Varsity Insider

As you probably guessed, I was away with the wife for a few days. We were pretty far up in the country so I actually had no internet service and even very little on my phone.

I have a few topics to touch on. We’ll return to a normal blogging schedule tomorrow.

• Ray Rice got PAID. The former New Rochelle star ended his franchise tag snafu with the Ravens and signed a five-year, $40-million contract extension that will net him $24 million guaranteed — in the next year. As I wrote a few days ago on Twitter, no football player in the history of Westchester County has ever inked a richer contract to play football. That’s one of those things I didn’t even have to look up.

Here’s a complete breakdown of Rice’s new contract. It includes an unfathomable note: No NFL running back has ever made more in a 12-month span.

Not bad for a kid from the New Rochelle projects who almost no one believed could play running back at the Division I-A level. Congrats to Ray.

• Pearl River is headed to Disney World. From July 20-25, the Pearl River football team will compete in the KSA National Football Summer 7s. The event will be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Fla.

Thanks to our blog friend Jeff Michael, I’ll have plenty of details on his team’s unique experience. Stay tuned for those…

• Bronxville was honored as the state’s top Class B athletic program. The Broncos were selected as the NYSPHSAA’s top Class B boys AND girls program in the annual Kerr Cup All-Sports Championship.

This is the second time Bronxville had been honored in four years. Check out the New York State Sportswriters Association website for more info on the competition, which basically awards schools who have thrived in state tournament competition during the most recent school year.

• James’ summer heating up. Here’s a story from the New York Post on the area’s most coveted returning basketball recruit, Stepinac senior point guard Josh James, who is in the midst of another big summer on the AAU circuit.

• Taylor among Hardwood Club honorees. Speaking of Stepinac, all-time leading scorer Tony Taylor was honored tonight as one of the newest members of the school’s Hardwood Club. Here’s information on the full group being inducted.

• Spring Valley to host its camp Thursday. Spring Valley will host Ramapo, Tappan Zee and Park Ridge next Thursday, July 26, beginning at 5:30. The teams will compete in 7-on-7 competition.