Bruce Jenner, Aaron Hernandez, and Resetting the Connecticut Sports Pantheon

It's been a busy few weeks in Connecticut sports. The important dates:

April 9: New London's own Matt Harvey made his first start after sitting out 2014 due to injury. He threw six scoreless innings to beat the Washington Nationals.

April 15: Bristol's own Aaron Hernandez was convicted of first degree murder in Massachusetts and received a mandatory life sentence.

April 24: Newtown's own Bruce Jenner formally comes out as transgendered in an interview with Diane Sawyer.

April 30: New Britain's own (and University of Connecticut alumnus) Byron Jones is drafted 27th overall by the Dallas Cowboys.

Let's assess:

The Aaron Hernandez conviction is embarrassing but long expected. From here on, he is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' concern, not mine.

Of real interest is the burgeoning career of Byron Jones. At UConn, he was sold, not special, as both a safety and cornerback.

Then he put on a Barnum sideshow at the Combine, with highlights including a 4.36s 40-yard dash, and a World Record 12' 3'' broad jump. All things considered, it's easy to project him in light of track star busts like Darius Heyward-Bey.

I think he'll follow the example of Dontari Poe, who was just a guy at Memphis, before blowing up the 2012 Combine. He was drafted 11th overall by Kansas City where he has made two Pro Bowls in three seasons. It's unreasonable to think Jones will be that good off the bat, but freakish physical skills are prerequisite for a great corner. Add in his positional versatility and coachability and Dallas made a nice pick.

In other news, Matt Harvey is 5-0 with a 2.41 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP, and almost 7 strikeouts per start. Though it's tragic his talents are wasted on the New York Mets, his lost 2014 season brought him a year closer to free agency without putting innings on that golden arm.

Also, best of luck to Bruce Jenner as he pursues the life he wants to lead. He's on TV, so people think his gender identity is a big deal. It's not.

Let's wrap with a video of Middletown's own Andre Drummond dunking on things. He finished this season averaging 13.8 points and 13.5 rebounds; similar to his 2013-14 line. However, this was his first season playing center for Stan Van Gundy instead of his old position of 'clean up after Josh Smith.' That he maintained efficiency in a more sophisticated system speaks to his progress.