Delaware Non-Development Discussion

[xzmattzx]

The Blue Rocks will be unveiling a new logo and new uniforms sometime next week.

[xzmattzx]

Did any of your guys ever hear about slave-trading blocks out in the woods in various places in New Castle County? I remember hearing about two in high school but never confirmed either visually or even through documentation online. One slave-trading block was supposed to be in Canby Park, west of Wilmington. Another was supposed to be in the woods across the creek from Lancaster Pike, where it meets with Hercules Road at Delaware National Golf Course. Is this an urban legend or real?

[WA]

I've never heard of that

[xzmattzx]

[xzmattzx]

Did you guys hear about the 7th grader that verbally committed to Southern Cal as their quarterback? It's making national news, maybe because a 7th grader is committing to a school so early.

New Journal article:

Delaware high school football: 13-year-old quarterback is committed to USC
Red Lion seventh-grader offered scholarship


David Sills is not in high school yet, but he knows where he wants to play college quarterback.

On Thursday, one day after National Signing Day saw the nation's best players sign with the nation's top programs, the 13-year-old, seventh-grader at Red Lion Christian Academy made a verbal commitment to a major program -- the University of Southern California.

Sills won't be able to sign his letter of intent until 2015.

USC coach Lane Kiffin offered a scholarship to Sills via telephone Thursday.

"I'm very excited, but I was very, very nervous," Sills said about talking to Kiffin. "It was very cool [to talk to Kiffin] but my heart was beating so fast, and I was scared. But after it was over, I was so excited and pumped."

Sills' father, David Sills IV, was previously a quarterback at Newark High, graduating in 1978.

"It has been a very interesting last few hours," Sills IV said shortly after the call.

For nearly four years, dating to when the younger Sills was projected as a top college prospect at an unusually young age, the Sills family has made trips to California six or seven times a year to train with Steve Clarkson, whose prior prodigies include Matt Leinart, Ben Roethlisberger and current USC quarterback Matt Barkley.

Sills IV related a conversation between Clarkson and Kiffin, saying that Clarkson told Kiffin that the younger Sills is "the best I've ever coached," and that Kiffin, as he was watching online video of David, told Clarkson "I'd sign that kid today."

Sills, a right-handed quarterback who wears No. 7, is 5-foot-11 and 136 pounds, and doctors have told him he will grow to be 6-foot-5.

"I've always imagined in my dreams going to USC," he said. "But I never really detailed it to the phone call. All I imagined was playing in the Coliseum. But this is so crazy and out of nowhere."

Sills IV said he talked many times with his son about college, specifically USC, cautioning his son that "if that opportunity is there when the time comes."

"We assumed that would be when he was a junior [in high school]," Sills IV said.

Red Lion high school varsity coach Eric Day, who was previously an assistant coach at two colleges, including Delaware State, said David makes believers out of people once they see him play.

"Besides his talent, the maturity for his age and just how he handles himself," Day said, "people are drawn to him. All the intangibles you look for in a quarterback, he has."

Kiffin is no stranger to unusual moves. The one-time USC coordinator left the Trojans in 2006 to become head coach of the NFL's Oakland Raiders. In 2008, Raiders owner Al Davis fired Kiffin for what Davis called insubordination. Kiffin's teams went 5-15.

Kiffin then took over as head coach at SEC power Tennessee and quickly stirred up controversy with comments that angered Alabama coach Nick Saban and Florida coach Urban Meyer, among others. After a 7-6 season with the Vols, Kiffin stunned the Tennessee faithful on Jan. 12 by resigning to take over for Pete Carroll at USC. Carroll had left Los Angeles to coach the Seattle Seahawks.

Despite the late coaching change, Kiffin was able to keep several of Carroll's recruits on signing day. ESPN ranked USC's recruiting class as the seventh best in the nation.

http://www.delawareonline.com/articl...mmitted+to+USC


ESPN's article:

Sills, 13, commits to USC


Lane Kiffin really is getting a jump on recruiting.

No sooner had the Trojans new coach put the finishing touches on the Class of 2010 recruits, that he turned his attention to the Class of 2015.

That's right, 2015.

Thursday evening Kiffin received a verbal commitment from 13-year old wunderkind quarterback David Sills of Bear, Del.

Too young?

Not according to his personal coach Steve Clarkson, who has mentored some of the game's best quarterbacks including current USC starter Matt Barkley.

"His skill set is off the chart," Clarkson said. "I've never seen anyone at his age do what he's been able to do."

The commitment, which was first reported by ESPN's Shelley Smith, has happened in college basketball previously, but is unprecedented for college football where it's harder to project how a player as young as Sills will develop physically. Clarkson says that won't be a problem.

"He's already six feet as a 13-year old," Clarkson said. "And he's breaking down NFL footage."

Clarkson said the scholarship offer emerged after he called Kiffin to discuss a quarterback recruit for next year's class.

Clarkson said Kiffin asked him his opinion of the recruit and Clarkson said, "You might call me crazy, but you've known me a long time, right? And when I said if there was going to be a LeBron James of football it'd be Jimmy Clausen that turned out to be a pretty good prediction.

"And when I said Matt Barkley had the potential to be as good as Jimmy, he ended up winning Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior and starting at USC as a freshman, right?

"Well, I've got a kid now who is better than all of them and he's in Delaware. You gotta take a look at him."

Clarkson then directed Kiffin to a video of Sills that is making the rounds on YouTube.

Kiffin watched it and called him back immediately.

"He was like, 'This kid is incredible. How old is he again?'

"I was like, 'That's the problem, he's 13.' "

A couple of hours later, the Sills family called Kiffin and they spoke for the first time. USC had always been Sills' dream school, according to his father, David Sills IV.

"I'm as shocked as anybody," Sills' father said. "I was just talking with friends yesterday about what it'll be like four years from now when David goes through the recruiting process. I never expected this to happen so soon.

"But David's always wanted to go to USC. I mean, is there a better place to play football in the country? How can you pass up the best offer you're ever going to get?"

The younger Sills, who is an seventh-grader at Red Lion Christian Academy in Bear, Del., has been training with Clarkson for three years. They meet about once every six weeks at various locations around the country. Sometimes in California, where Clarkson is based. Sometimes in Delaware. And sometimes somewhere in the middle, if Clarkson is conducting a clinic.

"Steve and David hit it off immediately," David Sills IV said. "If there's ever anything David is doing wrong, Steve can fix it in like 10 minutes."

Still, 2015 is a long time from now. A lot can change.

"Well, we're going to be out to California in a few weeks and we'll meet Lane then," Sills' father said. "We're excited to meet him. And we're excited to verbally commit. Hopefully it all works out in the future."

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angele...ory?id=4888515

[WA]

Anyone have really good pics of the snow?

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by WA

Anyone have really good pics of the snow?

Just personal pictures here for now; I spent the whole day digging out. Maybe I'll get out tomorrow and take some pictures.

I measured 26 inches in a "snowdrift-neutral" spot when the snow stopped. This is probably the most snow I've seen in a snowstorm ever in Delaware. Apparently we're supposed to get significant snow on Wednesday as well.

[WA]

Wow, can't say I'm not a little jealous, we didn't get one flake here. It was actually sunny for a while.

[xzmattzx]

I was down in Middletown yesterday, so here are some pictures from Broad Street for you.

[WA]

Very Nice, I remember when I lived down there and we always hoped for "the one", guess the Mid-Atlantic's gotten it a few times.

[xzmattzx]

This is definitely the big one if you're a kid. Actually, this past one and the one coming tonight combine into the big one. Most kids that I know had off yesterday and have off today because some roads are still bad, and now we're going to get another foot of snow, maybe more. So, they will probably have off tomorrow and maybe Thursday as well. Then a couple schools apparently have teacher in-service days on Friday (and even Thursday). Finally, Monday is Presidents' Day, which means that everyone gets off to start next week.

This reminds me of the Blizzard of 1993, when we got a foot of snow, and the snow plows stayed on top of getting snow out of the way, os that when the inch of ice came, there was no snow on the ground to keep the ice from coating the streets. We had off from school for an entire week.

[WA]

Wow, I don't remember the 1993 storm, I was one haha.

[xzmattzx]

Did you guys know that there is a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Delaware? Laurel (also called the Dudley Spencer House) was designed by Wright in 1956, and was built in 1961. It is one of the last houses that Wright designed before his death, and it allegedly is the last Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house still occupied by its original client. The house is on Shipley Road near the Washington Street Extension, almost directly across the street from the gatehouse for the Rockwood Mansion.

[xzmattzx]

Delaware made this guy's list of 50 most interesting articles on Wikipedia. We have the 18th most interesting Wikipedia page.

[HOME in D-ware]

I never noticed the Laurel House on Shipley Road but one look gives the impression of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work. Did you already know of the house or did you find it after learning its story?

[HOME in D-ware]

Riverfront Wilmington has come a long way within the past 20 years. Here is the proof.

Aerial images from AEROIMAGINGINC.COM. Check them out ... thousands of great photos.

THEN (~ 1994)
- 1 -
- 2 -

NOW (2009-2010)
- 3 -
- 4 -

http://www.aeroimaginginc.com/c/aero...c/gallery-list

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by HOME in D-ware

Riverfront Wilmington has come a long way within the past 20 years. Here is the proof.

Aerial images from AEROIMAGINGINC.COM. Check them out ... thousands of great photos.

THEN (~ 1994)
- 1 -
- 2 -

NOW (2009-2010)
- 3 -
- 4 -

http://www.aeroimaginginc.com/c/aero...c/gallery-list

Great find! It's too bad that they don't have a close-up of the old Harlan & Hollingsworth shipyard area. I wonder if they have other areas that have transformed a lot, like Newark.

For the Laurel House, I only found out that it exists once I stumbled upon its history. The house is hidden amongst the trees, and I never bothered to look at it since I didn't really see it too well.

[HOME in D-ware]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Great find! It's too bad that they don't have a close-up of the old Harlan & Hollingsworth shipyard area. I wonder if they have other areas that have transformed a lot, like Newark.

I thought this site would be up your alley. You probably explored this link http://www.aeroimaginginc.com/c/aero...c/gallery-list to see images of all sorts (bridges, stadiums, lighthouses, beaches, natural wonders, etc.) from places all over. There are folders for Delaware, U of D, and Wilmington News Journal that show towns from around the state such as Newark.

[xzmattzx]

On the subject of Frank Lloyd Wright, his apprentice, Edgar Tafel, designed a house on Bedford Boulevard in the Forest Hills Park neighborhood near Fairfax. You can see Wright's influence on Tafel in the house.

[xzmattzx]

This thread is pretty dead; I wonder if I should un-sticky it later on.

I was browsing around on Bing Maps and noticed that there's a new sandbar/future island that is beyond the low tide line, and is therefore part of Delaware. If vegetation takes root, it will probably become a permanent island in time.
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=qkt...sville%2C%20NJ