This and that

• In case you missed it: Carson will start throwing again on Dec. 7, and they'll go from there. Good quotes from Carson about how he'd REALLY like to avoid surgery.

• I like that Mark Curnutte kept the Q&A session with Chad about his being deactivated as the back-and-forth Q&A for what he filed about Chad this afternoon ... it definitely worked well in this case. Especially the part where Chad's reminded that the biggest story of the season has been Carson's elbow.

• You've got to wonder whether Shaun Alexander will catch on anywhere else after he got cut by Washington.

And speaking of Cincinnati-area products, Ray Edwards (Woodward HS) sounded off about his $25,000 fine for two plays considered unnecessary roughness.

• Injury news: Stinks for UC that Mike Mickens is out for two weeks (games they should win anyway) and it really stinks for X that Terrell Holloway will miss 2-4 weeks with a stress fracture in his foot.

• UC press: Sporting News offers a 'party crashers' tale of the tape about UC and Oregon State.

And The News Record's Bo Jessee has a nice piece about Dominick Goodman. I've never been a UC fan, but I always pull for guys I got to see play in high school, like Goodman, Tony Pike, Terrill Byrd, et al. Anyway, I agree with the Kerry Coombs quote in this article: Goodman is good enough to play at the next level.

• Impressive recruiting effort by Xavier, based on everything I've heard, now that they've received a signed National Letter of Intent from 6-6 guard/forward Kevin Parrom of South Kent (Conn.) Prep.

"Kevin Parrom is a versatile wing player that can play a number of different positions in our program," said Miller. "With the impending departures of seniors C.J. Anderson and B.J. Raymond, finding this type of player was our top priority in the 2009 class. We are very excited about Kevin's ability to contribute to our program on the basketball court. We are equally excited about his ability as a student and who he is as a person. He is a great fit into our University and our basketball program."

Parrom was listed very high by all of the recruiting services. He was the number 16 small forward (number 74 overall and a four-star recruit) by scout.com, the number 19 small forward (number 84 overall and a four-star recruit) by rivals.com and the number 20 small forward (number 83 overall) by ESPN.com.

"Xavier only signed one player in the fall but they struck gold with Kevin," said Paul Biancardi, ESPN National Director of Recruiting for High School and College Basketball. "He will make an immediate impact and that’s quite a statement about Kevin because he is entering a high-level, top-notch college basketball program."

• Non-local link of interest: Great piece by Rivals.com's Bob McClellan about the futility of Northwestern basketball.