Ah, the late, great Ted Knight. A brilliant comic actor, who, by the way, was born and raised in Connecticut. He graduated from Terryville High, and often mentioned his hometown and upbringing in interviews. He was, by all accounts, a prince of a guy. There's even a Ted Knight Memorial Bridge in Plymouth. I wonder if the mayor's dedication speech that day started like this..."It's easy to grin, when your ship has come in. Or you've got the stock market beat. But the man worthwhile, is the man who can smile. When his shorts are too tight in the seat."

Got a couple of emails in the last few days, so let's have at it.

Question: Chip- So, what's the FINAL word, is Jarrell Miller coming or not? The last story (I read) still left me with my doubts. Is Lorenzen going to be the savior we so desperately need? Is he really that good? Love the Ramblings ... keep up the good work.
-- Gregg Goumas, West Hartford (originally from Ansonia - a Charger back in 1985-86-87).

CM: Gregg, Jarrell hasn't returned interview requests so it's impossible for me to say what his final decision will be. However, he told Chuck Banning of the Day he had committed to Randy Edsall back in December, and his Fork Union coach confirmed as much last week. Sounds pretty solid to me. But until he enrolls, and I can't say for sure he has yet, that's all we have to go on. Incidentally, recruits Aaron Bagsby, Mike Ryan and Corey Stringer have already enrolled at UConn and will begin classes Monday.

I don't know if we can crown Tyler Lorenzen as a savior just yet. All we know is that he put up tremendous numbers playing for a top-notch junior college in California, and can run it as well as he can throw it. His coach at Palomar Community College told me back in November that he has no doubts Lorenzen has the ability to contribute right away in the Big East. I expect Lorenzen and Dennis Brown to duke it out for the job during spring practice.

Thanks for the email. As Pop Shortell would say, "Hat's Off!"

Q: Chip, any word yet on why the UConn-Navy series was cancelled? Is is true Notre Dame will be on the schedule soon? Good job with the blog.
-- Mark Jubinville, Mentor, Ohio

A: UConn didn't provide Navy with a reason, so don't expect anything other than rumor and innuendo. It was mutual, everyone at UConn says, and since Navy agreed to dissolve the contract there's no reason to doubt that. Games are cancelled for various reasons all the time. No big deal.

Notre Dame will be on the schedule soon. They agreed to play at least three games per season against Big East Conference schools (they are a member of the conference in every other sport, after all) and stated they favor the Northeastern conference schools. Expect this to become official in the coming months.

And since someone is bound to ask, UConn also has non-league home-and-home series lined up with Baylor, Northwestern, Iowa, North Carolina and Vanderbilt in the coming years.

Q: I can't believe you haven't reviewed or made mention of seeing Rocky Balboa yet. Some paisan you are.
-- Spider Rico, South Philly

A: I've been holding onto this email for about two weeks. I finally saw the movie the other night, and loved it. Better than all the others except the original. It's predictable, but incredibly well done with some terrific life messages. It never ceases to amaze me that Stallone, the man who spent much of his superstar years making garbage like Judge Dredd, Oscar and Stop! Or my Mom will Shoot! actually wrote Rocky. I've been writing my whole life and only wish I could come up with something that good. Truly spectacular.

Stallone ends the Rocky saga perfectly. The fight sequence is even terrific, although Stallone, at 60, takes off his robe to reveal his upper body is now one giant vericose vein. But if you loved the original (forget the four sequels, which, though enjoyable sans Rocky V, were cookie cutter) then you have to see the finale.

A couple of notes. Spider Rico, who was gracious enough to send me this email, makes another appearance. Spider Rico, if you need a refresher, was the guy Rocky fights and knocks out in the opening sequence of the original. He is played by a man named Pedro Lovell, a decent heavyweight whose claim to fame was being knocked out by Ken Norton on national TV in 1976 not long after filming Rocky. His only movie credits, according to imdb.com, are Rocky and Rocky Balboa.

Also, Frank Stallone, Sly's little brother and one of the cheesiest dudes alive, makes another appearance. A fun game I highly recommend is attempting to spot Frank's cameos (if you can call them that) in all of the Rocky movies. It's kind of like those Where's Waldo? books. Try it next time one of the "Rocky's" is on cable. Good fun. I met Frank briefly a few years ago at Foxwoods. He was there to support Vinny Paz in his farewell fight, and sang his version of Sinatra's "My Way" to lead the Paz posse into the ring. I'm not making this up.

Frank Stallone at his cheesiest

Oh, and now that Rocky is done, Stallone has decided to bring back another popular character who is way past his prime. Yes, Rambo IV: The Pearl of the Cobra is currently in pre-production and scheduled for release in 2008. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

That'll do it for today. Please keep the emails coming.