ESPN today announced a new initiative designed to consolidate its high school programming, publications and online efforts under one umbrella.

Titled ESPN Rise, the plan includes a new high school oriented Web site that will include content from ESPN.com, Scouts Inc, the newly acquired Hoopgurlz.com and RISEmag.com, as well as social networking opportunities, with a scheduled August launch. In addition, ESPN's high school football and boys basketball telecasts will come under the Rise auspices, which will also oversee recruiting reporting. Also, four magazines with high school appeal will be merged into the new ESPN Rise magazine.

Finally, and perhaps most eye-raising, ESPN announced that starting with the new school year, high school news will air on SportsCenter, ESPNEWS and College Football Live, because that's what O.J. Mayo and Mark Avery, the 14-year-old kid from California who committed to Kentucky for basketball before he selected a high school, need: More time in the limelight before they're able to handle it or before they actually deserve it.

Great. Just great.