While I've grown increasingly numb to overzealous parents who envision their sons or daughters as superstars, I've hit the end of my tether with agents who convince unwitting and ill-informed college athletes to abandon their books in favor of blind faith.

Is former San Diego State running back Ronnie Hillman making the right decision to enter the NFL Draft? Who am I to say? This much I do know: Hillman's limitations are, well, not exactly limited.

A player who struggled to stay healthy at the college level, the 5-foot-10, 195-pound Hillman is not cut out to run between the tackles in the NFL just yet. His ability to get to the corner will be checked by NFL linebackers and cornerbacks who are equally fast. He was a minimal factor in the passing game and did not return kicks his first two years, an assignment he should have asked to take on next season with the Aztecs had he wanted to find a legitimate spot in the NFL.

Instead, a player that was garnering attention as a possible Heisman Trophy candidate next season has likely become another victim of questionable advice from someone who has placed Hillman's net worth ahead of his best interest.

And then there's the case of Wyoming running back Alvester Alexander, who has convinced himself that he, too, is ready for the next level...

The four new football coaches in the Mountain West --- Norm Chow (Hawai'i), Bob Davie (New Mexico), Tim DeRuyter (Fresno State) and Jim McElwain (Colorado State) ---- have a combined 108 years in the business. All four coaches have great pedigrees and are certain to bring the excitement back to their respective campuses. I have a hunch that McElwain has the makings of a monster in Fort Collins, where the Rams have more --- and better --- young talent than any team in the league.

More than once in the past week, UNLV men's basketball coach Dave Rice has said that he'd have a hard time believing that any guard in the country is playing better than Rebels junior Anthony Marshall. Having witnessed Marshall's performance at San Diego State, where he finished with a game-high 26 points before scoring a career-high 27 four nights later against TCU, who's to argue? Marshall, who averaged 7.5 points his first two seasons, is currently averaging 12.0 points. Topping it off, he's averaging 4.7 rebounds. From a guard?

Nineteen Division I players are currently averaging double-doubles. The Mountain West is one of only two leagues (Colonial League) in the nation to feature more than one --- UNLV's Mike Moser and New Mexico's Drew Gordon.

So, the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee can't find an agreeable time for its members to meet and provide the MW with an answer to its request for a two-year exemption from the BCS? I can never reach my wife on her cell phone, either.

And speaking of the advancement of civilization (no, not the BCS), how does one charter a jet in San Diego for purposes of flying to Laramie, Wyoming, and find it necessary to refuel in Cedar City, Utah and Grand Junction, Colo.? The next time San Diego State's men's basketball team opts to charter, which it will later this season when it visits Boise State, it may first want to taxi over to the Shell station at the corner of Laurel Street and Pacific Highway.

Does the MW deserve to be rated above the hallowed ACC in the latest RPI rankings? Other than holding a 3-1 advantage in head-to-head meetings, a better winning percentage against non-conference opponents and having two teams ranked in the top 15, no. ☺

Former Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore will take part in the 14th annual All-Star Football Challenge, an event staged in Indianapolis on Feb. 5 as part of Super Bowl week. No word on whether competition in something called the FRS Healthy Performance QB Scramble dictates that invitees be at least 6-foot-4 and weigh a minimum of 235. The word prototypical should be stricken from the English language, particularly when it comes to defining athletes.

The San Diego State men's and women's basketball teams, both undefeated in MW play, have won a combined 22 straight, with each having won 11 in a row. I realize that current men's assistant Brian Dutcher has been designated the "head-coach-in-waiting" by current head coach Steve Fisher, but Dutcher may want to consider filling his own spot with women's coach Beth Burns. Trust me, Burns is not someone with whom you'd care to go one-on-one, be it in a basketball game or an interview session. When a former colleague of mine asked for a sit-down with Burns some years ago, she replied, "Bring a change of clothes."

I don't know if hoops guru Jerry Palm uses bats' wings and eye of newt in his bracketology formula, but his latest NCAA Tournament pairings have UNLV as a No. 3 seed in Albuquerque and San Diego State as a No. 4 seed in Portland, Ore. Palm also has New Mexico as being one of the first four teams out. Don't count on it, Jerry. I've seen the Lobos in this position before.