Tag Archives: Tim Tebow

College, Football, News

Crib Sheet: Giant Chocolate Egg

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It’s warmed over, too.  This week’s Crib Sheet celebrates Easter by dropping news eggs all over the place.  Grab your basket and find them buried in the grass of the Crib Sheet.  Don’t get your fingers messy:

  • It looks like Texas new defensive coordinator’s had a weird upbringing in coaching terms.  He’s been at ESPN first, then a video guy at Florida State, and then on to coaching positions.  It also looks like he takes inspiration from other sports, too.  Will this shake things up enough for the Longhorns and turn the defense around?  We’ll find out.
  • The Big 12 Conference announced a mega-deal with Fox for broadcasting rights.  Dan Beebe was right.  They reportedly negotiated a $90 million a year deal through the next 13 years.  The big plus?  Every home game will be on some form of television starting in 2012.  Well that and each school has a the chance to kick up their own network.
  • The officer who shot and killed the Pace University football player, Denroy Henry Jr., received the Officer of the Year Award from the police union where he works.  Their reasoning is that the officer showed bravery through that time and all of his time working for the department.  This angered alot of folks.  It depends on who you believe on what happened.  I just don’t like that it’s a union that gets to dole out the award.
  • Not to be outdone by fellow conference fashionistas Oregon, Arizona State unveiled their new uniforms for the year.  They will be changing colors left and right.  On top of that, their helmets are new, with big giant pointy tridents.  The Ducks did this and they won but they also hired the right coach.  That’s the kind of makeover the Sun Devils could really use.
  • In another case of me-too’s, Auburn will build statues for their Heisman Trophy winners, like what Florida did.  The only difference is that there’s a darker cloud hanging over Cam Newtan than there is hanging over Tim Tebow.  I wonder if they’ll add that to the design.  Oh, and Nick Saban had his own statue erected, too.
  • There will be even more Blubaughs in prison as Tom’s wife, Charlette, will get 57 months in prison for her role in the Kansas ticket scandal.  I didn’t know women’s prisons had Blubaughs too.  Maybe they should make a movie about it.
  • Dennis Dodd of CBS has an interesting article on 7-on-7 leagues in high school.  It seems they are the AAUs of football.  Jay Paterno is correct about how coaches can’t tell if a kid can take a hit.  I hope something gets down soon about these because I don’t want football to turn into a ballet.  We could use a couple of big hits in a game.
  • Now that the Fiesta Bowl is in trouble, they are scrambling to get money back from lawmakers who took the kickbacks from them.  If it’s anything related to government, then it will take a long time before the Fiesta Bowl sees a dime.
  • A couple of rule changes are coming down the pike for next year.  The NCAA approved more stringent below the waist penalties and gave the option for teams to run 10 seconds off the clock on penalties within the final minute of the half.  Nothing earth shattering but an improvement indeed.
  • Notre Dame released the investigation report relating to Declan Sullivan’s death earlier this year.  They found the no single person was responsible but there was a lax in safety.  Apparently the weather data was out of date.  This does seem kind of fishy,  I hope the school pays tons of money to parents of Sullivan to avoid a lawsuit.
  • There was a tussle online about the Boise State’s AD, Gene Bleymaier, and his fiery words about the BCS.  That’s just talk.  What’s more important to me is that the school trademarked the blue turf and will protect the likeness of the field in FBS terms, while allowing it to happen to divisions below.  Since when is a blue field trademarkable?  That seems a little too much to me.  At least one coach in the Mountain West Conference, sees it as an unfair competitive advantage as well.  San Diego State’s Rocky Long hates it and I suggest the Aztecs change their field to candy striped or fractal like patterns.
  • So while the NCAA is busy messing up student athletes and their lack of scholarship funding, they find time to make some even dumber team name penalties.  North Dakota passed a state law to keep the Fighting Sioux nickname but it will not stop the NCAA from administrating penalties because of their perception of the name.  The NCAA considers it offensive and will take money away from the school.  The deeper issue is that two tribes in the area are split over the decision.  Why is the NCAA trying to influence an issue that clearly doesn’t involve them?  Let the tribes and the state figure it out and get out of the way.
College, Football, GameDay

GameDay: Money For Nothing

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Okay, I have to take a couple of minutes to talk about the whole Cam Newton situation.  It seems like in the last couple of weeks, there’s been a vendetta against this guy.  Is it because he had a rough past?  Or is it because the SEC can’t handle other teams doing well?  At the end of the day, however, the discussion of players looking to get paid in college has come to a head.  What I say is that you need to pay the players, even with more stipend or a more comprehensive scholarship.

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BCS, College, Football

Predictions for the Year 2010: The Scotch Version

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Alrighty, I’m about halfway through my scotch and water, I blasted out another Crib Sheet, and I’m jacked up for some football tomorrow night.  It’s prediction time!  The offseason sucked.  Period.  Being in Big 12 land was not easy on this college football lovin’ Yeti and especially not easy on Kansas City.  We weathered the storm and now we are here ready for some pigskin play.  What will we see in this year’s volume of football?  Let’s take a look in our crystal ball shaped glass full of scotch and water.

  • Mike Leach will lose his CBS announcing job for making Gus Johnson stand in the bathroom with no light.
  • Mark Ingram will not be a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, thanks to the fresh knee injury.
  • The Oregon Ducks will win the Pac 10, both for best dressed and actual gold.
  • Colorado loses a bunch of games and Dan Hawkins stays on because the school is too broke to fire him out of his contract.
  • Caoch Brian Kelly will talk NBC into going into commerical breaks for opposing teams’ offensive drives only.  Oh and the Fighting Irish will make a bowl.
  • Missouri will win the North, only because Nebraska’s ego and farewell tour will fall flat.
  • Daniel Thomas will be a Heisman finalist, thanks to a solid offensive line and the fact that he will get his yards with the whole defense keying on him.  Thanks, Carson Coffman.
  • Boise State will go undefeated and not make the dance.  People are saying its the weak schedule, but it will be because of an undefeated team in the Big 10 and one other conference.  Look for Orrin Hatch to have an aneurism over this one.
  • This will be Lee  Corso’s last season for ESPN College GameDay.  It’s been a hell of a ride, Lee, just please don’t put on the Grim Reaper’s head when it’s your time to go.
  • This will be the fastest season ever for the Kansas Jayhawks.  By fast, we mean the fans will be ready for basketball season about 2 games in.  Turner Gill’s rebuilding starts this year, he’s got at least 3 before some magic happens.
  • Iowa State will be in the bottom of the league again, but they will get an upset some big team because of a massive rain storm.  Hey their practice field flooded over the summer, they should be ready.
  • Texas just missed the mark in the Big 12 South.  Not because of the competition, but for the cliffhanger they want to leave for next season’s Longhorns Network debut.  Stay Tuned!  Same horn time!  Same horn channel!
  • Big Game Bob goes to a BCS game but will not be game as the Sooners bob and weave from some other big team beaming game time bashings.  Probably against Virginia Tech and Frank BEAMER.
  • The Big East has a seasson.  No one really cares.
  • RichRod makes a valiant effort and gets the Wolverines into a bowl game.  It will be the weakest one from the Big 10 and it will be enough to get him fired.  He will then go on and make real estate deals with everyone in the Ann Arbor region.
  • USC doesn’t get close to a Pac 10 championship and Lane Kiffin leaves after just one season.  The Kiffin world tour moves on!
  • Florida misses Tim Tebow and will miss being in the running for the SEC.  Urban Meyer gets sick and dies from the piss poor play on the field.
  • Kansas City sports bars will stay the same this year.  No one will get 3D TVs because the mixture of 3D and beer will make everyone puke.  Some new bars will crop up and the KCCGD crew will eventually puke in those anyway.
  • We’re going back to our 2008 prediction about Joe Paterno dieing on the field.  Now that Bobby Bowden is out, this one should get much easier.  Or will he be in the booth this year?
  • Okay, we called the BCS National Championship game two years ago with Florida and Oklahoma,  we were halfway right with Texas last year in the big game.  What will happen this year?  Well, the trend says we will get it all wrong so there’s nothing to lose.  I’m thinking the offseason hype for the Big 10 will lead a team to a title contention.  Since the only team that’s worth a damn up there is Ohio State, then that’s our pick.  Chances are the SEC will be mega tough again this year and barring any late push by an Oregon or a Big 12 team, we are going the easy route and picking SEC.  Whose turn is it?  Let’s go LSU.  Why not. Can you say 2007 rematch?
College, Football, Mascots

Mascot Monday: Albert and Alberta

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The #7 Florida Gators from Phil Steele’s  Preseason Top 40 rankings are the next victim in mascots we haven’t covered yet that make the list.  The gender appeasing dynamic duo of Albert and Alberta welcome our wagon as we tool on down to Gainesville and check out how these Gators chomp.  Last year, the Gators were led by one of the greatest college football players to ever live, Tim Tebow (yeah that’s right, we said that).  This year, they are without him and are looking to fill the huge void left.   Will the emptied spirit of the once very inspired Gator football team be rekindled with the help of these two costumed carnivore’s?  Let’s find out.

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College, Football, News

Crib Sheet: Blowing Our Noses to Divas

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Quick somebody get us some facial tissue and some decongestants.  It’s allergy season here at the KCCGD Headquarters!  We’re sneezing our heads off and we’re barely making it through the week.  That’s not stopping us from delivering your favorite weekly news roundup:  The Crib Sheet!  It’s chock full this week with a ton of diva grandstanding from college conference officials.  It’s a good thing our noses are stuffed because we think alot of that talk stinks.  On to the Crib Sheet:

  • So the graduation rate for college athletes are on a curve.  The College Sport Research Institute factored in longer years and lighter classloads to determine that the reported 79 percent rate is actually 54.8 percent, compared to 73.7 percent of other students.  Looks like the NCAA needs to take some more math classes.
  • All the hype leading up to the commissioner meetings this week was whether or not the Big 10 would accelerate expansion plans.  Big 10 commissioner Jim Delany came out of the meetings to speak on this rumor to reporters.  “Nope” was pretty much all he said.  Crisis averted.
  • Northwestern will play Illinois at Wrigley Field.  Finally!  All those people in Chicago will have an opportunity to root on two disappointing local teams that don’t play baseball.  Way to go guys!
  • The BCS came out with a 3 pronged formula to help determine who gets an automatic bowl bid after the 2012 season.  They take the highest ranked BCS team, the total BCS numbers for the conference, and the number of teams in the top 25 to determine who gets the nod.  This is an obvious gesture to the Mountain West Conference, whose Boise State team has been rolling the last couple of years and has an opportunity to start in the top 3 once the preseason rankings come out.  It will be interesting to see how this adds to the pressure and expectation the Broncos have this year.
  • So the first round highlights of the NFL Draft include Tim Tebow going to the Denver Broncos.  Huh?  What is he gonna do?  Be a running back.  Good thing the Big 12 represented big time with 9 picks going from the conference, including the top 4.  Way to go Big 12!
  • Bill Snyder 2.0 is weighing the decision to get surgery on his torn ACL and MCL.  More and more we’re thinking that Snyder 2.0 is a cyborg version of the original.  It’s only reason we can come up with to answer Snyder’s statement that it doesn’t hurt much.  What’s up with that?  A jammed finger hurts like hell.  This guy just walks it off.  He’s hiding a gun in his leg, we swear.
  • The NCAA approved two more bowls for a total of 35, including the Yankee Bowl and the Dallas Football Classic. The later is the former Cotton Bowl and will have a place on New Year’s Day.  Huzzah!  This is the kind of expansion we enjoy here.  Not the kind where you at more teams to the playoff.  New Year’s Day next year will be mega stuffed with more football.
  • We probably should let everyone know that if an expansion from the Big 10 happens, expect the SEC to counter move.  Yeah, it’s going to domino all over the place.  We really just need two conferences.  That way we can determine a champion the easy way.
  • Coming back to the somewhat near future, ESPN announced its 2010 College Football Primetime schedule and we have a whole bevy of games from the Big 12.  The Lonestar Showdown with Texas A&M and Texas on Thanksgiving should be a treat.    So’s the rematch between Nebraska and Kansas State on Oct 7th.  Football can’t get here anytime sooner.
College, Football, News

Crib Sheet: Let The Sun Shine In

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For the first time in about 6 months, the KCCGD headquarters opened up the windows to let the weather in.  The first signs of warm weather and great tempatures can mean only one thing.  No, not the start of baseball, but the start of spring practice.  The recruits are signed and the players that can practice are on the field.  Start the clock, we have about 5 months to go before the start of another football season.  In the meantime, check out this week’s Crib Sheet:

  • Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez was named in yet another lawsuit involving home deals.  This shouldn’t affect his on the field coaching much this season.  He’s still avoiding the hot seat, but if he turns out another poor performance, then these kind of lawsuits will be used as ammo against him.
  • Meanwhile, the grounds crew and security detail for the Big House needs to get its act together.  Someone broke into the stadium and lifted a big chunk of the ‘M’ in the middle of the field.  What would you do with that?  Make a jacket?
  • Urban Meyer is back to Florida and is already spitting fire.  He lashed out at Orlando Sentinel reporter Jeremy Fowler for reporting the comments that Deonte Thompson made about exiting quarterback Tim Tebow.  It’s nice to see the fire is back so quick for Meyer, let’s hope he doesn’t drop 20-30 pounds because of it.
  • Kansas coach Turner Gill is open to positions changes for the new football season and about 9 players have taken advantage of it so far.  It’s time to rebuild the program and what better way to do so than with kids playing the positions they want.  At least they’ll be more motivated.
  • Another football player was stabbed to death.  This time it’s Kendall Berry of Florida International University.  This, of course, was a result of an argument and retaliation.  Hopefully, they will find the guy that did it.  When will players see enough of this and not get involved with off campus thugs.  And a suspect has been arrested in the case.
  • After much fanfare and celebration, the loved International Bowl is closing up shop.  Well, there were really only around for about 4 years.  The Big East team that ran over the MAC opponents will now face stiffer competition in the Yankee Bowl.
College, Football, News

Crib Sheet: Digging In The Dirt

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Here we go with another week of the Crib Sheet.  Signing Day is gone so we are looking toward spring practice as the next big event.  Spring practice.  In spring.  We got a long way to go to get there.   So the news will trickle out until then.   Never fear, however, we’ll dig up any dirt with our ninja shovel and flick the dust specs of college football news in your face.   Bring some goggles, here’s this week’s Crib Sheet:

  • You know how they call Kansas State’s stadium the Bill Snyder Family Stadium?  Ever wonder why?  Welp, signing day gave us another reason why when Bill Snyder 2.0’s grandson Tate Snyder accepted a scholarship offer from the Wildcats.  Tate’s dad, Sean, was a punter for Bill Snyder early in his first run and is now an associate in the athletic department.  The little apple does not fall far from this tree.
  • So signing day is over but we have many more to come.  The 2015 class, for example has its first commitment in the form of 13 year old quarterback David Sills as he verbally committed to USC last week.  Huh?  That’s a little young.  His personal coach worked with current USC field general Matt Barkley.  How much are this kid’s parents paying this guy?  Seems like alot of hype for such a young’un.
  • The Texas college stars beat the national squad of stars last Saturday to prove once again that best college football players come from Texas.  For this game.  Yeah it’s the Big 12 area, but why did the SEC win the national title again?  Welp, maybe just the scrubs play this game.  They gotta show off in front of NFL scouts somewhere.
  • The Super Bowl commercial featuring Tim Tebow was rather lame.  Now finally our long national political nightmare is over.  This guy will carry hype wherever he goes.
  • Darrell Scott has come crawling back to the Colorado program.  Okay well, maybe not crawling.  If he sits out this year, Hawkins might be fired by then and he could compete for the job with a new coach.  We guess UCLA wasn’t all that it’s hyped up to be.
  • It looks like the students at Missouri are looking for a live Tiger mascot.  We’d like to think our profile of Truman spurned this movement, but it’s probably more of matching the live mascots that already dot the Big 12 plain.   Yeah, we’re talking Bevo, Ralphie, Boomer, Sooner, and the rest of the gang.  Hopefully, they will pull this one off.  Those live mascots are treated like kings.
College, Football, News

Crib Sheet: At the Dotted Line Please

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Signing Day is upon us! Today is the day of the year when high school kids across the country pick their football mates and spurn others.   The ritual goes on for years, sometimes, and the final chapter only begets a new book in life.  So congratulations to all the kids across the USA who not only get to play big time football, but also get a big time scholarship.  Maybe they can become meterologist or study something failry easy like communications.  Here’s our communications thesis, the Crib Sheet:

  • A new award for the most versatile college football player was announced last week.  It’s the Paul Hornung Award, named after the former all around guy and Notre Damer.  We doubt any lineman will be getting this one.
  • Due to the open records act for state of Texas and Texas Tech University, we now find that Craig James threatened to sue Texas Tech if Mike Leach’s actions taken for his son Adam were not investigated.  So now it is confirmed that Craig James was trying to pull some weight around there.  On the other hand, it is his kid and he was worried about his kids health.  Any father would want to protect his kid from injury.  The problem here is the action taken was just sending him away from the team.  Nothing physical.  Nothing really mentally debilitating.   Fathers take note:  don’t be a douche like Craig James.
  • We now know that Turner Gill will be making about $2 million per year from his contract, gathered from the release of they detail of his contract.  He’ll have a tall order to rebuild (already) a busted up Kansas team.  Hey, if he can do it he deserves and then some.
  • Speaking of Kansas, the Gridiron Club plans appear to be dead in the water.  The initial project fulfills the need to stack some rich people high up in new luxury suites and toss free food and drink down their throat.  Too bad the team tanked this year, as if they had actually been competitive, they might have had a shot of following through on this thing.
  • In what looks like to be a ploy to somehow win back some people, the Justice Department responded back to Senator Orrin Hatch’s request to investigate the legality of the BCS system in college football.  The Obama administration wrote in a memo detailing options on what it could do to help resolve the issue if it so inclined to get involved.  We’re not sure if the administration is placating Hatch or not, but one thing is for sure, if they spend too much time on this issue it will backfire for them.
  • The much ballyhooed Senior Bowl came and went.  Nothing happened.  Okay, well, Tim Tebow played really bad and we’ll see him running the ball or holding the clipboard next year in the NFL.  LeGarrette Blount ran for a touchdown so his draft stock went up.   Outside of that, just another football game.  Hey, at least those kids were trying versus the big boys in the Pro Bowl.
  • The recruiting trail is heating up and there’s one big commitment that new Kansas coach Turner Gill just landed.  Brandon Bourbon was going to go to Stanford, but Gill influenced the four star recruit to become a Jayhawk.  This was much needed for Gill as he lost a couple of four star guys when Mark Mangino got fired.  We wonder what type of whiskey Brandon drinks.
  • ESPN blogger Tim Griffith points to an article breaking down hometowns of the nation’s football recruits.  While he finds most of the kids that play in the Big 12 come from Texas, the more surprising stat is that Kansas City is number 3.  Way to go, local kids, now stay in the local area schools.
College, Football, News

Crib Sheet: Senior Toilet Bowl

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The Senior Bowl is coming this week and the NFL Network has LIVE coverage…..of the practices.   Okay, so up to the minute updates on who practiced well and who practiced crappy is fine, but non stop coverage of weigh-ins and such?  You gotta be kidding me.  I guess we live in a day and age where picking through a player’s stool and reporting on what he had for lunch is considered news.  Plus we have enough cameras out there to film it.   Please, just read the Crib Sheet:

  • Looks like Mike Leach’s lawsuit against Texas Tech will move forward, according the to judge in the case.  Leach’s camp wanted a fast track but didn’t get it.  We said it before and we’ll say it again, it may be a couple of years before this one is over.  Meanwhile, a local news channel, through the use of a public records act, unc0vered no written complaints of Leach and players.  Until then, here comes a mediator!
  • The East beat the West last week.  No, it was another exciting game of Axis and Allies, but it was the East-West Shrine Game!  Northwestern quarterback Mike Kafka tossed a late touchdown to help the East win.  Alrighty, then.
  • Boise State is celebrating another undefeated season and complaining that they don’t have a shot for the top BCS honors.  Never mind the fact that they turned down a 2-1 proposal from Nebraska on their scheduling.  If you remember, earlier this year, Boise State complained that they could never schedule big time opponents including Nebraska.  So now this time around they turn away from an invite from the Huskers?  That’s small-time mentality there.
  • On the flip site, Non-BCS conferences received  a record amount of bowl money this year, mainly due to the Fiesta Bowl match up in TCU and Boise State.  They are still way behind their BCS counterparts, but the baby steps are moving forward.
  • Tim Tebow’s planning on doing a pro-life commercial during the Super Bowl and, naturally, some women’s groups are urging CBS not to air.  It is a very political issue but we’re thinking since organization backing Tebow’s appearance paid for the spot, CBS could use more green than urging to bump the commercial.
College, Football, News

Crib Sheet: The Calm After the Storm

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Another week of the Crib Sheet and we are finally starting to see things calm down around the college football landscape.  There’s still some action here and there but we envision the news will be trickling out here in there for the offseason.  There’s still some loose ends that need to be tied up and we will stay there to make sure the granny knot is tight.    So keep in step with this week’s Crib Sheet:

BCS, Big 12, College, Football

BCS Title Thoughts and Year End Review

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Okay, freshly back from a wedding in California (not MY wedding), I’m now ready to actually talk about the BCS title game and the year that was college football.  We’re going to talk about the game that could’ve been, the season that was bookended by injuries, and some other interesting notes that popped up over the season.  So, while this is a little late, sit back and enjoy us on your little trip through college football memory lane.  Please keep your arms and head inside the windows.

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BCS, Big 12, Bowls, Colorado, Football

Big 12 Bowl Preview and Predictions

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Alrighty,  we are in the 1st quarter of bowl season and fortunately we don’t have any Big 12 bowl games until next week.  So we have the opportunity to preview and predict what’s coming up in the next couple of weeks for the Big 12.  We’ll talk briefly about the match up and go into our expert predictions.  Chew on this while you are doing your last minute shopping on Amazon.  Oh and please pick us up something nice while you’re at it.

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College, Football, News

Crib Sheet: Back and Ready to Go Bowling

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After a well deserved week off, we are back to bringing you some tasty college football.  Alot happened during our mini hiatus so we are playing catch up with the Crib Sheet.  We have alot to get to here with the start of bowl season this weekend.  Tune in soon for a couple of year end reviews, bowl picks, and some bowlspots.  Until then, here’s a very chunky Crib Sheet:

  • Alabama took the high road when it announced that they will cancel classes for the BCS National Championship.  That’s nice for football fans, but the last time I remembered there are people who actually don’t like football AND go to college.  It seems kinda chintzy to lob off classes for everyone during the bowl game.  Then again, this is South and it is football.
  • Congress will crack the whip on the BCS soon and vote on a bill to ban promotion of the NCAA division I football series unless they get a playoff.  The argument against it is that they have better things to do (health care bill, anyone).  The argument for it is that the NCAA is a business and they should treat the conferences like companies in an industry.  Problem with that one is that then the argument will come up that the students should get paid then (on top of free college).  The slippery slope just got some juice.
  • Charlie Strong is you new Lousiville head coach.  This guy was rumored for the Kansas job, but right now the hot note is Buffalo’s Turner Gill.  Anywho, back to Strong.  This guy was co-defensive coordinator for Florida and looks to be a real good hire.  Good luck to Cardinals.
  • Tennessee confirms that there is an investigation into their Orange Pride group and possible recruiting violations.  Basically, the Orange Pride comprises mostly of very attractive Volunteer females that drive around and persuade recruits to join the program.  They would even friend them on Facebook.  Did they break any rules?  Who knows?  This has been going on for a long time, however.  The power of gender persuasion is a might force, my friends.
  • Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh hired his dad Jack to be interim running backs coach for the Sun Bowl.  It’s nice to see that the Harbaughs like to keep in the family.  His dad won some titles in Division II and his brother John just happens to the head coach of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens.
  • Notre Dame took the plunge and finally hired a head coach.  His name?  Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly.   It’s a good fit for the Domers.  They guy won the Big East the last two years and has won at least 10 games the last three.  Let’s hope the boosters expectations aren’t too high this time around, otherwise we’ll be seeing this dance again in three years.
  • Mack Brown from Texas is getting an extra $2 million per year on the rest of his contract for doing such a great job.  The guy now will make about $5 million per year.  Meanwhile, an Iowa senator complains that coaches are being paid too much.  Nevermind that Texas brings in about $100 million a year via the athletic department.  Oh and don’t let Kirk Ferentz or Paul Rhoads hear this guy.  They might  go somewhere else and the voters will vent on their frustration in the voting booth.
  • Colt McCoy wants a bowl playoff.  He’s thought about long and hard.  Did he think about it while he almost blew the game for the Longhorns at the Big 12 Championship?  Maybe that’s why he wants playoff.  It would’ve covered up his mistake.  Doh!
  • A handful of awards were handed out on ESPN last week to college football players.  We’re not going to go through the whole list but we will say that Big 12 was represented very well.  Congrats to Colt McCoy and Ndamukong Suh.
  • So Kansas ended its coaching search over the weekend.  Some people thought it was Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, but that was denied big time.  So the Jayhawks fell to their 2nd choice, Turner Gill.  This guy turned around Buffalo from perennial losers to a decent MAC team, even winning the title last year.  Some people have overlooked that and started a fire-this-guy website.  Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers.
  • Congrats to Northwest Missouri State who became the Division II champions over the weekend.  It was their first title since 1998.   Good job guys!
  • Mark Ingram won the Heisman over the weekend as well.  The race ended up being the closest ever with Ingram taking it over Gerhart, McCoy, Suh, and Tebow respectively.  The sexy pick leading up to it was Suh, but that’s why it was sexy.  No chance of winning and you get to appear smart.  That said, there was no clear leading guy running up to it, so it’s no surprise it was this close.
  • Kansas State special teams stand out Brandon Banks was released from jail after beating a women while stoked on some stimulants.  Ruh Roh.  At least there’s no bowl to damage for the Wildcats.  Hopefully this guy will get his act together and salvage his draft status, if there’s any left.
  • Looks like Illinois will hire Kansas State co-defensive coordinator Vic Koenning to be their sole defensive coordinator.  He was with Clemson for a couple of years before his one year stint with the Wildcats.  Hopefully the Wildcats defense won’t suffer that much.
  • Looks like the Big 10 will finally come into the century and explore a possible 12th team and conference championship.  Who will it be?  Some say Missouri or Iowa State.  We know Missouri would listen.  Others are point toward the Big East and Syracuse, Rutgers, or Pittsburgh.  Let’s hope they keep it Big East for the east coast television money too.
  • The NCAA, following the lead of the NFL, will recommend keeping an athlete out of the game if they lose consciousness or show signs of a concussion.  Head trauma is big news nowadays and the NCAA is quickly stepping in to cover their own heads with this rule.  Now I get the old folks harping about leather helmets and poor pads being a better sport.  We’ll be talking like that in a c0uple of years.
College, Football, News

Crib Sheet: Tis the Season

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As expected, there is a ton of news this week.  Conference championships are over, coaches are fired, kids are leaving for the NFL, and the bowls are lighting up.  Here’s this week’s Crib Sheet while we go do some Christmas Shopping:

Barspotting, College, Football, Live

Brooksider Brings Us the Best in Football and Bars

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Ahh, nothing like a good ole familiar barspot to round out the year and watch some major championship games. This will be our third year in row heading to the Brooksider Bar & Grill and it’s well worth it. We’ll go over this year’s additions as well as revisit some of the amenities that make the Brooksider to place to be for sports watching. Most importantly however, we have the SEC and the Big 12 Championship game to buckle up and ride along with. So hold on and we’ll tell the tale of the year’s last barspot.

Broosider Inside

This time around the first thing we noticed was how open the joint was. We can’t remember if it happened last year or not, but the they knocked down some walls to make it more open and pleasing. We swear they added even more flat screen televisions since our last appearance. And, yes, we still love the 71 inch plasma television. They added wireless and we were rocking it for the post during the games. There’s nothing else new we really noticed. They still have plenty of space for smoking outside, dancing downstairs, and local bands up front.

Brooksider Downstairs

The Brooksider wasn’t without its faults, however. We understand that fans are needed to circulate air, especially in smoking joints, but it was little ridiculous in this kind of weather. Speaking of which, the front door kept opening up and letting in some wickedly cold air. For their next expansion they need a breeze way. Downstairs used to be the place where the dancing and partying took place, but it’s all gone now. Thank you dress code. To make up for it, they have special parties booked down there, but when we were there it was empty and smelled like sewage. Clean it up, guys.

Brooksider Waitress

The service started out really cool. The first shift waitresses looked pretty cute and they did do a good job of taking orders and accommodation our sitting needs. The 2nd shift waitresses met the standards the Brooksider set as they all matched the beauty we remembered from last time. Although it was a little troublesome when they didn’t know all of the bottles available for the special, they still hooked us up when we needed.

Brooksider Mac N Cheese WedgesBrooksider Bologna

The food always starts with Mac N Cheese Wedges at the Brooksider. We ended up washing it down with their game day special of 5 bucket beers at $15. Get the imports for that deal when you come. It was hard to overlook the $5.99 wing special but the wedges always warms our bellies well. For the second round of foodstuff, we filled our tummy with some fried bologna on toast. It was tasty, but it still doesn’t beat Harry’s Country Club.

We showed up early to knock out a good seat and we were glad we did. We spied the dramatic finish of the Big East title game with 2 touchdowns below 2 minutes to go in the game. It was a shootout all day but Cincinnati pulled out at the end to finish with an undefeated season. We were also fortunate to check out the finish of the Fresno State and Illinois game. A 2 point conversion off a touchdown happened after a deflection and a lineman catch. Already the day started out great.

Brooksider Inside 02

But we were really there to see Florida take on Alabama and Texas take on Nebraska. First up, Florida and Alabama locked horns in the in the SEC title game. It was all Alabama to begin with as Mark Ingrim ran all over the Gator D and Florida had a hard time answering. Florida finally put some points with a field goal around the end of the 1st quarter. Tim Tebow and company tried to keep up in the 2nd quarter, but couldn’t match Alabama’s running game. The Crimson Tide pulled away in the third and their stingy defense was just too much for Tebow to handle. The Gators were outmatched and the better team in Alabama won. Contrats to them.

Next up was the Big 12 title game with Texas and Nebraska. The first half opened up with a couple of costly turnovers for Colt McCoy and the Longhorns. Not to be outdone, Zac Lee lobbed a couple of ducks Texas’ way. It was field position that was the factor as Nebraska took advantage of the turnovers and went up on top 6-0. It took some whittling down, but Texas came back toward the end of the first half and scored on a McCoy draw to cap off a long drive. Not much action for the first half as it was Nebraska’s style of play all the way.

Brooksider Christams Tree

The second half continued in that tradition and it led to a shocker of a finish. We could talk about the third quarter, but the best part of the whole game ended at the end. After a kick return back into Texas’ territory, Nebraska finished again with a field goal to take the lead late. The kickoff wobbled out of bounds and Texas started with the ball and under a minute to go at their own 40.

After a horse collar tackle and a couple of plays, it was down to the last couple of seconds of play. Colt McCoy took the snap in the hopes of running down the clock. He floated the pass out of bounds with no time left on the clock. Or was there? After a review, the Longhorns did have one second. The kicker for Texas lined up and punched in a kick at the end of the game to beat Nebraska and put Texas in the BCS Championship game. Instant Classic.

The Brooksider Bar & Grill lived up to expectations, but they are starting to get a little shaky. Places like Johnny’s Tavern in the Power & Light district is coming up fast to match their stellar service. As for the BCS College Football Championship, we now have a clearer picture. Bowl Season is just upon us and we’re hoping that all of the games are exciting as the majority of the games over the weekend. Hopefully, our breath will be caught up in time just to lose it again.