Local News

Budget cuts delayed for C.R. schools

The plan to cut $105,000 in salaries for extracurricular activities at the Cedar Rapids public high schools and middle schools has been put on hold, but it may be only a temporary reprieve.

Principals and athletic directors at the three high schools and six middle schools were originally told by the Cedar Rapids Community District to submit plans for their budget cuts by May 11, but that is no longer the plan.

"Proposed reductions to Schedule C contracts have been put on hold for further review," Marcia Hughes, the community relations supervisor for the school district, told the Metro Sports Report in an e-mail Thursday.

Schedule C contracts are for coaches and teachers who are involved with sports, fine arts, music, drama, yearbook and other activities. The Schedule C contracts are specifically for those activities and do not include a teacher's base salary.

Jefferson, Kennedy and Washington originally were told to cut $25,000 apiece from their Schedule C contracts for the 2012-13 school. The six middle schools - McKinley, Wilson, Taft, Roosevelt, Franklin and Harding - were told to cut $5,000 apiece.

Scott Kibby, the activities director at Jefferson, estimated he would have to cut five to seven positions to reduce his budget by $25,000. Randy Krejci, the principal at Harding, said he probably would have to cut two positions. Based on those estimates, a total of 27 to 33 positions would have been eliminated at the nine schools.

New college summer hoops league set for C.R.

A new college summer basketball league will be held in Cedar Rapids this June and July, featuring players from Coe, Mount Mercy and Kirkwood.

The Midnight Hoops College Summer League will run for eight weeks, with games on Sundays at Coe and possibly Mount Mercy.

The plan is to have four teams of seven or eight players apiece. In addition to local college players from Coe, Mount Mercy and Kirkwood, the league will be open to local players who are playing at other colleges and are home for the summer.

There also could be openings for current high school players from the area, depending on their ability and available spots in the league, and for former college players as well.

Jason Pershing, the Midnight Hoops Summer College League director, said they want to keep the quality of play as high as possible.

"That's the most important thing," he said Wednesday. "The level of competition could be really high."

Games will be played at 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Sundays and will be regulation 40-minute college games with officials, clock operators, scorekeepers and statisticians. "We want to give the feel of a real game," he said.

Pershing graduated from Cedar Rapids Washington in 1998 and Mount Mercy University in 2003, where he played basketball. He currently works at Coe as an Upper Bound Academic Advisor and was an assistant coach at Washington this past season.

Pershing said there was a summer league similar to this at Mount Mercy a few years ago. "It went really well," he said.

"There's a lack of good games and places to play," he said. "Hopefully we can keep it going."

Each team will have a player/coach, typically somebody who played in college and is still an active player with coaching experience.

Pershing said the head coaches at Coe, Mount Mercy and Kirkwood support the league and are encouraging their players to participate this summer.

There will be a player draft to select the teams on Wednesday, May 30. The first games will be played on Sunday, June 3 and the championship game is scheduled for Sunday, July 29.

The fee is $20 per player for eight games. Each team will have a sponsor.

Players may contact Pershing at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.

Lombardi faces Kennedy in Metro tourney

Tony Lombardi's first game as the new baseball coach at Cedar Rapids Washington will come against Kennedy in the opening round of the Bob Vrbicek Metro Tournament on Monday, May 21.

The game is scheduled to begin at the Linn-Mar High School field at 5 p.m.

The first two rounds of the tournament will be played at Marion High School and Linn-Mar on May 21 and May 22. The finals and consolation game for third place will be played at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Wednesday, May 23. The fifth and seventh place games are at Marion.

The Marion Indians and Prairie Hawks will clash in an intriguing first-round game at Marion. The Indians reached the semifinals of the Class 3A state tournament for the first time in school history last season and the Hawks enjoyed one of the best seasons in school history.

Xavier will face Mount Vernon in the other opening-round game at Marion. Jefferson will meet Linn-Mar in the other first-round game at Linn-Mar.

2012 BOB VRBICEK METRO TOURNAMENT

Monday, May 21
At Marion
Xavier vs. Mount Vernon, 5 p.m.
Marion vs. Prairie, 7 p.m.

At Linn-Mar
Kennedy vs. Washington, 5 p.m.
Jefferson vs. Linn-Mar, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, May 22

At Marion, 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
At Linn-Mar, 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Wednesday, May 23

At Veterans Memorial Stadium
5 p.m. -- 3rd Place
7 p.m. -- 1st Place

At Marion
5 p.m. -- 7th Place
7 p.m. -- 5th Place

Uthoff visits ISU and Iowa, but not ready to decide

arrod Uthoff enjoyed his visit to Iowa State last week as he continues to search for a new college basketball team, but it's becoming a recurring theme for the 6-foot-8 forward.

He enjoyed his official visit to Creighton two weeks ago and he also enjoyed poking around Iowa City on Saturday, just a day after he finished his trip to Ames.

He also imagines he'll enjoy his trips to Marquette and possibly Florida, and that's the rub. What does he do if he likes them all?

It could be a tough decision as he looks for a comfortable place to land after deciding to leave the University of Wisconsin basketball team after one year.

"Yeah, it will be tough. It definitely will be," he said Sunday night. "It won't come easy."

There were unofficial rumblings over the weekend that Uthoff, the 2011 Mr. Basketball from Cedar Rapids Jefferson, might be leaning toward the Iowa Hawkeyes, but he scotched those rumors.

"As of right now I'm not leaning one way or the other," he maintained.

But Uthoff confirmed the Hawkeyes are still a strong possibility. "Definitely," he said. "They're definitely in the picture."

Uthoff visited with Iowa State Coach Fred Hoiberg and the Cyclones on Thursday and Friday, his second official visit on the re-recruiting trail after his year at Wisconsin did not pan out.

"I liked it," he said. "I like the way Coach Hoiberg coaches and I think it would be a pretty good fit.

"I like the way they space the floor and give the players the ability to create. It's almost the opposite of Wisconsin. Wisconsin's is more of a restricted offense and a system. Iowa State is a pretty open system."

Uthoff played some one-on-one basketball with ISU's Melvin Ejim, Chris Babb, Will Clyburn and Bubu Palo during his visit to Ames. He knows Hoiberg has rebuilt the Cyclones with Division I transfers, but said it won't be a major factor in his ultimate decision because he's confident he'll get a fair shake wherever he goes.

Uthoff was a young high school kid when he made his first round of college visits several years ago, perhaps a little nervous and a little naive. He's still young after spending just one year at Wisconsin, but feels he's better equipped to handle the process now.

"Oh, definitely," he said. "I have a lot more detailed questions I can ask and get a better understanding of the program. Once you've gone through the college system one year, no matter what team it is, you have a better understanding of the questions you need to ask and stuff like that."

Uthoff and his girlfriend made an informal trip to Iowa City on Saturday. The Hawkeyes and all the other Big Ten schools are on the "restricted" list and cannot speak directly to Uthoff, thanks to Wisconsin Coach Bo Ryan and the Badgers, but he can see things for himself and receive messages from third parties.

"I can't talk to any of the players or any of the coaches there," he confirmed.

Uthoff and his girlfriend got something to eat in Iowa City and played a round of golf at Finkbine, the UI course. "She's actually a golfer. She just got me started," he said.

Uthoff said he might visit Marquette later this week or perhaps after the school year ends at Wisconsin on May 19. He's also thinking about a trip to the University of Florida, but no trips have been finalized to either place. He also said he might visit Indiana, Virginia or elsewhere.

Uthoff said it probably will be weeks, rather than a few days, before he makes a final decision. He's in no rush and wants to get it right. He wants to finish all his visits before picking a winner.

"Yeah, most likely," he said.