The College Football thread

“That's ok,,,Nigal at least makes an attempt at humor.”

“That's funny. Wit & humor are not things I associate with you guys. LOL!”

“Well, I do have to admit, you have a sense of humor, Arky.




Of course, anyone who goes out in public wearing a pig hat needs a sense of humor.”

“Maybe I'm not witty. My bosses wife once told me that "everybody likes a little a$$, but nobody likes a smart a$$"”

“Your bosses wife likes a little a$$?”

“Yep. You better sleep light this weekend Chili. You might wake up with a hog hat on your head.”

“note to self: make sure I have the pig sticker sharpened before leaving for the hike”

“Considering the population centers up north, that poll doesn’t surprise me at all, Nigal. Most tiny-10 people, I’ve talked with, aren’t even aware that football is played outside of their area. It’s a TWO-TEAM CONFERENCE. Of course it's a big game. It almost always determines the conference winner. Just as Oklahoma/Nebraska almost always determined the big eight winner. But getting fired up for only one game doesn't make it a big game for a lot of knowledgeable fans. Getting fired up for a couple of games is easy. Try getting up for a number of tough games. That’s what makes a real team.


Nigal, you know I like Michigan but let's look at the schedules this year:

Florida plays SEVEN teams currently ranked in the top 25 of the BCS.
Florida plays FIVE teams currently ranked in the top 10 of the BCS

Michigan plays THREE teams currently ranked in the top 25 of the BCS.
Michigan plays ONE team currently ranked in the top 10 of the BCS


Nigal, stats like that speak for themselves. It is easy to get up for the couple of tough games Michigan plays every year. And you’re proud of those stats? I like Michigan, but let’s be real here.”

“Hoot Mon, Army won't lose this week!

WooooooooooHoooooooooooooooooooo!”

“I had to dig back to find our bet, Dunadan.

Rutgers surprised me a little this year (5-6) but you end up as a big loser at 6-6 AND a bowl bid.

I hope that Free State beer is good stuff. I'll enjoy it while I watch your not bad enough team take on NC State.”

“I'm just glad we didn't have a 12 game schedule or we could have had a tie.”

“Rutgers pummeled Syracuse. Nice way to end the season. With a favorable schedule next year, Rugers could be in a bowl game.


For those of you who missed a fantastic game, they talked about it during the game, they talked about it on ESPN after the game, and here's what the papers were flooded with the day after:

Pat Dooley
November 30. 2003 6:01AM
Officials drop the ball in great game


In a game of great plays and great players, it came down to a great pass and a great catch. FSU beat Florida Saturday in one great game.

But today you are not talking about Troupe and Leak and Ratliff or Rix-to-Sam as much as you are about the seven blockheads of granite.

Samples and Childress and Roden. Jackson and Foley and McGee and Key. Those are the names of the ACC officials Florida fans will be cursing into the holidays.

What happened Saturday night makes up for Lane Fenner.

They were booed from start to finish, these officials who need to attend a weekend seminar in what does and does not constitute a fumble. As they left the field to a barrage of water bottles, Florida's Mo Mitchell was heading to the Florida locker room. He pointed in their direction, disgusted and angry.

The boos grew louder.

And the post-game grew angry.

Ron Zook took the high road, but some of his players let their anger flow, especially the most outspoken Gator of them all.

“That was a biased game,” Shannon Snell said. “Everyone could see that. It's BS. They took the game away from us. The refs absolutely screwed us.

“If the ACC wants to get mad at me, so be it. I have new respect for SEC officials. It's BS.

Certainly, many of the plays in question were arguable. But every one of them went the way of the Seminoles. Those of you who believe in conspiracies probably thought all of those first-down signals were the head referee doing The Chop.

Paging, Mr. Stone. Page for Oliver Stone.

There were six plays in all, no, make that six fumbles that turned a majestic game into a boo-fest.

It started right away when Antonio Cromartie clearly fumbled the opening kickoff. Fumble? Naw, it was just a misunderstanding. On and on it went. Five times in the first quarter, FSU players lost the football. Three times, they were ruled to have been down or at least close enough to overlook it. The fourth was ruled an incompletion. The fifth time, Florida was offsides on the kickoff.

Had Florida received at least one of those calls, who knows what might have happened? Certainly, the Gators wouldn't have been digging themselves out of a 17-6 halftime hole.

Finally, in the third quarter, Chris Rix fumbled and Keiwan Ratliff returned it 77 yards for a touchdown. This was impossible to cover up, so Florida took a 24-17 lead.

Just to make up for it, the officials ruled Ciatrick Fason was not down when he lost the ball, despite the fact that most of his body parts were in contact with the turf, giving FSU a free score.

But the biggest fumble of the game came in the fourth quarter when Leon Washington lost the ball trying to score the go-ahead touchdown. This time, shockingly, the officials ruled it a fumble.

And when Channing Crowder came out of the pile with the ball, Florida fans were delirious. Alas, the ruling was that Washington had actually recovered at the UF 3-yard line and that Crowder was apparently in possession of something else.

So incensed was Crowder that he spiked that something else, drawing a penalty.

“I had the ball in my arms,” Crowder said. “I had it as soon as it came loose. That frustrated me and I lost my composure.”

Look, nobody is trying to say the officials were biased. OK, Snell is. They just screwed up. At least three of the calls were obviously blown. The others you can argue about.

The shame of it is that Florida still almost pulled this game out. The Gators kept coming back, kept fighting even when they felt like they were getting jobbed.

“It's hard to win,” said senior Max Starks, “when you're playing 11 against 17.”

Since there were seven officials, I can only assume Starks thought one of them did a good job.

The irony is that Florida fans usually like it when the game is in Gainesville, not only because it's home but because ACC officials are brought in. SEC officials work the games against non-conference teams when Florida is on the road.

These guys had a bad game, a brutal game. It doesn't mean FSU did not deserve to win. They played well, made the big plays when they had to and sucked the life out of Gator fans at the end.

Florida didn't deserve to lose either.

Both teams deserved better officiating.

It was a great game in a great atmosphere.

It just would have been nice if the officials had seen it.



In 40 years of watching football, I have never seen such obviously pathetic officiating. If it had gone against both teams it would have been poor. The fact that ALL of the bad calls went against Florida is inexcusable.”

“Whiner.”

“It's good to see that you're not bitter 8)”

“SI has the story for subscribers only so I didn't get to read it, but a week or two ago they came out with their list of best rivalries. #1 was the Iron Bowl, #2 was Duke/UNC basketball and absent from the list was the granddaddy of them all....OSU/Meeeechigan. Evidently, dumb, Southern rednecks aren't the only ones who recognize THE rivalry.”

“Three days on the trail. I have to catch up on the scores.”

“But but what about the great northern conspericy against the southern schools? All I hear is a bunch of excuse making. Seems every time Arc's teams lose there's always an excuse.”

“Well, nigal, the first thing you have to understand is that arclite is a damn yankee.

A yankee is a northerner who visits the south.

A damn yankee is a yankee who stays.”

“Just for what its worth, I found an interesting link on a UT message board to a poll taken on a bama message board where over 80% felt the 3rd Sat in Oct (Tenn/bama) was the biggest rivalry. There are bitter rivalries, fan rivalries, traditional rivalries, and also player rivalries. I think ESPN’s effort to pick The Rivalry was futile.”

“Army-Navy

The Rivalry!”

“I've always enjoyed the UT game as much if not more than the Auburn game. The Bama/AU game has never been the hate thing as it's portrayed, at least in my experience. The majority of my clients are Auburn grads (Architects). We joke and have a good time with it, but that's about it. I didn't have a single one call me Monday week ago to give me a hard time. The ones I joke with the most got a call from me to say congrats. The Bama/UT game has been more of a hate thing in recent years. I can recall my first UT/Bama game when I was a sophomore. It was '91 and you could hear the licks all the way in the nosebleed section of the Legion Field student section.”

“I really miss the old Rutgers/Princeton rivalry. They played the first ever college game and those games were a great tradition. We lost more than a slew of games with the decision to go ‘big time’.”

“The year was '82 and nobody gave UT a snowball chance in winning even at Neyland. My most vivid memory was Majors being carried to the center of the field to shake hands with Bryant.

My worst memory of football period was in '89 when a much better Tennessee team chose to play really bad on the 3rd Sat in Oct. I was 13 at the time and as I exited the stadium with my head bowed low a group of frat jerk thought it funny to dump a souvenir cup full of who knows what over my head. Sigma Ki would have been holding funeral services the next day if I would have had the means.”

“If they were Bama frat jerks, it is never too late trailhound.”

“I don't like the Bama frat scene and I'm a two time Bama grad. It's a shame that the few spoil it for the many.

I remember that '89 game. We went 10-2 that year and spanked UT. The next year was Stallings first year. Corso came out and said that there was no way that the high school team from Bama could hang with UT. We won 9-6 on a last minute Phillip Doyle field goal. That was quite a game.”

“MS State is getting a new coach.
They made an offer to Green Bay's assistant coach Sylvester Croom Sunday.
If he accepts, he will be the first Black head football coach in SEC history.
I don't know anything about him but he can't do any worse than the 2-10 season we just had!”

“Oh, don't say that StoveStomper!


As long as you have numbers other than "0" in the Win column, it can always get worse!”

“The Ale will be on its way, Violin. Do you prefer more of a Pale Ale variety, Stout, Porter, or IPA? Give me a clue and your wish is my command.
I was saddened to see the Jayhawks pummel Iowa State and deny me a chance at some choice east coast beer. Add to that having to deal with going to a bowl game, and you can imagine my shame. Well, next year we can make another wager, eh Violin?
Just to add to the traditional rivalries controversy, Kansas and Missouri play the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi. I just wish they would move the game back to the last game of the season again, where it belongs.”

“violin, dayhiker, either you guys missed the game, need glasses and hearing aids, or have another agenda.

I'm not bitter at all. I feel great about the way the GATORS played. They played well enough to beat FSU in a fair contest. The problem is, the contest wasn't fair. The announcers talked about it all game long while showing replays of obviously blown calls. Not one or two calls, a whole game worth of obviously bad calls.

ESPN's Herbstreit called it the worst officiating he's seen all year. I have never seen such poor officiating in my life. If ever I was to suspect that "the fix was in", this was the game.

My friend from NJ said an ACC fan told him that he watched the game and thought the officiating was worse than pathetic.

After reading a factless, bile filled article, by an ignorant sports writer from NY about Spurrier, I thought I'd post this for those folks with an agenda. There is a nice section in the article about the media and perception. Now THIS GUY is bitter:


Time for Foley to Put the Heat on FSU, ACC

By Franz Beard

It is all too easy to blame the referees, particularly when you get a crew like Samples, Childress, Rhoden, Jackson, Foley, McGee and Key, the incompetent seven which the Atlantic Coast Conference, in its infinite wisdom, chose to send to Gainesville Saturday to officiate the Florida-Florida State football game. A missed call here and there is to be expected, but the staggering number of blown calls, particularly those in critical situations makes it very difficult not to point fingers at these men in stripes. Perhaps the stripes they should be wearing after this game are the kind worn by folks spending hard time in jail. In fact, there are people doing time in the big house right now for stealing less than this group stole in FSU's 38-34 win over the Gators.

A big game with the intensity of the Florida-FSU rivalry demands the best officials, and if this crew was the best the ACC has to offer, I pity the rest of the league. Perhaps Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College should demand the league should upgrade its officials before they step in to actually make the league something other than Snow White and the Eight Dwarfs it has been since the day FSU joined the league. Okay, there were only seven, but I am a writer, and after all, FSU is the one with a male majorette twirling and whirling and handspringing his way all over the field, so I can take a little journalistic license.

This crew got it wrong from the beginning, blowing a fumble on the opening kickoff, and they never let up. Horrible is too kind a word to describe them. Pathetic is only getting warm.

I've been writing college sports for 38 years. I do not recall a more consistently incompetent performance by an officiating crew. They did their best to steal a football game, and yet, for all their undoing, the Gators almost whipped the eleven FSU had on the field as well as the seven who probably would flunk license plate pressing if they got jail time for the grand theft they pulled off.

Four blown calls on fumbles that Florida recovered, and in all four instances, the ball was out before the man was on the ground, and a Gator was on the football. A fifth blown fumble call was on Ciatrick Fason, who was clearly down when the ball popped loose, allowing FSU to scoop it up and return it for a touchdown. I find it truly amazing that in each of the four FSU fumbles, the ball came out before the Seminole in question hit the ground yet the officials ruled no fumble. In the case of Fason, 85% of his body was on the ground when the ball came out and they ruled that a fumble..

I find it equally remarkable that Bobby McCray gets blocked into the Seminole punter and he gets hit with a running into the kicker penalty, yet when Chris Leak runs out of bounds on fourth and two when the Gators are coming back, Kendyll Pope hits him easily a full stride out of bounds and there is not a single whistle.

The job of officials is to enforce the rules without prejudice. If they are unable to promote fair play, then the game becomes a travesty, and a travesty is what we got Saturday.

Yet, in spite of the worst officiating crew in the history of the Florida-Florida State series, the Gators almost pulled out a win. Florida played with the heart of champions, and though the Seminoles got the win, an asterisk beside the W would seem fitting because it was not a win earned without a lot of help.

It is too easy to blame the officials for the loss considering that Florida had its chances to win. A stop on fourth and 14 with a little over a minute left would have done the trick, as would any one of a dozen other plays but it just wasn't to be. Florida simply had too many obstacles to overcome on this day, one of which was the seven felons who screwed up what would have been a great game anyway. The real shame of this is that had the zebras simply done their job and called the game properly, it still would have been a tremendous game. There was no need for controversy to make this a great football game, but controversy is what we got. Blaming the officials won't change the outcome of the game, but suffice to say, the officials should be held responsible for their actions. They should be publicly reprimanded and perhaps even fired or suspended by the Atlantic Coast Conference. Anything less is unacceptable, and it is up to Jeremy Foley should use the full weight of his position as Florida's athletic director to put the heat on John Swofford, the ACC commissioner, and Bobby Hunt, the ACC coordinator of officials, to hold these incompetents accountable.

With the contract to the Florida-FSU game coming up for renewal next year, Foley should use this incident as the platform to demand that the officiating crews are brought in from a neutral conference. If Florida State won't agree to this, drop the Seminoles off the schedule and offer the contract to Miami. Miami would take it in a heart beat because the Hurricanes understand the dollar value of a game like this. Florida State needs to understand it, too. The Seminoles need Florida much more than Florida needs the Seminoles.

I also believe that Foley should take the initiative to demand accountability from Bobby Bowden and staff over the incident at midfield following the game. Foley dropped the ball two years ago when Darnell Dockett roared in the locker room "Did you see what I did to Earnest Graham?" Foley's attempts at quiet diplomacy in that situation probably remain a source of amusement in Tallahassee. Quiet diplomacy doesn't work with thugs. History tells us that. If it worked, then Chamberlain would have prevented World War II.

You confront thugs in the light of day. You expose them for who and what they really are. Put them in the spotlight. Let everyone in the world see them. Foley should have put the heat on FSU in a public forum two years ago, and it is exactly what needs to be done now. Quiet diplomacy will not gain any favorable result. It will only result in more of the same from the classless Seminoles.

Bobby Bowden can do his "aw shucks, boys are just bein' excited" routine till the cows come home and perhaps all the Seminole faithful will buy into it, but the reality is that the kids are just a reflection of the coaching staff. It is one thing to be excited and emotional. I fully expected the Seminole players to rush out onto the field and celebrate, but to go en masse to the center of the field to stomp on the logo was nothing more than a trashy display of disrespect, a direct reflection of what is instilled in the players by the coaching staff at FSU. Of course, take a look at the criminal court records for Tallahassee and the presence of so many FSU football players over the years tells you that thugs and hooligans can find a safe haven on Bobby Bowden's football team, so we shouldn't be surprised by classless, thug-like behavior. No, we shouldn't be surprised by it, but we should call them out publicly for it.

Yet, for some reason, the media perpetuates this kindhearted, grandfatherly image instead of exposing him for the ruthless, win at all costs coach that he is. He is a coach who has sold out whatever integrity that he once had so that he can be the winningest coach in the history of Division I football, even if that record is tainted by 30 or so wins over the Madge Powell's School of Beauty and the Maryville Charm School. The late Bill Peterson once laughed and said, "you gotta be kidding me?" when I asked him if Bobby Bowden played by the rules. Then he told me stories about Bowden both as an assistant coach and as a head coach that left no doubt that the choir boy image
is all style, no substance.

You could argue that if Foley speaks out about the officiating and the near brawl at midfield after the game, a media that has shown time and time again a willingness to defend the Bowden legend will say sour grapes.

So what?

So what if the media chooses to side with Bobby Bowden on this one? The media hasn't a clue. These folks are trying to sell newspapers or gain listeners so that people will advertise. They have no real interest in what's right or what's wrong, only what sells. It's all about the sale, baby!

Right is right, and this is a time for Jeremy Foley to do what is right, which is to make a public issue out of both the officiating and Florida State's deplorable post game conduct. Take it public. Let the people know that the line in the sand has been drawn. From here on out, it's either fair both pre- (remember 1998?) and post-game as well as during the game or else the series is cancelled and a contract is offered to Miami which will accept in a nanosecond.

And what better way could Foley say thanks to the seniors on this
Florida football team who were the glue that held the ship together when it appeared six games into the season that it was going to sink? What better way could Foley say thanks to Ron Zook for never losing sight of the goal even when it seemed the whole world around him was collapsing?

Standing up for what is right will not reverse Saturday's outcome. It will not take away the sting of defeat. It could prevent another travesty of events like we saw at The Swamp on Saturday. Those seniors deserve that. Ron Zook deserves that.”

“I didn't watch the game. Why would I waste 3 hours watching the Gators? j/k. I told Cocoa about my little jab and he said that was the worst officiated game he'd ever seen. I didn't read that article, but will later today.

Dang arc, you're getting worse than fiddle boy about posting long articles no one reads. Speaking of long articles no one reads, did you read that long one I emailed you? That had lots of truth in it. I didn't post because there are too many UT eyes on this board. Actually, I think I will post it.

Here goes:

Why? Why, I beg to know, do Alabama fans refuse to comprehend or accept where we are? Why, why I ask, do we keep shooting our own foot off and then ask whom the culprit was? Why must we endlessly chase our own tail and end up perpetually in the same place?
I can rarely think of a time when I have ever agreed with a TV commentator's view of Alabama football. But folks, I actually agreed with Ron Franklin when he said during the Auburn game that this state needs to take a breather and give it a rest. Alabama fans are the worst micromanaging, intrusive fans in the country and the Aubs aren't far behind.
We don't like the way the coach dresses. We don't like his assistants. We don't like his demeanor. We don't like anything about any team or coach - even when we are winning. We cry and clamor for every scrap of information, make snap judgments about things on which we are ill informed or incapable of evaluating, create a constant firestorm around every detail of our program and then look everywhere for someone to blame other than looking in the mirror.
We blame Tennessee and the Alabama media for stringing us up with the NCAA. But we never asked what marketplace for information created the feeding frenzy in the first place. Everyone wants to turn off Paul Finebaum. but for all the wrong reasons. We should turn it off because it is unhealthy for us to obsess about whether the QB's are being properly coached in June. The media in this state only feeds off our obsession - an obsession that drives ratings and sells papers. Look in the mirror.
We blame Mike DuBose for failing us and leaving us with two losing seasons and a horrendous probation. Why was Mike the Coach in the first place? Because the fans insisted on it. Why couldn't Mike manage his assistants? Because we were doing it for him by choosing coaches or determining who he would listen to on a weekly basis. Look in the mirror.
We blamed Coach Stallings for being uninventive offensively, of not recruiting. So we foisted Homer Smith on him and created an environment where Brother Oliver was empowered to make a play against him. And yet we see no hand in forcing his departure. Look in the mirror.
We fired Mike Dubose, hired a solid coach. Then he left us high and dry after two mediocre recruiting classes. Classes damaged by the rumor - mongering media circus that we created in the first place. Look in the mirror.
Now we have a coach playing with a team that has lost 50 initial offers in seven years, has suffered a two year bowl ban, has the cloud of the "death penalty" hanging over their heads if they so much as look the wrong way, Furthermore, he had four weeks with only three coaches he actually hired to install a new offensive system with a bunch of players on their third and sometimes fourth coach in their careers. And he had a rash of injuries like no one in memory has seen. Yet, we have "lost confidence" in him. So we offer suggestions as to how he should improve things.
"Change assistants," we say. Maybe he should. None of us really knows who is loyal and capable out of the lot he inherited. But to sit here and say "if he doesn't fire so and so he is finished," is so beyond ignorant that it defies any explanation. How hard is it to see that we have been down that road before? And yet, we can't admit to ourselves that we need to butt out.
"Change your demeanor," we say. As if we can evaluate what type of Coach he is by whether or not he screams or yells on the sidelines.
"Change the system" we say. We never demanded that before. Again, the lunatics are running the asylum.
"Recruit," we say. All the while we create a poisonous atmosphere of that stinks of lack of support for the coach so rival schools can continue to prey on the instability that has led us to this point.
"Win every game," we say. Yet, we refuse to accept that we are, in fact, playing with table scraps at most positions. We refuse to believe that even unlike Fran, this is a total rebuild job where we may have to measure progress as winning two more games next year than we did this year.
Now that is indeed tough to swallow. It's tough for me. But friends, you must accept this reality. You don't have to like it, but you must accept it. Be honest with yourselves for one minute. We have a broke state with a relatively small population that doesn't support its major universities. We play in a vicious, bruising conference and we have a well -funded, jealous rival in this small broke state. We won our last national championship eleven years ago and the one before that thirteen years before. The kids we are recruiting now, whether we like it or not, were six and seven years old when we were last winning big. Just because we say we are Alabama doesn't mean squat to these kids. That is what rebuilding is all about.
We have to earn our way back into the elite. One brick at a time is the only way to get there. That means stability, facilities, and players. And none of those, even stability, will get here in the short run. So every one of us had better take a long hard look in the mirror and hold ourselves accountable for our words and actions with respect to this program. If we don't, we'll remove the bricks before Shula can lay them and then be looking for someone else to blame in four years.
Look in the mirror or it will be the same movie with the same ending again.”

“Looks like my Wolveriens will have to put their money where their mouth is and show Floreeda how to beat the crap of FSU.”

“Gee, arclite, when I have a couple of spare hours, I will actually read all of your dissertation on the reasons Florida lost.

But, in your defense, my collegue here, an avid FSU fan and alum, stated he was embarrassed by the officiating.”

“Arc and Dayhiker...the Violins of the sporting world! LOL!”

“Army is about to enter the distinctive role of being a first in the NCAA. If Navy wins Saturday, Army will become the first team in NCAA history to go 0-13.

Gooooooooo Army
Try not to lose

Gooooooooo Army
Try not to lose

Gooooooooo Army
Try not to lose”

“Naw, if they were like Violin, they'd be posting stuff with headlines like this:


TUSCALOOSA REVELATION: MIKE SHULA DOES NOT KNOW WHAT A FOOTBALL IS, SAYS FORMER PLAYER”

“Former Green Bay assistant coach Sylvester Croom is now the new Head Coach of Mississippi State.
Maybe he can turn us around.”

“You should have, dayhiker. Then you might have been able to watch a REAL football team. I took Alabama to cover against.... Hawaii? And I'm BITTER about that loss.

That type of officiating should not be allowed to happen in any game. Let alone in the #3 RATED RIVALRY in the country. Yeah, Sports Illustrated. Ain't those the folks who kept picking Florida the preseason #1 back in the 80s?

I fully expect that ACC crew to be suspended. It was a disgrace. But I am well satisfied with the way my team played. Except for a couple of breakdowns, they looked better than mediocre.

Nigal, I like the way way Michigan is playing. If the matchup occurs, I'll be rooting for Michigan over FSU. I think it's a good bet.

Looks as if Florida will be playing Purdue in the Outback Bowl. I work with a Purdue engineering grad. He's not too smart, but he's a pretty nice guy. I like that matchup. Heck, I like any tinyten/SEC matchup.

Just remember chili, my Scottish ancestors came here in 1649. Chances are high that your folks got off their banana boat a lot later than that. I'm also Native American. So y'all are just furiners to me.


Yo dayhiker, what bowl will the Crimson Low-Tide be playing in? THE TIDEY BOWL!!”

“We could probably do without bowls for 10 years and STILL have been to and won more bowls than anyone. I'm sure someone will look up the correct numbers.

Hawaii was a nice bowl, even if we lost.

TIDEY BOWL, ha, I haven't heard that one or toilet bowl from every dimwitted elementary school kid on the playground growing up. I thought an avid student of Ayn Rand (sp?) could do better than that.(braces for ensuing tirade)”

“I didn't say the officiating didn't suck, arclite. I was just pointing out that you lose with as much grace as a Miami linebacker.”

“I thought you were hiding from this thread Dunadan. I'm not sure I'd be able to face everyone if my team over performed like Kansas did this season. I guess someone willing to post horrendous haiku butchery on the www has already sunk to the bottom. I'm not really sure I can collect my beer. It's really kicking a guy when he's down.

I'm not sure I'd take the same bet for next season. I actually have hopes for a winning season.”

“Hey, Yo-Yo!
No, I haven't been hiding. My welfare checks have been held up for some reason and, unlike every other liberal in this country, I've had to work a big job out of town for the last two months. It pays good money, but it seriously cuts down on my TT time. Sorry if you've missed me.
E-mail me - dpjp8@yahoo - with your address and you will receive the beer. (Chili, Dayhiker, Ped, Arky, and Cocoa can all vouch for me if you are afraid.) As an alternative, we can both participate in the same TT hike, and I'll pay up there. Let me know.”

“Old Uncle Dunadan is wondering if his Jayhawks can pull it off against the Wolfpack. Did you know that these two teams met back in 1973 in the Liberty Bowl? NC State ruled in that game, and Uncle Dunny is real nervous about this one. His hope is that it is a well-played game.
No predictions as of yet. However, Old Uncle Dunny can't wait to take his rightful place as the football divinity after he correctly prognosticates all over the bowl games. What do you think of that?”

“It’s so sad that I disappoint you violin. Your observations mean so much to me. I wonder why they vary so much from those of the people who know me? Ah, sweet mystery of life.

Good lord, day. Don't you go living in the past again. Didn’t your article have something to say about that? Recovery my friend. It’s all about recovery. Repeat after me: “Hello, my name is dayhiker, and I wear houndstooth undies.”

I like trite, pithy, droll, and TIDEY BOWL. That pathetic group of crimson sissies couldn't play in a bowl this year even if they weren’t serving jail time. They are BAD... BAD TEAM...BAD TEAM. I predict they’ll get good again just before they rotate back onto the GATOR’S schedule. It seems to happen that way. Look at Ol’ Miss.

I hope your check comes through in time for you to make it to Sipsey, Dunadan. If not, I can pay your way. I’m very responsible with money and have always earned my own.”

“Now that arc has challenged Dunadan to the Sipsey trip he's sure to get off the fence and make a decision. Wait, he's an admitted lib, the fence is where he feels comfortable!

I not sure calling us a BAD TEAM does BAD TEAMS justice. We out and out SUCKED.”

“Looks like UT is either going to be given a gift or be screwed by bowl selection committees. Of course, a lot still depends on who is crowned SEC Champ.”

“Dang arc. I thought you were smart enough to know when someone was busting your balls.

I stand corrected.”

“He's not, remember, he just got married!”

“I guess so. If he were smart, he'd just go out and find a women who hates his guts, buy her a million dollar house and avoid years of fights and nagging.”

“How about introducing me to your wife, violin? Does she talk like Fran Drescher? You ALWAYS bust my chops, so what's new? I'm from Jersey; you're from Jersey, what exit? I wouldn't have it any other way, you teenage immigrant welfare mother on drugs.

But I have learned to love the South and have grown accustomed to the genteel way we treat each other down here. I would never presume to treat you so unkindly.


Gotta agree with your assessment, day. And to think that Bama actually gave Oklahoma a decent game. How the mighty have fallen.

Since Bama cannot uphold the honor of the SEC this year, leave it to the GATORS to have our way with one of those pansy tiny-ten teams. We’ll show them yankees how we play football here in the South!”

“How about the Gators getting the bowl bid over the 10-2 Vols. They're going to the Peach Bowl at 10-2. Obviously, they aren't my fav, but what a screw job.”