during soccer pregame kickarounds. Why the kiddo wasn't decked out in Mineiro gear is a true question that begs answering, both from Alecsandro himself and the Mineiro staff.

Regardless, hopefully the latest Brazilian ball juggling wonderkind to be unearthed won't be the last that Ronaldinho tries on as his career slowly winds to a close in his native land. Does anyone else see the potential of a reality show where Ronaldinho travels around the country in a van and pops out to play keepy-uppy with kids on short notice, with the winners to compete at some kind of a cup game (Copa Libertadores, perhaps)?

Surely someone at Nike would pay for that. Prep Rally would certainly watch if it existed, no matter how hard it was to find.

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A small Texas town is grieving after the loss of a promising high school freshman from what was both a true freak accident and every track coach's worst nightmare.

As reported by the Associated Press and the Amarillo Globe-News, among other sources, Hereford (Tx.) High freshman Joshua Ramirez was buried on Thursday after he passed away from complications connected with a bizarre discus accident at an area track meet.

According to the Globe-News, Ramirez was stretching before one of his events at a track meet on March 8 when he was struck in the hip with an errant discus through. The teen was too injured to participate that day and was encouraged to ice the injury and keep a close eye on its swelling.

A week later Ramirez was pronounced dead, with everyone stunned with the sudden loss of a teen described by all as a vibrant student athlete. No cause of death has yet been promulgated by either the hospital or the Ramirez family, and his uncle told the Amarillo newspaper that the family was as confused as it was saddened by the loss of Ramirez's loss.

"We’re not sure exactly what happened," Jesse Ramirez told the newspaper.

The Globe-News reported that Ramirez was first checked into the hospital on March 10, two days after the initial injury. At first, Ramirez was kept in the emergency room but was only subject to loose oversight. Then, a follow-up exam including x-rays the subsequent day inspired doctors to transfer Ramirez to the intensive care unit of a nearby hospital, where he died days later.

The only possible explanation of Ramirez's passing to date has come from the Hereford coaching staff itself, which told Amarillo CBS affiliate KDFA that the discus strike could have split one of Ramirez's muscles, which then would have released toxins into his body as he stretched.

That's a plausible explanation, but it remains a pure guess to this point.

While Ramirez's death can only be categorized as a tragic accident, those who knew him best have reflected on his life as one of faith and good will, giving them comfort that the teenager is now in a better place.

"It hurts, but I know he's in a better place," Ramirez's father, pastor Joshua John Ramirez, told KFDA.

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A nail-biting consolation game between high school baseball teams from Oklahoma and Florida ended in a double forfeit following alleged racial slurs, "sucker" punches and a bench-clearing brawl after which each coach defended his players' actions.

The fight erupted during a play at the plate in the sixth inning of a 2-1 game between Jacksonville (Fla.) Arlington Country Day School and Norman (Okla.) North High in the Tate Aggie Classic in Pensacola, Fla., according to the Pensacola News Journal report.

Here's how it went down , according to the report: With a trio of Norman North players loading the Blue Wahoos Stadium bases, Arlington Country Day pitcher Jonathan Rodriguez threw a wild sixth-inning pitch off the backstop, ACDS catcher Brian Navaretto retrieved and delivered the ball to Rodriguez at the plate, NNHS base-runner D.J. Gasso slid home safely and Rodriguez applied a late tag accompanied by a slap to the face.

While home plate ump Jason Young was busy tossing Rodriguez, Navarreto reportedly decided to punch Gasso in the face. A minute-long bench-clearing brawl ensued, and the officiating crew fittingly ended the game in an immediate loss for both sides.

And that was only the beginning. Accusations flew from both sides in the game's aftermath.

“We’re not proud we got in brawl. Not at all,” Arlington Country Day coach Ron Dickerson, whose team features a number of Dominican students, told the News Journal. “We’ll use it as a life lesson and understand that there are consequences for your actions. I don’t believe in violence, but I do believe you have to protect yourself. People saying ‘Spics’ and ‘Spic lovers’ ... that’s not a good situation. That doesn’t belong in the game of baseball, and neither does how this particular game ended.”

Dickerson further explained that he approached Young about the alleged racial slurs in the fourth inning, and when the ump issued a warning to the Oklahoma side, the Norman North dugout reportedly responded: "You’re too big of a black guy to whine like that."

However, Norman North coach Brian Aylor also defended his players' response to what he dubbed a "sucker punch," claiming his team has never been involved in such shenanigans.

"I know we’ve never in our history had a fight, and I’ve been at this school for nine years," he told the News Journal's Brady Aymond. "It’s the first time it’s ever occurred. Obviously, for it to get to that point, something had to happen pretty dramatic to cause our kids to go over that line. When a kid gets sucker-punched in the face, you just can’t tell the kid to sit there and take it. It is what it is. We’ll talk about it as a team in-house and try to regroup and get back to Oklahoma.”

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