New baseball team vows it will be ready, even though work remains

The new Frontier League team set to play across the river this year in Marion, Ill., promises it will be ready to play ball next month as scheduled, even though there's a lot of work still to be done to the new stadium under construction near Interstate 57. A story in Thursday's Marion Daily Republic highlighted the issues still faced by builders, but team officials say progress is steady.

The new Southern Illinois Miners will open their home schedule May 29 against Evansville. See the full schedule on their site.

• Backup center Dionte Perry won't return to the Southeast men's basketball team for his senior season. The news was confirmed this week, even though just seven days earlier coach Scott Edgar and local media scoffed when Mark Unterreiner reported on his blog that a player was leaving the program.

The Redhawks moved quickly and supposedly have already offered Seward County (Kan.) Community College sophomore Hank Harris a scholarship, which he's expected to accept.

• The news is sketchy surrounding Rick Majerus and his future as coach of St. Louis University. Some reports are saying that they're close to a deal, but others are speculating that Majerus hasn't decided whether he wants to return to coaching or remain at ESPN.

If their choice is Majerus, the announcement will come within a couple of days, possibly even Friday.