College football officially returns to ESPN today with the first edition of their new program "College Football Live." The program will be broadcast on the network at 2:30 p.m. CT. (The show will rebroadcast today at 6:30 p.m. CT) I'll try to tune in to see which storylines they intend to run with this year.

On a related note, for those of you who dabble in media criticism, Kyle has set the new standard with a lengthy and exceedingly thoughtful post (RTWT) on ESPN's substandard practices.

The Statesman has a nice summary of the offseason paydays for a number of former Longhorns, including Leonard Davis (7 years, $49.6m, Cowboys), Derrick Dockery (7, $49m, Bills), Nathan Vasher (5, $28m, Bears), and Cory Redding (7, $49m, Lions).

It's obviously a good thing for each of these individuals, but it's also good for Mack Brown and his staff, who no doubt will be noting the riches that have awaited players to pass through Austin. College football may be the zenith for us, but for a lot of these star kids, the real prize awaits them at the next level.

Tim Griffin's Big 12 Insider returns, packing a big punch, as usual. Tim's big question of the day: just how much is the rest of the conference catching up to Texas and Oklahoma?

In the long term, it's not clear, but I think you've got to look at the conference this season and conclude it should be the most competitive that it's been in some time.

I'm not alone in this thinking, either, as Chip Brown's most recent column indicates.

Last, for some lighter reading, check out my conversation with BearMeat, in which we talk Waco sports from an Austin perspective.

--PB--