Cassel not too big for his britches

Matt Cassel could not beat out Matt Leinart in a quarterback competition in the spring of 2003, but he never complained about having to sit behind Carson Palmer and Leinart as they won Heisman trophies at Southern California.

Cassel's breakout season for the New England Patriots in 2008 -- in a contract year -- apparently has not changed him.

ESPN's Bram Weinstein asked Cassel if there should be a quarterback competition this summer if Tom Brady returns from a knee injury and Cassel still is with the Patriots.

"This is Tom's team," Cassel said. "The Patriots have been Tom's team. He's built that franchise up with his own two hands. He's the guy, and he was the MVP the year before.

"He's been such a mentor for me that I would say, 'No, there is no quarterback competition.' But I've learned so many things from Tom, and hopefully it'll help me in my career."

• HEY, WHAT ABOUT US? -- While the sports world focused on Virginia Tech's upset of No. 1 Wake Forest on Tuesday, folks at the New Jersey Institute of Technology were wondering about their share of the love.

That's because NJIT broke its 51-game NCAA losing streak with a 61-51 victory over Bryant University.

That was the top news story Wednesday on New Jersey's Institute of Science & Technology's Web site.

The rest of the headlines concerned, well, science and technology.

• NO LIGHTS REQUIRED -- As the daylight hours keep lengthening, it's time to think about Alaska and the upcoming 104th Midnight Sun Baseball Classic.

Since 1906, a late-night baseball game has been played on the summer solstice in Fairbanks, where on June 21, at 150 miles south of the Arctic Circle, the sun basically doesn't set. Lore has it that this tradition began as a contest between two local bars.

The semi-pro game now is a major social event in Fairbanks, with the first pitch thrown at 10:30 p.m. and with the game usually ending by 1 or 2 a.m. and played without any artificial light.

• 'X' MARKS THE HOT SHOT -- The Denver Post's Mark Kiszla puts X Games star Shaun White in pretty good company.

"At 5 feet 9 and 145 pounds, White casts a shadow that has eclipsed his sport. In the world of snowboarding, he is Tiger Woods. The New York Yankees. And the iPod.

"Combined."

• ALIVE AND KICKIN' -- An English amateur soccer team recently mourned the death of one of its former players. Tributes by the club to the 86-year-old man were covered in the local media. There was only one problem: He is alive.

An official of the club, which had held a moment of silence in Tommy Farrer's memory before a recent match, called his wife to offer condolences.

Gladys Farrer said her husband indeed had departed -- but only for a few minutes to buy a newspaper.

Farrer, a former England amateur who played in three Wembley finals, said in Friday's editions of the Northern Echo: "We are not upset, but we did think it was a bit of a joke."

Farrer says he wants to play down the mistake, saying it was time to "let it die."

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