A brief programming note before diving into the news: I'll be away from the computer all day Friday with a full day of orientation. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited. As much as I'm going to miss Austin in general, and being there for UT sports in particular, I'm happy to be a student again and have been genuinely impressed with everything I've seen up here so far. Onward to the news.
I submitted my off the cuff first draft preseason BlogPoll ballot on Tuesday, as did 58 others. Brian's number crunching doohickey digested our input and spit out a poll:
Over the weekend, we'll take a look at the first BlogPoll roundtable question: "Who's overrated? Underrated?" I'll also take all the excellent comments on my own ballot into consideration as I make some revisions.
A note to my fellow bloggers: please remember that I've made a vow to use the BlogPoll rankings when discussing a team this season (except insofar as the commentary is related to who shall be playing in the BCS national title game). So take your ballots seriously, y'hear? And by seriously, I don't mean doing what everyone else is doing. I mean providing explanations for your votes. That's all the poll requires. Consistent, transparent methodology.
Player highlight videos are always fun, but some are better than others. You won't find too many better ones than this Jamaal Charles tribute. All Hail King Charles.
Kirk Bohls' Friday column is on scheduling, though it's all old, old conversation around these parts. I only bring it up because it ran on the same day as a note on ESPN.com that Miami is seeking a season opening opponent for 2008. And, gee, looking at Texas' calendar for next season, there's a nice open slot to start the season.
Why not Miami? Unlike the Michigan pipe dreams, this thing is feasible. Not only does Texas have an opening to kickoff the 2008 season, but there's an opening in 2009 as well. And while Arkansas is on the schedule both years, that's not a program riding so high that it'd be suicidal to add another interesting opponent to the slate. This would be a big win for both schools. I'm on board, even if I'm not gonna hold my breath.
I've been meaning to mention this for a while but have been so busy that I haven't found the right time. Today's as good a day as any to note that SBN has added a Kansas State blog called Bring On The Cats. It's a great site, with a sharp-witted author who covers the Big 12 damn well. For a nice starter introduction, I'd urge you to take a look at TB's Best of the Big XII post. Great stuff. Go have a gander.
--PB--