CURIOUS INDEX, 2/29/08

by Orson on Feb 29, 2008 8:03 AM EST

We're heading to Florida for the weekend, so Holly and Peter will be taking the helm for the rest of the day. You're in capable hands.

Justin Willis causes internet/media dissonance. Read the Dallas Morning-News, and it sounds sterile and manageable enough, really:

Record-setting quarterback Justin Willis and safety Bryce Hudman have been suspended from the SMU football program for violation of team rules.

They will not go through spring practice, which begins Monday under new coach June Jones.

"There has to be accountability," Jones said. "You're supposed to be taking care of business."

Standard stuff for new coaches coming in and wanting to establish order by knocking heads around a bit, right? Sure. Willis will probably be back, a good thing since Willis set school records for yardage with 3,643 yards last year, and could have massive potential in June Jones' unreformed version of the run 'n shoot.

Or, if you go the message board route, he could be gone and transferring: SMU message boards have Wiliis with a cleaned-out locker and mentions of transfer flying around. Jones did, as the DMN mentions subtly, boot Hawaii's top running back and defensive player off the team after his arrival there.

Mississippi State: sip from the serve, SKURR!!! Are you DUI, hardly ever caught sober? Then you might be Mississippi State linebacker Jamon Hughes, suspended from spring practice for a DUI arrest that earns Miss. State 2 points in the Fulmer Cup. Hughes also received citations for driving with an expired tag, no proof of insurance and with violating the state seat belt law, meaning he was really just a total hot mess behind the wheel that night.

Did somebody call for a bitch? Patrick has the inside track on the Kelvin Sampson story, and we've got ten reasons to be very happy that February is one made-up stupid day away from dying.

Boise State gets a chance to win their first road game against a BCS opponent this year at Oregon. The Broncos go to Eugene on September 20th, early in the season and a good time to hit any team, but especially one prone to making drastic uniform choices resulting in embarrassing losses.

We talked with NowLive yesterday, and EDSBS Live lives. Hopefully, Sunday we'll have a show up and running: 7:00 p.m. EST, if the wheels don't fall off the thing.

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Geez, that 35 Seconds site looks kind of familiar.

by drogue on Feb 29, 2008 8:21 AM EST reply actions

Branding, motherfucker!

by Orson Swindle on Feb 29, 2008 8:32 AM EST reply actions

Looks good.

by drogue on Feb 29, 2008 8:33 AM EST reply actions

Jamon, 2 points on the FC translates into 16 on the Croom Cup board. You’re in deep doo-doo, son. Sly don’t brook no crap (see Riddell, Josh).

I’m sure the SMU problem arose from not wearing enough bad ugly Hawaaaiiiiian print shirts around campus.

by yoyofutbawl on Feb 29, 2008 8:39 AM EST reply actions

so who drew the short straw to put up the Cheesecake today Peter or Holly?

by Paragon SC on Feb 29, 2008 8:44 AM EST reply actions

Peter. But LSUFreek prepared him well.

by Orson Swindle on Feb 29, 2008 8:51 AM EST reply actions

Justin Willis was a sophomore last year. His yardage was better than in ’06, but his TDs were the same (26 to 25), his INTs tripled (from 6 to 18) and the team went from 6-6 to 1-11.

by Hannibal Montegna on Feb 29, 2008 8:52 AM EST reply actions

LSUFreek bringing the bunta…. we better not get Charlie Weis dancing again….

by beckett929 on Feb 29, 2008 9:22 AM EST reply actions

Youre supposed to be taking care of business.

It must have been Wednesday night.

by skinnyphatman on Feb 29, 2008 9:51 AM EST reply actions

www.mustangmaniacs.com is the more reserved but lesser used SMU fan site. Here’s the thread on Ponyfans, complete with the usual “sky is falling” and “let’s eat our own young” characters: http://www.ponyfans.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=31526

(Yes, there are actually 2 SMU fan sites. There’s even a blog: http://smufootballblog.blogspot.com/).

You want to see “real” football fans (or gluttons for punishment depending on how you look at it), hang out with people who post on the fan site of a team that has sucked for 20 years since the Death Penalty and gone from playing in the SWC, to the WAC, to the watered down WAC, to the decimated conference USA during that time.

by Diamond M on Feb 29, 2008 9:58 AM EST reply actions

Justin Willis is the second coming of Reggie Ball. This much I assure you.

Quite possibly the saddest game I’ve ever seen in sport was SMU-Rice this past fall. SMU was winning, oh - the entire game. With only a few seconds on the clock, Rice lined up for a field goal, but time expired…and SMU players begin to celebrate; finally winning after so long, and on homecoming…but no…Apparently a timeout had indeed been called. Rice kicks the field goal to win by 1 or 2, and the stadium immediately turns into a funeral parlor. The team singing the fight song to the student body is like when they sing amazing grace at a funeral.

However: The Boulevard is a fantastic tailgating tradition that at this point is more or less underrated.

by Brian on Feb 29, 2008 10:15 AM EST reply actions

fyi, it’s The Dallas Morning News. upper case ‘T’ and no hyphen. they never joined another paper so it’s still the original name. now they bought the Dallas Times Herald in 1991 but brutally slaughtered it the next day. how ugly was it? the building was turned into a parking lot.

by kleph on Feb 29, 2008 10:54 AM EST reply actions

As a Sooner fan, here’s hoping that the stadium collapses while Oregon and Boise State are playing and both teams have to give up football completely.

by ArkanSooner on Feb 29, 2008 10:57 AM EST reply actions