By JOHN P. WISEOne Great Season
+ As outstanding as the Ohio State basketball team was in 2010-11, Jared Sullinger's decision to return makes the Buckeyes a threat to be even better next season. But don't expect OSU to stand atop one single preseason poll next fall. That honor should go to North Carolina, which will be stacked now that Harrison Barnes has announced he'll also return for his sophomore season. The star forward will join Tyler Zeller and John Henson to form one of college basketball's finest front lines in recent history. Emerging point guard Kendall Marshall also returns, as does fifth starter George Strickland. Roy Williams' Tar Heels won't be as dominant as they were in their 2005 and 2009 title seasons, but UNC and Ohio State should give the sport what it lacked throughout last year — a couple of great teams.
+ I know $425,000 is a fairly unimpressive salary in comparison to those of most of his Major League colleagues, but that's what Reds pitcher Mike Leake earns in his second year in the bigs. With that type of money, he could buy 42,500 American Rag T-shirts at Macy's in downtown Cincinnati and still have enough money leftover to buy a hot dog and take a cab to Great American Ball Park. Still, Leake is accused of trying to steal six of those shirts on Monday and was busted just a few hours before his squad took on the Pittsburgh Pirates at GABP just a few blocks away. Leake is due in court Tuesday afternoon.
+ Odd news comes in the form of tragedy today. Just hours after the conclusion of the Boston Marathon, one of the most recognized marathon runners in the history of the sport has died. Grete Waitz, who won nine New York City marathons and a silver medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, succumbed after a six-year cancer struggle. The Norway native was 57.