Our frenemies over at UTB are perhaps the only people who follow the career of Mark DeRosa more closely than we do. They campaigned to make the former Penn two-sport standout our Commencement speaker, then lobbied for the Phillies to sign him this off-season.

Well, yesterday, DeRosa -- who recently gave an exclusive interview to the DP -- signed a two-year deal with the San Francisco Giants (who, by the way, are in California throughout the graduation festivities).

News that the sides were close to agreement was first reported by FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal, a DP alum with whom we also caught up not long ago.

DeRosa, 35  by Opening Day, is a .275 career hitter with 92 homers and 430 RBIs. He is the fourth-leading passer in Quakers football history, and played baseball here too, of course, before the Atlanta Braves drafted him in 1996

Funny story. Former Penn QB and third baseman Mark DeRosa was the person who informed Cliff Lee that he'd been traded to the Phillies.

"I actually called him," DeRosa said. "He hadn't heard the news yet. I said, 'It's coming across the ticker that you got traded to the Phillies.' And he was sitting in the clubhouse in Anaheim with Kerry Wood and said nothing had been told to him yet."

Mark DeRosa, probably Penn's most famous baseball player (with Doug Glanville a close second), is having a memorable weekend. On Saturday, the former Penn star who also played QB for the Quakers was traded from last-place Cleveland to the St. Louis Cardinals, who are currently tied for first in the NL Central. Although he went 0-for-3 in his debut game, he still made a very impressive catch in left field that was considered Sunday's second-best web gem (about 30 seconds in).

As a result of the publicized trade, many people were atwitter about the deal. Literally. As UTB observed, Mark DeRosa was one of the "trending topics" on Twitter this weekend, somehow only right beyond the misspelled "Micheal Jackson."

However, as for UTB's petition for DeRosa as commencement speaker next year, there's no way that's happening. Whether or not he'd be able to give a good speech, I somehow doubt he'll willingly take time off from the May baseball schedule to speak. But maybe in a few years when the 34-year old decides to retire he'll return to Franklin Field.

For those of you looking to pass the three days until the Sweet Sixteen, Jack Curry wrote a nice profile of our favorite Penn two-sport athlete, Mark DeRosa, in today's New York Times.

DeRosa, of course, played baseball and football with the Quakers before embarking on a major league baseball career. He is now with the Cleveland Indians and Team USA, and in late 2007 gave an exclusive interview to the DP.

Curry has more on DeRosa at The Bats blog, too.

1) In a year in which four of the Big 5 schools -- sorry Penn -- could legitimately claim to have the Big 5 Player of the Year, Dick Jerardi has made up his mind.  So who does he pick out of Dionte Christmas, Daunte Cunningham, Rodney Green, Ahmad Nivins or Scottie Reynolds?  Here's a hint: Jerardi's choice averages more points, rebounds, blocks and has a better FG and FT percent than any of other player.

2) Mark DeRosa, who played baseball at Penn from 1994-96, is now a member of Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. The headline might be a little off -- although he's playing against the World now, he obviously never played against Penn -- but it's actually a good article. Well worth the read.

3) Remember that Bank of America promotion I mentioned yesterday?  Well it's now officially "The Penn Visa issued by Bank of America Fan of the Game." Though yet again the headline is off, as the word "fan" is omitted. So enter to be the credit card of the game!

For a while, the Major League Baseball rumor mill had Mark DeRosa heading home to the Phillies.

Instead, in a New Year's Eve trade, the former Quakers star is on his way to the Cleveland Indians, according to ESPN.com.

DeRosa -- who last year gave an exclusive interview to The Daily Pennsylvanian -- was a two-sport athlete at Penn. On the gridiron, the Passaic, N.J., native remains the fourth-leading passer in program history. He also played baseball, of course, before the Atlanta Braves drafted him in 1996, after his junior season. He opted for the Minors over West Philly -- a choice that ultimately netted him a three-year, $13 million contract that has one season remaining.

In the 2008 campaign, DeRosa racked up 21 homers and 87 RBIs, both career highs, while hitting .285.

Even though I'm posting these links as they come instead of every Wednesday, I actually have some today.

1) The first concerns the College of New Jersey Princeton. In a fascinating coincidence, two of the most accomplished Princeton athletes of all-time -- basketball legend Bill Bradley and football star Dick Kazmaier -- both wore number 42 on their jersey. Although 42 has been unofficially retired from the football and basketball teams, the number will be uniformly (no pun intended) retired for all Princeton athletics teams in a ceremony on Oct. 24.

Bradley, a former U.S. senator and Presidential candidate, took the Tigers to the 1965 Final Four and earned National Player of the Year recognition that same season. Kazmaier, meanwhile, won the 1951 Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award as a member of the Tigers.

2) With the Major League Baseball playoffs starting today, here's a trivia question: Who is the only active MLB player who is a former all-Ivy League quarterback? If you answered former Penn student Mark DeRosa of the Cubs, you'd be correct. In fact, DeRosa is the only current Major Leaguer who graduated from Wharton. Here's a profile The New York Times did on the 1996 Penn grad who played both baseball and football for the Quakers.

UDPATE: The Inquirer also did a piece on DeRosa. (HT Jonathan Tannewald, of Soft Pretzel Logic.)

3) The biggest news story recently has been the financial crisis.  Not too surprisingly, three people critical to our economy's recovery have Ivy connections. But what you might not have known is that one of the three -- Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson -- was a Dartmouth offensive lineman. ESPN.com's Ivan Maisel dedicated part of his I-Formation column today to Paulson's past football exploits. (It's the fifth item on the right side.)

Former Penn baseball player and current Chicago Cubs second baseman Mark DeRosa has left Spring Training in Arizona after complaining of a rapid heartbeat during some drills on Saturday. He will undergo tests at a hospital in Chicago. You can read more about it here. A bat that DeRosa gave the DP years ago still sits in our sports office, and we obviously all wish him the best and hope that he'll be back out on the field for the Cubs soon.