It's still early in the recruiting cycle for the Class of 2014, but the number of suitors for Illinois sophomore power forward Cliff Alexander is likely to rise soon, thanks in large part to his phenomenal strength in the post. Want proof? Just check out the backboard-shattering dunk below.

"It felt good," Alexander told Slam Magazine. "I felt like Shaq actually."

Alexander, who plays his high school hoops for Chicago (Ill.) Curie High but was competing for the D-Rose AAU squad when he broke the backboard, is ranked as one of the top-10 recruits in the sophomore class. The forward already holds scholarship offers from a variety of Big Ten and SEC powerhouse programs.

Curie High and Team D-Rose star Cliff Alexander — Rivals.com

He'll likely have his choice of college destinations, particularly with the attention of the likes of John Calipari, Tom Izzo, Tom Crean, John Beilein and Buzz Williams all in attendance at the Nike Spring Shootout by Chicago Hoops to watch Alexander and his AAU teammates.

For his part, the powerful forward said he had no idea the backboard was going down when he elevated for his event-defining slam in the final game of the night at The Fieldhouse in Merrillville, Ind.

"When I went up, I didn't know it was going to break," Alexander told Slam Magazine. "It just broke. ... All I heard was a big noise. I looked up and all I saw was glass."

Thomas Tyner is one of the nation's top football recruits. That much is certain. The rising senior is ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 1 overall running back prospect by Rivals.com and is also listed as one of the top-10 overall prospects in the Class of 2013.

All of those platitudes serve to underscore the fact that no one doubts Tyner has the talent to succeed at the next level, whether he attempts to do so at Oregon -- where he has committed to play football -- or at any of the five other schools he was seriously considering before choosing the Ducks. Rather, the questions surrounding Tyner now will focus on whether he can ever stay healthy enough to succeed in both of the two sports he hopes to participate in, following yet another terrifying-looking injury on the track.

As you can see above -- and as noted by the Eugene Register Guard and MaxPreps -- Tyner lasted less than halfway through the 100-meter sprint when he pulled up in agony, clutching at his hamstring before falling to the track and writhing as if he had just been shot. More troubling was the knowledge that the injury-aborted race was the first 100-meter event Tyner had competed in all spring after sitting out previous competitions while recovering from a previous hamstring injury.

Aloha running back Thomas Tyner — Rivals.com

In fact, much of the past two seasons have been characterized most notably by hamstring injuries for the Beaverton (Ore.) Aloha High superstar. Tyner missed six games of the 2011 football season, yet still managed to rush for an impressive 12 touchdowns and nearly 1,200 yards despite playing only half a season.

To say that those football injuries carried over to Tyner's other sport is an understatement. The junior had yet to participate in a full meet before Saturday's Oregon Relays, and his collapse during the 100 followed an explosive performance in the 4x100 relay earlier that day.

According to Tyner's father, John Tyner, the Oregon prep record holder for the 100-meter dash will be fit to return later in the season after initial diagnosis determined that Thomas Tyner's hamstring was only strained and not torn.

Another argument at a youth baseball game spiraled into disturbing behavior when a Babe Ruth League baseball coach pulled a handgun on the parent of one of his players after an argument with an umpire.

Babe Ruth baseball coach John Zahradnik — Lackawanna County Sheriff

As reported by the Scranton Times-Tribune and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre TV network WNET, 39-year-old Babe Ruth Baseball League coach John Zahradnik was charged with reckless endangerment and harassment after he attacked a baseball parent with his truck, his body and then threatened to use a handgun on the man.

The incident began on Friday, when Zahradnik disagreed with an umpire's call during a game, emerging from the dugout to start a fiery argument. After finishing with the umpire, the coach reportedly turned to parents in the crowd, with one woman approaching the coach and starting a second argument.

That's when a witness at the scene, Jose Irizarry, put himself between Zahradnik and the woman in an effort to keep the situation from escalating. While Irizarry succeeded in protecting the woman, he couldn't save himself from significant future risk.

According to the Times-Tribune, after Zahradnik's argument with the woman finished, the coach and Irizarry engaged in a brief argument that concluded when Irizarry walked away, picked up his baseball equipment and walked toward his car. Yet, instead of ending the disagreement, Zahradnik ran to his own pickup truck and attempted to run over Irizarry, who was still en route to his vehicle.

Getting hit with a baseball is all part of the game, particularly for pitchers. Yet for one pitcher in particular, being hit in the throat was both hazardous to his health and his much more promising future career.

Scotty McCreery reacts after getting hit in the throat with a baseball — News & Observer

That pitcher is "American Idol" Scotty McCreery, the Garner (N.C.) High senior who returned to the diamond for his senior season after stepping away in 2011 to take part in the national singing competition. On Thursday night, McCreery took the mound for his second varsity baseball start and was cruising along against East Wake (N.C.) High when a one-hopper bounced up and hit him directly in the throat during the third inning.

[Y! Music: Scotty McCreery videos]

According to the News & Observer, McCreery's athletic instincts kicked in -- he quickly retrieved the ground ball and threw out East Wake batter Austin Boyette -- but it didn't take long afterwards for the singing star to reach for his throat in genuine concern.

"He took a grounder to the chin, but is OK," Garner baseball coach Derik Goffena told the News & Observer's Tim Stevens. "Scared him more than anything."

McCreery showcased his toughness by staying in the game and pitching for three more innings, eventually departing with a 2-1 lead after 4 1/3 frames. He allowed seven hits, including a home run for the only run he gave up in the contest (you can actually see the home run itself below). The Associated Press later reported that a Universal Music Group spokeswoman, Beverly Keel, told the news organization that the pitcher wasn't injured in any  meaningful way in the incident.

East Wake eventually rallied to steal a 3-2 win and deprive McCreery of a second varsity victory, but the country star's season statistics remain impressive. Through 13 1/3 innings pitched, McCreery has struck out 19 batters while allowing only a single walk. Through his combined relief and starting work, the singer has a strong 2.06 ERA.

In a twist that is almost too painful to believe, just three months removed from miraculously surviving a dangerous, heart attack-related collapse during a basketball game, an Oregon 12-year-old collapsed and died while playing baseball.

12-year-old Isaac Arzate, who died after collapsing while playing baseball — Associated Press

As reported by the Associated Press and a variety of other sources, 12-year-old Isaac Arzate died hours after collapsing during an unofficial baseball game at Scott Elementary School in Salem on Friday night. The incident occurred some three months after Arzate collapsed with a heart attack during another sporting event at the same school, in an incident when he was resuscitated by paramedics.

After his first collapse, Arzate underwent surgery to repair a heart defect, with the procedure deemed a success. Still, the Doernbecher Children's Hospital at Oregon University refused to release information about whether Arzate had been cleared to participate in sports after his surgical procedure.

While the tragedy has affected the entire Salem community, it hit particularly hard on the paramedic crew which failed to save his life despite valiant efforts on Friday. According to Marion County Fire District Chief Kevin Henson, some of the paramedics on the scene Friday night had also been on the call which initially saved Arzate's life in January and immediately recognized the victim.

The most competitive high school recruiting battles often necessitate innovative tactics. Still, what the USC football program did to try and sway one Sacramento-area recruit took things to a new level: A coach spent an entire day following him around and filming every single thing he did, documentary style.

Placer defensive end Eddie Vanderdoes — Rivals.com

The uber-recruit in question is Placer (Calif.) High defensive end Eddie Vanderdoes, the massive, 6-foot-4, 295-pound multi-sport star who recently hosted a USC coach on campus. According to the Sacramento Bee, Vanderdoes was filmed throughout his weight room workout, then followed the top-25 national recruit to his  baseball game, where the Placer star had three hits against league rival Colfax (Calif.) High, one an enormous home run.

In fact, the baseball prowess which USC was getting down on tape could be complicating some of the prospect's recruiting options. UCLA -- like some 30 other schools -- has already offered Vanderdoes a football scholarship, but the Bruins baseball program is now giving the Placer star a sniff as well, with plans to come and watch one of his forthcoming starts.

Given his .405 batting average, three homers and 15 RBIs -- not to mention an earlier 16 strikeouts in a victory against a team from Nevada -- there's plenty of reason to believe that Vanderdoes has what it takes to succeed at the next level for baseball as much as he does in football.

Of course, that doesn't mean that baseball is likely to be the determining factor in Vanderdoes' college decision. The defensive lineman is attending two different Pac-12 spring games in the coming weeks -- first at Cal and then at Oregon -- and his massive frame and athleticism is likely to ensure that the attention Vanderdoes receives for his football potential far outstrips whatever time college baseball programs might spend chasing his signature.

A Barclay's Premier League club is facing a child sex abuse scandal that bears eerie similarities to the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State after a youth academy coach was arrested and charged with a "sex attack on a young boy in the changing rooms."

West Bromich Albion's stadium, The Hawthorns — WikiStadiums.org

As reported by the London Daily Mail, the Sun and a variety of other British news sources, West Bromwich Albion academy coach Mark O'Shea, a developmental coach who has led the club's under-7 through under-11 classifications for roughly five years, was arrested and interviewed by police about his interactions with a handful of trainee players under his guise.

West Bromwich Albion's crest — WBA.co.uk

O'Shea, a 34-year-old longtime coach, reportedly showered with the players under his control, with as many as three of those players then complaining about his behavior.

"Everyone is in shock," the father of a West Brom trainee under O'Shea's guidance told the Daily Mail. "Coaches at big academies can become gods to these boys. This is a nightmare made flesh."

While O'Shea declined official comment, West Bromwich Albion itself acted quickly to cut off access and ties with the coach, whether he is guilty or not. It was the Albion front office which first reported O'Shea to police and has since suspended the academy coach.

When Stonington (Conn.) High softball pitcher Andrea Chiaradio woke up on Saturday morning, she had no idea she was about to complete the most perfect game anyone could ever perform.

Stonington softball ace Andrea Chiaradio — The Westerly Sun

As reported by the Westerly Sun and New London Day, just hours later, Chiaradio would close out a perfect game comprised of 21 strikeouts, cementing her legacy as a Connecticut legend after all but single-handedly ensuring that Stonington would knock off Norwich (Conn.) Free Academy in Stonington's 3-0 win.

Chiaradio's "perfect" perfect game came just hours before White Sox pitcher Philip Humber tossed the 21st perfect game in MLB history, making Saturday one heck of a day for shutdown pitching.

"She seemed like she just had confidence," Stonington coach Ann-Marie Houle told the New London Day. "I don't know what the heck was going on in her mind. I'm superstitious, so people were sitting on the same buckets for seven innings. But she played center field all last year and she never complained. When the coach gives you that moment and you take it ... good for her.

"All the parents stood up and gave her a standing ovation at the end."

While an all-strikeout perfect game might seem incredible enough, the circumstances surrounding Chiaradio's accomplishment make the feat all the more incredible. Norwich Free Academy entered Saturday's game on the back of a 27-hit, 26-7 victory on Thursday. That stood in stark contrast to Chiaradio's previous start, when the teen had been topped by a tough East Lyme squad. After the victory, Chiaradio -- who boasts a 3-1 record and 1.26 ERA after the perfect game, according to the Sun -- admitted she had been nervous about her chances against NFA based on those stats, despite previous impressive outings like her three-hit victory against Westerly (R.I.) High in Stonington's season opener.

In the end, the only thing the pitcher had to be concerned about was holding on to an ever elusive 21-strikeout perfect game, with only NFA's final hitter -- Emily Devito -- instilling any significant fear in the Stonington pitcher after Devito gamely fouled off a number of pitches to keep the game alive.

Considering the fact that Chiaradio had never thrown a no-hitter before, the fact that she could calmly plow through a perfect game was a truly remarkable achievement, one the pitcher was still coming to grips with after the game.