Word of God 6-9 power forward C.J. Leslie says he's still "wide open" in his thoughts about where to attend school -- and play basketball -- next year. After de-committing from N.C. State during his junior year, Leslie would be welcome at any Division I program in the nation.

This summer, he's seen as much of N.C. Central as any campus. Leslie participated in the N.C. Pro-Am League at NCCU, playing on a team with UNC alum Jerry Stackhouse, current Tar Heel Ed Davis and incoming Duke signee Ryan Kelly. The competition was salted heavily with ACC Triangle talent, featuring Carolina alums Jawad Williams and David Noel.

Recruiting guru Bob Gibbons praised Leslie, not only for taking a step back from the commitment process when the basketball world lies at his feet, but also for his laissez-faire approach to play this summer, eschewing a single travel team in favor of playing here and there in various all-star events.

"He is a great example that the top players don't need exposure," Gibbons told the News & Observer. "It sounds like to me that C.J. made a great decision."

Leslie knew he gained by going against top players in the Pro-Am league rather than traveling with a junior team.

"I just thought I could get better by playing against better players," Leslie said. "I know I need to work on a lot of things, and this summer I learned I have to get better at everything."

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Other recruits did some school shopping this summer. Former Chapel Hill High School football and basketball players Rob Crisp and Peter Singer jumped from CHHS to Cedar Ridge to Raleigh Athens Drive, all in the space of a few weeks.

Athens Drive, coincidentally, happens to be the closest high school to Carter-Finley Stadium and N.C. State's football facilities. Crisp and Singer expect to be playing at NCSU in 2010. Both committed to the Wolfpack in their junior years at Chapel Hill.

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Speaking of recruits and their followers, this seems to be the summer of their discontent. The Web traffic concerning Leslie, Crisp, et alia, seems unusually snarky.

One N&O reader (presumably a Wolfpack fan) wrote about Crisp's transfer: "Nice to see the Heels fans sweating this one. ... guess Coach Davis ran out of money to pay some more recruits...."

Nothing as bracing to some fans as a little slander.

Another (we're guessing a Tar Heel) said: "Apparently the first school they tried to transfer to, Cedar Ridge in Hillsborough, was going to make Singer sit out a couple of games because of his recent arrests on drinking and driving as well as drugs and weapons charges. I guess Wake County schools don't care about that sort of stuff."

C'mon, we're talking about high school kids here.

One Kentucky fan, who says C.J. Leslie will visit Lexington on Aug. 22 and swears he will commit to the Wildcats before leaving that day, lovingly signs himself "uncSucks".

Charming.

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No less fiery, but more expected at the professional level, is the animosity aimed at Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles. "Vick is a low-life, criminal, animal-torturing, piece of garbage," as one blogger put it, serves as representative of a good portion of the responses.

It's not worth the space to rehash the pros and cons of rehabilitating a con into a pro, but it is worth noting that venomous speech does little to encourage the kindness that so many critics insist is a sine qua non of being a public personage.

Nowadays, it's not enough just to be a top performer. To be thought well of, a person is required to "give back," as if the payment for services is a gift from the public. It's clear that the same segment of society that uses the Orwellian term "volunteerism" for mandatory public service -- as is required of so many high school or college students for graduation -- wants Vick to bow and scrape some more.

Sadly, Vick probably will have to endure several sessions of sensitivity training before he learns that the ultimate object of political show trials is not justice and certainly not mercy, but the complete demoralization and destruction of the defendant.

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On a happy note, we have passed by but are still near the zenith of summer, close enough to enjoy many an afternoon at the beach or park or mountain trail. The sun still rises, and the sky still looks beautiful at sunset.

Try to lighten up and enjoy the moment, people.