For the first time since sophomore Blair Holliday’s July 4 jet ski accident, his parents have provided an update on his condition. The wide receiver will transfer next week to the Shepherd Center, an Atlanta rehabilitation hospital specializing in medical treatment, research and rehabilitation for people with spinal cord and brain injuries, the family said in a statement.

The Jabari Parker watch is on, and has been for a while. The question now is how long the nation’s top-rated basketball recruit might wait before choosing where he will play (likely for only one season) in college.

Parker, a 6-foot-8 small forward who plays at the Simeon Career Academy in Chicago, is considering North Carolina, Duke and eight other schools, according to a list of “finalists” he made public last month through his Twitter account. And it sounds as though Parker might deliberate for a while before making a decision.

Parker’s father, Sonny Parker, told ESPNChicago.com that Parker and the family “aren’t in a hurry” about reaching a college decision. ESPNChicago.com published the story on Thursday.

With football practice commencing in Durham on Monday, let’s take a spin through Duke’s schedule this season. My much wiser colleague, Andrew Carter, did this for UNC earlier this week, so I decided to repurpose his idea for my using. 

First, the Blue Devils’ schedule:

It's August, but there's no time like the present for Duke basketball news.

The Blue Devils will face Minnesota in the opening round of the Nov. 22-24 Battle 4 Atlantis preseason tournament, the school announced Thursday. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m.

There are eight teams in the second-annual tournament, which is held at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. The winner of the matchup between the Blue Devils and the Golden Gophers gets the winner of Memphis vs. VCU in the semifinals. In opening action of the other side of the bracket, Missouri plays Stanford while Louisville takes on Northern Iowa.

If you'd like to see the bracket for yourself, click here. 

Two of the happiest moments of my life: May 2007, when I found out I was coming to the great state of North Carolina, and June 2012, when I found out I was coming back.

In between, I did a fair amount of what I’m about to do now: cover Duke sports.

The three-time NCAA champ in sabre joins BC football player Luke Kuechly in sweeping top athetes for 2011-12 school year.

Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina had four players each on the preseason All-ACC teams announced by the league on Wednesday.

Clemson receiver Sammy Watkins, who caught 82 passes for 1,219 yards as a freshman last season, was named the preseason player of the year.

DURHAM -- Not that Mike Krzyzewski would ever root against Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, both of whom will be key players for him at the Olympics later this summer, but it was hard not to get the sense Thursday afternoon that he’d just as soon see the Miami Heat close out the NBA Finals in Game 5 that night.

The sooner the NBA season is over, the more rest some of his most important players will have heading into the Olympics and Team USA’s attempt to defend its gold medal from 2008. That includes LeBron James, whose growth as a player and leader Krzyzewski noted in depth Thursday while discussing his other basketball team, Duke.

“I’m proud of LeBron and where he’s at right now,” Krzyzewski said about James, who missed the end of Miami’s Game 4 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder with cramps but was expected to play Thursday night.

DURHAM — Much of the preseason talk in the ACC basketball race has centered around N.C. State and North Carolina.

That's fine with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose team went 13-3 in the league last season, a game behind UNC for the regular-season title, and has added two McDonald's All-Americans.

"I'd rather have you talk about what we've done, than what we're going to do," Krzyzewski said Thursday at his annual summer press conference.

Mike Krzyzewski said it was a “real mistake” for Penn State to fire Joe Paterno amid the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. Krzyzewski made the comments in an interview that aired on Friday night on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight.

Here’s what Kryzewski when Morgan asked him for his thoughts on how Penn State handled the Sandusky case: