Alex Blum, 17, is a poet at heart. So the Scottsdale senior at Desert Mountain High School finds it difficult to describe his entire life’s achievements in the cold, fill-in-theblanks forms that dominate college applications.

Alex Blum, 17, is a poet at heart. So the Scottsdale senior at Desert Mountain High School finds it difficult to describe his entire life’s achievements in the cold, fill-in-theblanks forms that dominate college applications.

East Valley teens with Ivy League dreams did just about everything possible during high school to impress college admissions officials.

East Valley teens with Ivy League dreams did just about everything possible during high school to impress college admissions officials.

A Yale University catalog sits on the coffee table of the Muralidhar home in Chandler. College is one year away for 16-year-old Vinayak Muralidhar, who starts his senior year today at Tempe’s Corona del Sol High School.

A Yale University catalog sits on the coffee table of the Muralidhar home in Chandler. College is one year away for 16-year-old Vinayak Muralidhar, who starts his senior year today at Tempe’s Corona del Sol High School.

INDIANAPOLIS - Ryan Fitzpatrick will return to school next week, trying to catch up on the new semester at Harvard.

As a Harvard graduate (technically, the name of the institution is Itawamba Junior College, but it is affectionately referred to as "Harvard on the Bigbee’’ by us Old Grads), I am encouraged with the course Arizona State University President Michael Crow has plotted for higher education in Arizona.

CHICAGO - Eric Byrnes, baseball fan, loves the mystique and lore surrounding the most venerable stadiums in the major leagues — Wrigley Field, Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium.

It’s not every day a 6-foot-9 transfer from Germany walks through the door.

In a most peculiar attack launched by Mitt Romney against President Obama, Romney accused Obama of being at Harvard too long. Apparently, Mitt meant to show that Barack Obama is out of touch with mainstream Americans. But wait! Isn’t Mitt also a Harvard alum?

Less than a week ago, all Kyle Newhall-Caballero wanted was a chance to prove he could play in the NFL.

I talked to Desert Vista football coach Dan Hinds today about the recruitment of breakout star Mike Ingrassia.

The head of a state university and two city council members want Arizona to extend its benefits to the domestic partners of state and university employees, at least in part to help recruit and retain workers.

Valley Christian’s J.P. Grako is not your typical 2A Conference linebacker. There’s his size: While a number of 2A linebackers weigh in at about 170 pounds, Grako is 6-foot and 220 pounds.

It seems like so long ago that Washington’s Jon Brockman and Ryan Appleby graced the cover of Sports Illustrated’s college basketball preview issue.

Louis Dale scored 26 points, Ryan Wittman added 24 and No. 12 seed Cornell upset fourth-seeded Wisconsin 87-69 on Sunday, becoming the first team from the Ivy League since 1979 to advance to the round of 16.