Leading off today: It's time to start taking Rutgers seriously in basketball with a report today that coach Mike Rice received a commitment from Boys & Girls shooting guard Mike Taylor.

   The development was reported by ZagsBlog.com. Taylor was on campus to watch the Scarlet Knights' football game against North Carolina. He chose Rutgers over West Virginia, Florida and South Carolina.

   Taylor was crucial to Boys & Girls winning its first PSAL championship on 31 years last March with a victory vs. Cardozo at Madison Square Garden.

   Taylor joins a stellar class of recruits that includes Kadeem Jack, Derrick Randall, Myles Mack -- who all attended the football game.

   “My freshman year, you never know, we could probably make some noise," Taylor told Adam Zagoria. "We’re all from New York, we all know how each other plays. It’s gonna be a good experience for the Big East.”

   Another opinion: Albany Academy junior Hunter McCarthy, who injured a knee in the second quarter of last week's 35-7 win over Hudson, will travel to New York City for another opinion regarding the extent of his injury.

   The Quarterback of the state's No. 3 Class B football team was originally told he had a hyperextended knee and a sprained MCL. The second opinion said he had tears to the MCL and ACL, The Times Union reported.

   He'll travel to New York City to see a specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery on Monday to determine if he can get back on the field this season. Depending upon the extent of the injury, he could lose portions of his basketball and baseball seasons as well.

   Settlement: Blake Hunt, the Flushing football player paralyzed during a scrimmage in 2007, received an $8 million settlement in his lawsuit against the Department of Education, the Parks Department and the PSAL .

   Hunt, 20, is paralyzed from the waist down with little movement in his upper body.

    "I'm just thankful it's over," he told the New York Daily News. "I can move on with my life now. Now, I can really go back to school. I don't have to think about it anymore."

   Milestone: Anna Woodward’s first varsity goal led to Pine Plains field hockey coach Dick Meilinger’s 300th victory Wednesday in a 2-0 verdict vs. Spackenkill.

   Meilinger, in his 25th season, is 300-85-43.

   Huh? This result flew under the radar a bit this week, but Tuckahoe -- a Class C program -- beat Class AA Mount Vernon 9-0 in girls soccer. Alessandra Cirillo scored five

goals Cirillo and Alessia Conte chipped in with a goal and two assists.

   In an era in which so many schools play soccer, it's hard to imagine how or why that game ever got scheduled.

   Random observation: I can't recall the precise medical term that describes people who take foolish risks, but I think it might be Televisionista Camera-toter Stoopida Maximus.

   I was watching football highlights on the local news Friday night, and one of the clips was of a ballcarrier being shoved out of bounds, where he promptly plowed into the station's cameraman. The sports anchor yucked it up, reminding me once again why No. 2 and 3 anchor/producers in minor-league markets are destined to remain No. 2 and 3 anchor/producers in minor-league markets.

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   I really don't care if a cameraman who fails to look out for his own well-being gets plowed over on the sideline and suffers a bunch of painful injuries. God's got bigger worries that watching over people too stupid to look out for themselves.

   But I do wish these numbskulls would take into consideration the safety of the players and officials on the field. By standing practically on top of the sideline -- it was clear from the camera angle on several games in the highlight reel that's exactly where he was positioned -- the TV dweeb took away a valuable piece of real estate for players and officials.

   On-field personnel have enough to worry about these days. Players are as big and speedy as ever, and injuries are commonplace even with all the pads and protection in place. The last thing they need is a collision on the sideline with a civilian lugging a piece of electronic equipment.

   Come on, dishheads. Show some common sense and consideration, and take a few steps back. Standing one yard out of bounds is really no different than standing five yards inside the boundaries. Neither is a bright idea.

   Extra points: John Jay Cross River girls soccer co-captain Zoe Boyd has been missing from the lineup, but she has a pretty unique reason: She's been playing for the Irish national U-17 team in Japan. Ireland advanced out of group play into the knockout phase of the tournament.