I GOT A JOCKEY FULL OF BOURBON. Apologies for the delays this a.m. You can thank a deadline at SB Nation and Woodford Reserve for it. Oh, bourbon. We don't like you, but we love you, or at least whenever you're thematically appropriate and strangers are pouring it into your cup without even asking if you want it.
Kentucky, we love you, and for the past nine hours of this hangover or so, have kind of hated you. The full recap of our education of a Chinese exchange student in the ways of parimutuel gambling is up at SBNation.com, and it is soaked in mud, glory, and nihilism.
YOU SEE WE HAVE DECIDED THE ACC AND BIG EAST MAY NOT BE AS INTRIGUING A MATCHUP AS ONE MIGHT THINK. There may be no interpretation or augury needed here: FedEx is bailing on its sponsorship of the Orange Bowl. This may seem like routine shuffling of sponsors in bowl games. This could not be farther from the truth: the tumbling of a cornerstone sponsor in one of the big four BCS bowls is a huge deal, though whether it is a referendum on the commercial viability of the BCS as a commercial venture is debatable. It could be that no one cares about watching what is in most years a matchup reserved for the ACC and Big East, even though the bowl has taken some quality earners with its at-large rights (Penn State, Iowa, etc.)
IT SUCKS TO ADMIT THIS. But Jimbo Fisher might be right about moving Florida/Florida State to early in the season for strategic reasons for both teams, even if this is the exact same complaint Steve Spurrier had when we had the receiving end of the rivalry's long, vicious whiptail in the '90s. Then again, it would eliminate the "one-and-done" horrorshow that sometimes happens in this game, and as painful as that may be for the loser, the narcotic payoff of ruining someone's undefeated season utterly and completely can't be equalled in any other way.
WE HOPE TO BE IN THE BIG 12 AND BELIEVE IN IT WAIT IS HE WINKING AT US--- Nebraska's hypothetical move to the Big Ten really would be a boon for them, though the article forgets to mention Nebraska's likely easy run under good management by Pelini Boys, Inc. in the Big 12 North in the next few years, especially if they discovered a way to score more than 15 points in a game on offense.
EXPECTATIONS. Phil Steele really, really likes Ohio State in 2010. Run, Buckeyes. Run NOW, and make sure a "health code violation" closes every single bar and buffet around campus in the nine months between the Big Ten's last game and the inevitable BCS bid for the Buckeyes this year.
DON'T HATE ON THE OFFICIAL TWEETER OF EDSBS. Jay Mohr doesn't understand that college is MADE for Adult Swim, not the other way around.