Danny Ainge wasn't able to wrangle Robert Swift from the Seattle Sonics on draft day, but the Boston Celtics' director of basketball operations did acquire Ray Allen.
In one night, Swift's Sonics took on a very different look, a new image the center should figure into prominently.
First the Sonics drafted Texas' Kevin Durant — no surprise there — with the No. 2 overall pick and then dealt Ray Allen and the No. 35 pick to the Celtics for Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and the No. 5 pick, which turned out to be Georgetown's Jeff Green.
Add a healthy Swift to the mix, and the Sonics are a young, exciting team. Now, if that will be enough to generate a ground swell of support to keep the franchise in Seattle remains to be seen.
However, Seattle should be fun to watch and Swift, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in late October last season, should be a big part of that.

The Celtics are trying to pull off a draft-day deal to get Robert Swift, but it appears the Seattle Sonics aren't interested. Here is a story by Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen. sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/ian_thomse n/06/28/draft/
The former local high school hoops star will be in Bakersfield July 16, 17 and 18 for the second-annual Robert Swift Basketball Camp at Bakersfield College.

It took 5 hours, 40 minutes and 13 innings. It was the longest game in the history of the College World Series. But, ultimately, UC Irvine's season continued and Cal State Fullerton's came to a close the Anteaters' 5-4 victory.
For Cal State Bakersfield, the Titans' loss means Bill Kernen can now focus all his attention on the Roadrunners.
Even with his duties as a volunteer assistant at Fullerton, Kernen has found time to schedule more than 30 games for the 'Runners first season in 2009 and has a head start on recruiting.
In conversations with both Kernen and UCLA coach John Savage, who helped bring back baseball at Irvine, I was impressed by the enthusiasm of the coaches.
Savage still seemed tied to Irvine's success. He is still excited about the program he helped build.
I wonder if Kernen, watching the game in a Fullerton uniform, looked across the diamond and pictured his 'Runners where the Anteaters stood.
When CSUB announced it was adding baseball, the CWS didn't seem possible. But Irvine's success proves that, with a well-executed vision, anything is possible.
Kernen has that vision. Now he gets to execute it.

While working on a story about former Cal State Bakersfield standout Ramel Curry, I stumbled across this interview posted on YouTube.
Here's a link to the story. www.bakersfield.com/news/sports/csub/story/163618 .html
Here's a link to the video. www.youtube.com/watch