A plug for the lively, well-written, and horribly, admirably partisan Mgoblog, the internet’s premiere site for you Blue fans out there. (Check out Brian’s rundown of Michigan ingame music in the comments beneath Pepidemiology, Chapter 2.) He points out our shocking breach of blog etiquette, and all we can say is: give two monkeys a computer, and they will make mistakes that a third monkey will be paid to fix around June 24th or so. (They will also sell their asses for shiny metal discs, evidently. See this article in the NY Times for a description of the first observed incident of monkey prostitution in capuchins.)
Monkey whore sits in branch, craves shiny things.
Loren Wade might be the worst example of the kind of damage an athlete can do to a program. (We might say Maurice Clarett or Albert Means here, but Wade allegedly killed some one, for God’s sake–most ethicists would agree it doesn’t get much worse than that.) In addition to allegedly killing someone, ruining his own life and that of the victim’s family, and screwing up Arizona State’s image and lineup, Wade’s improper dealings with an employee of the university have cost Arizona State two years probation from the Pac-10 and no doubt attracted the sniffing of NCAA compliance investigators.
A player recruited for ol’ Sparky’s team may end up in a very different type of ol’ Sparky.
In reviewing my esteemed partner’s selections for the 12th game requests, I realized that the selections were more about history than today. History is great, and one of the things we love about college football, but history is also a major factor in why we all still live with the abomination of the BCS instead of a playoff (which I refuse to believe would not be more lucrative). Thus, I feel compelled to say that I really couldn’t care less about Alabama renewing its rivalry with USC… unless both Alabama and USC are title contenders or some other intrigue comes into play (like Norm Chow becoming the Tide’s new head coach). So, without further ado, my selections for 12th game additions.
1. USC Trojans v. Miami Hurricanes. The two programs are so similar other than in geography. Both are private institutions with moderate level academic standards that use the lure of sun and sexy co-eds to bring NFL caliber recruits into their football factories. Both have had tremendous success in terms of national championships and draft day dominance. Both have beaten up on mediocre conferences. And both always have inordinately large men who defy the laws of physics with their athletic ability… yet fate has kept them from meeting on the gridiron save for in 1966 and 1968. That just doesn’t seem right. Wouldn’t you have loved to see Jonathan Vilma chase Reggie Bush around the field… or Mike Williams going across the middle with Sean Taylor waiting to hit him. Me too. Let’s face it, in the last decade perhaps only Florida State (which is hindered by coaching at this point) has had athletes that can rival the depth and quality of these two programs. These two must meet.
2. Oklahoma/Texas against LSU/Florida/Georgia/Tennessee. Ever since the inception of the Big 12, it was supposed to be the uberconference for college football, but in our not so humble opinion, has fallen short. That doesn’t mean its not damn good though. Thus, since that time the debate has raged as to whether the SEC or Big 12 is the better conference or which conference has the tougher road to a mythical national championship. Well, it would be nice to have a top tier program for each conference meet (especially since both conferences are notorious for weak out of conference scheduling save for Florida playing FSU and even Miami with their last 12th game).
3. Boise State (at home) against [insert mid level major conference opponent here]. The curse of being a good mid-major program is that you’ll never get many opportunities to play a major program at home. We understand the economics of why this is… and the lack of a playoff doesn’t help either… but it is a shame. And Oregon State guaranteed that it will be a long time before another major conference opponent inks a deal to play on the smurf turf.
Grambling is getting a new linebacker compliments of Houston Nutt and the Arkansas Razorbacks. Lucas Jackson, who was unhappy about being moved from linebacker to defensive end and sometimes nose tackle, has decided to transfer after spending four years as a Razorback. This depletes an already thin Arkansas defensive front, which has been forced to move linebackers and wideouts into the line rotation.
We here at EDSBS.com occasiona.ly stray from college football, especially in the off season, but only for a good cause. Well, today the cause is good as we’d like to give an EDSBS.com tribute to Stan Van Gundy. Sure, your team choked down the stretch of a game 7, but we thank you for making us giggle everytime the camera cut to you. If this NBA coach thing doesn’t work out, perhaps you can take up acting. Maybe you could be an extra in Boogie Nights 2.
Alter Egos? Separated at Birth? If Van Gundy plays his cards right, he could be a coach that gets more than his players… difficult to do in today’s NBA.
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