Sean Lynch: Blue Devils -- Helping hand, gamers unite

When Merced College's Glen Ayers clears out for a rebound, you don't want to be in proximity.

The 6-foot, 7-inch Ayers is slight at 215 pounds, but what he lacks in girth he makes up for in arm length.

His arms are very long and potentially dangerous.

To make matters worse for opponents, after Ayers hauls in a rebound, he tends to crouch.

This gives him a solid base should another player try to jostle the ball free, but it also puts his lethal elbows at about head level of the typical player.

Once Ayers begins to rotate those elbows to ward off any would-be thieves, you'd better be clear or you'll pay a price.

A member of Reedley's men's basketball team learned that lesson the hard way last week.

With the game still very much in the balance, Ayers pulled in a crucial defensive rebound and cleared himself an outlet lane.

One of the Tigers was sent flying in Ayers' wake.

In an incredible show of sportsmanship, however, MC's gentle giant passed the ball up court and turned around to help up the Reedley player.

This brought about a quick shout of "Glen," from Blue Devils coach Bill Russell and a roar of laughter from the MC crowd.

Not that Russell is opposed to sportsmanship, but with the game on the line and Ayer's teammates racing up the court for a potential odd-man rush, his timing did seem off.

It does pose a very interesting question, however.

What's the right call in a situation like that?

For me, I think you continue on with the play and then give the guy a 'My bad' during a stoppage later on.

Video game on

Former Golden Valley football stars Kyle McMillin and Chris Randle have kept in contact with each other after going their separate ways in college.

McMillin said the duo tends to be in the most contact during football season and with Randle being a Raider fan, the conversation usually turns to a lot of smack talk from McMillin.

To this point, however, Randle has had a comeback to which McMillin said he could not contest.

"All he says is 'Yeah, but I'm in a video game' and there's nothing I could say to that," McMillin said.

As a cornerback at Utah State, Randle -- or at least a character with his number and alleged physical attributes -- has been a part of EA's NCAA Football series.

Because it involves college athletes, the game can't actually use players' names. And the game always uses the team's previous year's roster.

According to McMillin, Randle's game prestige has been the checkmate in the duo's verbal jousts for the past two years.

But the table's have finally turned.

McMillin signed with I-AA Portland State last month, meaning both former GV stars could potentially be in the NCAA Football 2012 edition.

Perhaps by then, the Raiders will no longer be joke fodder either.

Old dogs and new water

While swimming in the brand new pool at the Las Positas Invitational last week, the Merced College men's and women's swim teams noticed their times weren't particularly fast.

Freshman Justin Carter posed a theory to the MC coaches.

"He said it was slow because it was new water," women's swim coach Bill Halpin said with a grin. "He said pools with older water tend to be faster.

"In all my years of coaching swimming and water polo, that was the first time I've ever heard that."

Halpin was so entertained by the thought, he decided to bring men's coach Scott McCall into the conversation.

"Justin had this whole thing about how as pools get older the water starts to accumulate more dust and other stuff and so it's faster to swim in," McCall said. "It was the first I'd heard of it.

"I haven't done any research on the matter, but it makes sense to me."

A couple differently worded Google searches didn't produce anything to support Carter's theory.

Halpin wasn't quite sold, but did acknowledge that some pools are definitely faster than others with no particular rhyme or reason.

"I don't know anything about new water, but Justin has accomplished quite a bit in his swimming career," Halpin said. "I might have to defer to his knowledge on the subject."

Sean Lynch is a Sun-Star sports reporter. He can be reached at slynch@mercedsun-star.com.