Friends, former teammates and coaches at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater have planned a benefit for Cary-Grove graduate AJ Raebel, who is battling cancer.

Whitewater's Kachel Gymnasium will host "A Night for AJ: Cure 33 Benefit" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 10. Raebel was a two-time All-American linebacker at Whitewater who finished his football career as the school's all-time leader in tackles.

The event will feature basketball games involving Raebel's former teammates and coaches and Whitewater's nationally recognized wheelchair basketball team.

Among the matchups are:

* Coaches vs. Raebel's former teammates (2004-2007)

* 2009 wheelchair national championship team vs. 2009 Whitewater national championship football team

* 2009 football national champs vs. 2007 football national champs

The evening's events also will include a challenge race between the Klement's Racing Sausages and Whitewater mascot Willie Warhawk along with performances by the Milwaukee Bucks Rim Rockers dunk team and Whitewater's spirit squad and dance team.

A 50-50 raffle is planned along with numerous drawings for door prizes.

Tickets will be available at the door for $6. The cost is $5 in advance for tickets, which are available at locations in Whitewater and in the Cary area. For ticket information, call Whitewater athletic director Paul Plinske at 262-472-4661.

In Wisconsin, tickets are being sold at Commercial Bank in Whitewater, WFAW/KOOL 106.5 in Fort Atkinson, the UW-Whitewater athletic office in Williams Center, UW-W's Student Athletic Complex and First Citizen’s State Bank in Whitewater. 

Donations also are being accepted by the Cure 33 Fund. Checks can be mailed to:

Commercial Bank-Whitewater

C/O AJ Raebel Cure 33

200 S. Fremont Street

Whitewater WI, 53190

Barry Bottino writes a weekly column and a blog about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at BarryOnCampus@hotmail.com and check out his On Campus column every Saturday in the Northwest Herald sports section.

News, notes, quotes, odds and ends from Marian Central grad Bryan Bulaga's performance at the NFL combine in Indianapolis:

* NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock, after Bulaga's workout, called the former University of Iowa star "the most technically proficient tackle available in the draft." Mayock also stated that Kansas City Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli has had a long friendship with Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz.

The Chiefs have the No. 5 overall pick in the first round of the draft. 

Despite missing three games as a junior in the fall, the 20-year-old Bulaga won the Big Ten Conference's Offensive Lineman of the Year award. He also helped the Hawkeyes win the Orange Bowl by neutralizing standout Georgia Tech defensive end Derrick Morgan, who also is projected as a top-10 pick.

* From the world of Twitter, Bulaga gained some attention from two high-profile accounts.

The day before workouts began, the Miami Dolphins noted "Iowa OT Bryan Bulaga is smooth with the media .. for what it's worth .. he looks like an NFL player .. TV analyst when he's done playing."

The Dolphins have the No. 12 overall pick in the first round. In 2008, the Dolphins selected one of Bulaga's favorite players, former Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long, with the No. 1 overall pick.

Charles Davis, a TV announcer who works for Fox and the NFL Network, send out a note via Twitter that read, "As for OTs, I really like Bryan Bulaga from Iowa ..."

Along with covering the combine for the NFL Network, Davis also was the TV analyst for Bulaga's final college game, Iowa's Orange Bowl win against Georgia Tech.

* In combine workouts, Bulaga produced 26 repetitions of 225 pounds in the bench press. The average for offensive linemen at the 2009 combine, according to Mayock, was 23. 

Bulaga ran the 40-yard dash in 5.26 seconds.

* Sports Illustrated's web site, in its latest mock draft by Don Banks, has Bulaga being chosen No. 6 overall by the Seattle Seahawks. FoxSports.com has projected Bulaga to go No. 5 to Kansas City.

Barry Bottino writes a weekly column and a blog about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at BarryOnCampus@hotmail.com and check out his On Campus column every Saturday in the Northwest Herald sports section.

Kyle Wilson  assumed he would spend last summer getting healthy and watching baseball.

Wilson did plenty of both as an intern in the Texas Rangers' corporate sales office. But the Crystal Lake South graduate also acquired plenty of hitting lessons and a couple of possible career paths.

"I'm so glad I decided to do it," said Wilson, a senior who starts in center field and leads off for North Carolina State. "I didn't expect all of this to come together."

What started as a chance to perform a required internship for his sport management major turned into daily lessons from a professional coach in Texas and an impressive start to the 2010 season with the Wolfpack.

Wilson passed on playing summer ball last year, but got back into the game after meeting coach Johnny Narron, who is best known for his work as a special assistant to All-Star Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton.

"I would go down into the tunnel (to the field at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington) on my lunch break and work with him," Wilson said of Narron. "I learned more about hitting this summer than I've ever been taught."

When Wilson returned to school in the fall, he continued his work with Narron.

"He only lives about 30 minutes from school here in Raleigh (N.C.)," Wilson said. 

The benefits of Wilson's lessons have been immense this season as the Wolfpack is off to a 7-1 start.

Wilson is leading the team with a .500 batting average, 17 runs scored and a .651 on-base percentage. He ranks in the top five in the Atlantic Coast Conference in seven offensive categories.

"I'm feeling pretty good at the plate," Wilson said. "I never wanted to hit leadoff. But it's made me a more selective hitter."

In eight games, Wilson has 11 walks.

During his time in Texas, Wilson got a feel for the business side of baseball and also helped teach camps for underprivileged kids.

"I'd like to get into coaching," Wilson said. "I got to teach a lot of kids the game this summer. I loved that."

The first priority for Wilson, though, would be to continue his playing career on the pro level.

"I love being on the field," said Wilson, who was drafted in the 31st round by the Cubs in 2008 but did not sign. "That's my first priority right now."

Raebel fundraiser: Wisconsin-Whitewater's Kachel Gymnasium will host a fundraiser for Cary-Grove grad and two-time Whitewater All-American linebacker AJ Raebel on Wednesday. 

"A Night for AJ: Cure 33 Benefit" will raise funds to help Raebel, who is undergoing treatments for cancer.

The event, which begins at 7 p.m., will feature basketball games involving Raebel's former teammates and coaches and Whitewater's nationally recognized wheelchair basketball team along with door prizes and a 50-50 raffle.

Tickets will be available at the door for $6. The cost is $5 in advance for tickets, which are available at locations in Whitewater and in the Cary area. For ticket information, call Whitewater athletic director Paul Plinske at 262-472-4661.

Harrington headed to nationals: Richmond-Burton grad Mindy Harrington posted a record performance in D-III Carthage College's biggest track and field meet of the season to date last week. 

Harrington won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin indoor weight throw with a toss of 59 feet, 4 3/4 inches. The throw allowed Harrington, a junior, to better her automatic NCAA qualifying effort and break Carthage's school record by more than a foot. A week earlier, Harrington automatically qualified for this week's national meet at Indiana's DePauw University. 

Harrington also placed third in the shot put (39-11 1/4) in the CCIW meet. 

Monmouth dynasty continues: Crystal Lake South grad Brock McAnally and Woodstock's Parker Woodall helped D-III Monmouth College extend its record streak of consecutive Midwest Conference indoor track titles to 11 last weekend.

McAnally, a junior pole vaulter, defended his conference pole vault title with a vault of 15 feet, more than 8 inches better than his closest competitor. McAnally's conference-winning vault tied his mark for the league's top effort this season.

Woodall, a freshman, placed in two events for Monmouth, which scored 177 points, easily outlasting second-place St. Norbert (115 points).

In the weight throw, Woodall posted a third-place finish with a toss of 48 feet, 8 inches. Woodall finished fifth in the shot put (46-5 1/4).

Barry Bottino writes a weekly column and a blog about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at BarryOnCampus@hotmail.com and check out his On Campus column every Saturday in the Northwest Herald sports section.

Pulling the ball and hitting fly balls is not what Eastern Illinois baseball coach Jim Schmitz expects from Dan Rowe.

To make his point, Schmitz took a stand before the season.

"I kicked him out of the (batting) cage a few times," Schmitz said. "You may be able to pull the ball in high school, but that's not gonna win here."

Last weekend, the message was received by Rowe, a Prairie Ridge graduate.

Rowe, the only true freshman in the NCAA Division I Panthers' starting lineup, batted a team-best .583 in a season-opening three-game series at Southeastern Louisiana. His weekend included a 4-for-5 effort in Eastern's 6-5 season-opening loss Feb. 19.

Although EIU lost all three games, Rowe was solid at second base and as the team's leadoff hitter.

"I was seeing the ball really well," said Rowe, who leads the team in seven offensive categories. "I had an opportunity to prove myself to my coaches and my teammates, and I was able to do that."

Any jitters associated with Rowe's first college game disappeared quickly as he collected seven hits in the series and posted a .643 on-base percentage.

"I just wanted to get that first hit and that first ground ball hit to me out of the way," Rowe said. "After that, I was OK."

To Schmitz's delight, four of Rowe's hits were on the ground and allowed the freshman to use his speed.

"I'm very encouraged," Schmitz said. "He was doing what I asked him to do. He stuck to the game plan."

One of Rowe's hits, however, was a triple that "would've been out" if not for the wind blowing in last Sunday, according to Schmitz.

"There's pop in that bat," Schmitz said. "In a year or two, he'll be able to hit for more power."

Freshman makes splash: Prairie Ridge grad Kelly Hogan was named the Rocky Mountin Athletic Conference's Co-Freshman of the Year in women's swimming this season for D-II Mesa State in Colorado.

Hogan earned first-team all-conference honors in the 1,000-yard freestyle and was a third-team choice in the 500 free, 400 medley relay and the 200, 400 and 800 free relay events.

Hogan helped the Mavericks place fourth as a team in the nine-team conference meet Feb. 11-13 in Arvada, Colo., by winning the 1,000 free in 10 minutes, 48.42 seconds.

This season, Hogan set school records in the 200, 500 and 1,000 free events, along with being part of four record relay teams.

Speaker shines down south: Marian Central grad Tanja Speaker, a junior guard at D-II Florida Southern College, has started every game this season and helped the Mocs to an 18-8 record.

Speaker has contributed in numerous areas for FSC, averaging 5.0 points while ranking third on the team with 4.5 rebounds a game. While averaging nearly 30 minutes of playing time a game, Speaker is third on the team in steals (39) and assists (70). The Mocs are in fourth place in the nine-team Sunshine State Conference with an 8-7 league mark.

Barry Bottino writes a weekly column and a blog about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at BarryOnCampus@hotmail.com and check out his On Campus column every Saturday in the Northwest Herald sports section.

When Marian Central grad Bryan Bulaga left Phoenix Tuesday for a trip to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, he also left something else behind -- his favorite video game, Call of Duty.

"This is a business trip," said Bulaga, the Big Ten Conference's Offensive Lineman of the Year as a junior left tackle at Iowa during the fall. "This isn't a vacation. I'm going to turn my phone off for a few days, too."

Bulaga told the Northwest Herald this week that he is all business when it comes to his scheduled workout Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium with the NFL's top offensive line prospects. 

Bulaga's draft status has been gaining more attention of late. 

He is ranked as the No. 2 offensive tackle by NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock, who said in a video posted online that four of the top nine teams in the draft's first round are in need of offensive tackles. Mayock suggested his top-ranked tackle, Oklahoma State senior Russell Okung, and Bulaga could both be selected in the top five picks.

Mayock praised Bulaga by calling him "technically efficient," but also said Bulaga's arm length could be a drawback for a left tackle in the NFL. 

"There are always going to be misconceptions," Bulaga said. "I always thought my arms were too long when I was bench pressing."

Mayock said he would like to see Bulaga's arms measure more than 33 inches.

On Thursday, when the offensive line prospects were weighed and measured in Indianapolis, Bulaga's arm length was recorded at 33 1/4 inches. He was measured at 6 feet, 5 3/8 inches and weighed 314 pounds. During the season, he was listed at 312 pounds.

The NFL Network will broadcast workouts daily at 10 a.m. beginning Saturday with Bulaga and the offensive linemen and running through Tuesday. 

Three groups of prospects will work out Saturday and are grouped alphabetically. Bulaga was assigned No. 6.

Barry Bottino writes a weekly column and a blog about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at BarryOnCampus@hotmail.com and check out his On Campus column every Saturday in the Northwest Herald sports section.