Chi..Chi...Chicago - Here Comes Commit #6!

ESPN.com is reporting Northwestern indeed landed its 6th 2010 commit by way of LB Chi Chi Ariguzo from Columbus (De Sales), Ohio (same high school as incoming frosh, Davon Custis). Ariguzo had been rumored to have committed weeks ago, but no one was able to confirm until today. Ariguzo chose the 'Cats over Stanford, West Virginia, Kansas, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota among others. A very nice "get" for NU as we continue to have a successful 2010 despite some tough recent recruiting losses. We're thrilled to have you Chi Chi and with Chicago as your backyard I'm sure the media will be licking their chops to have puns with your name upon your success.

NU now has four commits from SEC territory (3 Florida, 1 Louisiana) and two from other Big Ten school hometowns (East Lansing (area) and Columbus). The 'Cats reportedly have only 10 slots left for this class. There is a decent chance NU may be able to land its second pair of teammates (Siemian and Lawrence from Orlando, Florida) as Ariguzo's teammate and lineman Travis Jackson is in the 'Cats recruiting cross-hairs.

Also of note in the ESPN.com article at the bottom is the recruiting update for Brett and Aaron Nagel's younger brother Connor who is hoping to get serious looks by Indiana, Air Force, Iowa and others. The linebacker slots appear to be full for 2010, but you've got to wonder if we're going to make a hattrick of Brothers Nagel.

Flag Time
Earlier today I received an "N" flag photo from East Lansing, Michigan. We now have Evanston, Ann Arbor and East Lansing covered. We've got one in Badger territory, but I'm looking to get our marks in all ten Big Ten hometowns. Today, with news of Chi Chi's commitment, I am asking for a Columbus, Ohio area photo of an "N" flag. Come on transplanted 'Cats fans in Buckeye land - help us out! Check out the LTP "N" Flag Map here complete with a new Fitz posting.

Mish-Mosh Thursday

Posts from vacation are admittedly much more of a mish-mosh as I quickly scan for news & notes. Starting on Monday, LTP will be back at full-throttle as we enter Fitz week - a week-long tribute to Pat Fitzgerald the player as he heads into his July 18th enshrinement at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend (oh, the irony).

• Rivals.com reports that NU QB 2010 target Stephen Morris from Florida will be making a decision soon after July 24. NU is in the hunt with fellow finalists Virginia and Purdue.

• Rivals.com is also reporting that NU extended offers to a pair of speed demon DBs - one from Florida and one from Texas.

• Last week Tracie Hitz, Associate AD Marketing discussed they often follow and chat with several similar schools (ie. big market, private school) and hopefully they've seen this very cool website application from Boston College that has you fill in your contact info and get a call from a BC player. Check it out here. NU has used the automated service for solicitation in the past as I remember getting a recorded Tyrell Sutton pitch.

• NUSports.com is reporting Mike Kafka, Corey Wootton and Brad Phillips will be the 'Cats representatives at Big Ten Media Day which is July 27 & 28.

'Cats-Purdue Sneak Peek

Check out HammerandRails' preview of Northwestern to which LTP did some back-channel Q&A that was the backbone of Travis' analysis. As usual, the Purdue game is one that both teams' fans look at and say we HAVE to have this game.

Shurna Shoring Up for Sophomore Season

Sorry. I'm a sucker for alliteration. You've got to love the off-season competition John Shurna is facing as he has earned a starting spot on Team USA's U-19 squad in New Zealand. Check out Rivals.com's brief article outlining his performances which include a 9-point effort on 4-of-5 shooting. Shurna starts on the 6-0 squad that will face Canada in the quarterfinals. You've got to think this is going to supercharge his confidence and really help him take his game to the next level in what promises to be one of the most anticipated seasons in NU hoops history with Shurna, Coble and Thompson all aiming to take us to the Big Dance for the very first time.

Flags Keep On Flyin'

The LTP "N" Flag Project is sloooooooowly picking up some momentum. As fate would have it my vacation spot on Cape Cod in a tiny hamlet known as Sagamore Beach yielded a Northwestern "flag". OK, it is more like a logo painted on a canvas at a day camp in which campers are assigned to a team. This one hundred year old camp has more than 100 "flags" (that's what they call them) hanging in the camp hall and Northwestern got the nod in 1997. I'll be taking a photo of it tomorrow and adding it soon which will bring the state total to six - Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Virginia, Texas and now, Massachusetts.

Additionally, Northwestern sent me a photo of the flag flying behind Fitz which we'll be adding to its rightful tag at 1501 Central Street in Evanston. I need you help to get this project from pathetic state to quasi-cool via a not-so-critical mass soon! Let's see if we can at least get representation from each Big Ten state to start. Where are you Minnesotans, Iowans, Hoosiers, Keystone Staters and Buckeyes? Let's get it started...send a photo of your "N" flag flying and email it to us at laketheposts@gmail.com .

Wednesday Is NU Day

Fellow NU blogger, Welsh-Ryan Ramblings has been putting up solid posts by the bunches as of late and none moreso timely AND comment-provoking than his suggested alternative to today's second day of Big Ten Network NU programming (the first was in early June). A surefire way to get the comment board heated-up is to mention a top list of anything related to NU. Personal biases, age and selective memory all play into our respective lists. When you combine his timely list (bonus points for the BC game WRR - who wouldn't want to see Eric Scott's KOR?!!!) with the emergence of NU YouTube rising star NUDog, it is a great time to be an online consumer of the purple.

There are several games I'd love to see re-emerge from VHS tapeland or even 3/4 inchland. WRR lists the '92 Cedric Neloms buzzer beater (also known as the Barnett "Taking the Purple to Pasadena" night at Welsh-Ryan) which is one of my favorites as I was a freshman. The BC game was the highlight of my futile football fandom as an undergrad so check that, and of course the '94 game gets as much airtime as the Fab Five does in Ann Arbor (yes, they really did exist despite what the Michigan media guide might suggest). WRR lists the Purdue '95 game, but that is one of the few that I disagree with - give me the '95 Illinois game over that or even the '96 Illinois game over that one. Yes, it was a clincher, but as a game it was over early. The 2001 Michigan State game remains one of the best of the forgotten files and you can't have a list that doesn't include both Victory Right AND the Michigan game from 2000 (in WRR's defense, these games ARE on and therefore don't need to be listed).

The one game that is LITERALLY missing is the 1983 NIT game against Notre Dame. I once tried unsuccessfully to grab it from my friends at MSG (yes, it aired on MSG) who rifled through boxes under the Garden to no avail and alas, it may very well be vapor unless we can convince someone in Leprechaunville to cough up a personal copy. I can't ask, because, well, would you give me a copy after my weekly slights of South Bend U? Let's face it, no matter how you slice it NU basketball greatest games might not even fill a 24-hour programming wheel, so to be missing this one is truly painful. So c'mon Internet video gurus, get to it and track down the goods! Let's see more of the must see NU tv!

Totally unrelated, I'd like to give a shout out to Lou V. at Rivals.com for a fantastic post on the burgeoning NU-ND recruiting rivalry. It is pretty neat to see how we've gone toe-to-toe with the Irish having won (Patrick Ward, Davon Custis) a few less than we've lost (Chris Watt, Blake Leuders, Andrew Hendrix), but the recent year-by-year details made the familiar LTP case that being in the hunt with the big boys is a step up in the process of landing blue chips. I wish non NU commits nothing but success (unless they go to Iowa, of course) but the article would have gone from stellar to sizzling if he had included the recent transfer history of ND-to-NUers.

Morning Musings

A potpourri of NU football related doings to report on today. In order of "importance":

• Hawkeye Nation is using the brown paper bag trick to try and manage their collective breath in the wake of numerous reports that RB Jewel Hampton may have suffered a season-threatening knee injury. You can read a stalker reporter's version of the update here or see how our friends at BHGP are dealing with the early summer drama here. We obviously hope Jewel returns to form quickly.


• A Texas-area reader sent the above image of Fitz's Grape Pop which is being distributed in the southwest. Talk about a lay-up for marketing - I'm hoping they've figured out an Evanston solution. Then we can literally talk about drinking the purple Fitz pop as opposed to Kool-Aid.


• NUDog is up to some old YouTube tricks again with a slew of new video posted including the 1995 Illinois game, the 1999 Iowa game and several others. Check it out at his YouTube Channel or simply watch the Illini highlights below: