Let's start our week with song.
Saturday Night Live's Will Forte sums up his feelings for the BCS.
Ode to Bob.
Football
Texas safety Earl Thomas blocks a Florida Atlantic punt. Harry Cabluck, AP Photo.
Congratulations to Earl Thomas. Thomas picked up three Freshman All-American honors from the Football Writers Association of America, College Football News and Sporting News .
Sergio Kindle is returning for his senior season.
Quan Cosby will play in the Senior Bowl on January 24.
Next year's national title race pre-season predictions come to down to one thing.
The national championship trophies haven't even been paraded through Gainesville yet, but it's not too early to start talking about who'll be the preseason No. 1 in college football come fall.Tim Tebow is the answer to that question. If he returns to Florida, the Gators will be No. 1 again in August. Even if Florida loses the likes of Percy Harvin or Brandon Spikes to the NFL Draft, Tebow's presence will cause voters to swoon.If he bolts, No. 1 is likely to be determined by other high-profile quarterbacks. Decisions by Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, Texas' Colt McCoy (who already has said he is staying) and USC's Mark Sanchez will shape the national-title chase.
If they all come back to school instead of heading to the pros, the August Top 10 is going to look a lot like today's.
Barking Carnival looks at next year's offense. BC's TaylorTRoom breaks down Texas' Rivals recruiting talent and concludes that this year's team overachieved. And someone over at BC found the Holy Grail.
Basketball
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images.
Once again we are discussing the Sooners. Texas faces the biggest challenge this season Monday night. Here's a preview.
Texas beat Iowa State on Saturday 75-67. The Cyclones' pressure caused A.J. Abrams to struggle, but it forced the rest of the team to pick up slack.
Rick Barnes is encouraged by the Horns' inside game.
Perhaps the biggest revelation for the Longhorns so far has been their inside game. Barnes knew coming into the season that they had to impose their will on the block, because so much of UT's depth is in the post.
"We do have an inside game," Barnes said. "We've got to get better. There are still areas we keep talking about that we've got to improve on. We are always searching to be the best that we can be."
The Women's basketball team lost to Texas Tech 65-62.
Football
Another great Bob Stoops pose. Photo Credit: J. Pat Carter/Associated Press.
So what would happen if Oklahoma played Ohio State? Schadenfreude special: Oklahoma vs. Ohio State from the LA Times.
Another story on Big Game Bob.
With “Big Game Bob” at the helm, Oklahoma finished another season with a big, lame flop.
The Sooners’ BCS struggles are starting to get out of hand with five straight defeats in college football’s prime postseason games, following a 24-14 loss to top-ranked Florida in the national championship game.
The good news is that Bob Stoops keeps leading the Sooners to meaningful bowl games practically every season. The bad news is that their recent performances could make it more difficult in the future.
So, what about all the rumors about Stoops and the NFL? It seems some NFL personnel have some thoughts about Bob.
Big 12 Sports takes a second look at Oklahoma's loss to Florida.
ESPN's Tim Griffin thinks the OU defense played well but red zone troubles plagued the Sooners.
The Heisman Jinx is alive and well and living in Oklahoma.
The Horns would beg to differ. Oklahoma has made some of the mistakes we saw against Florida.
Once again OU made the mistakes it avoided all year on the last night of the season.
Red Raider quarterback Graham Harrell was chosen as the AT&T Player of the Year.
Receivers Jeremy Maclin , Missouri, and Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech, are leaving for the NFL.
Maclin, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound wide receiver and returner, filed evaluation papers with the NFL and was told that he projected as a first-round draftee. Maclin and two other underclassmen, Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree and Florida's Percy Harvin, are widely regarded as college football's top wideout prospects.
Bill Miller has been hired as the linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator for the Kansas Jayhawks.
Do you think people in Waco are already looking forward to next season? The Waco Tribune puts together a list of the all-time great Baylor players.
Who could be next season's Utah? Kansas?
Dr. Saturday believes Tech got dissed by the AP Poll voters.
Texas Tech is dissed at No. 12 by coaches and writers alike, far behind their 11-2 peers Alabama (No. 6 in both polls), TCU (7th) and Penn State (8th), as well as two teams (Ohio State and Oregon) that finished with worse records and no wins even approaching the value of the Raiders' takedown of Texas. Which just, you know, beat Ohio State, by the way. The coaches (although not the writers) also rank Georgia ahead of the Raiders, at No. 11.
Basketball
The Big 12 conference still has some way to go before teams can be considered legitimate contenders for the NCAA title.
Best advice for Big 12 teams this season? Stay the heck out of Arkansas.
Texas A&M feels they are ready for Big 12 play. But then they lost to Oklahoma State 72-61.
Parity. It isn't just for college football anymore. It has reared its' ugly head in basketball, too.
No one will go undefeated in league play among the big boys.
In fact, I'd be shocked if Pittsburgh doesn't finish with at least three losses at the end of the season in a loaded Big East.
Nearly every BCS league is considered to be up for grabs. While Pittsburgh has a grip on the Big East, it could change by the end of the month after a four-game stretch in which they face Louisville, West Virginia and Villanova on the road.
Texas and Oklahoma were considered the cream of the crop in the Big 12 entering the season, but there's not nearly as much separation from the Longhorns, Sooners and the rest of the league as was believed.
Big 12 Sports looks at the lessons learned so far this season.
The University of Colorado is building a 10 million dollar basketball facility, funded by private donations.
Dr. Saturday has inspirational thoughts for Jim Tressel and Bob Stoops.
CollegeFootballNews does a post-season check-up on the BCS.
The BCS era is unique in college football history because it involves a politicized race to the national title game. Notice the precise semantic distinction: The BCS politicizes the race to the national title game, not the race to the national championship itself. In the old poll-and-bowl system, the national title chase was extremely (and unquestionably) politicized, but the race to the bowl games actually offered more consistency and certainty. While the Rose Bowl’s Pac-10 vs. Big Ten arrangement still existed in the old days, the other New Year’s Day bowls also possessed conference tie-ins. The Big 8 champion went to the Orange, the SEC champion to the Sugar, and the Southwest Conference champion to the Cotton. Under the old system, here are the matchups that probably would have emerged:
Rose: USC-Penn State; Orange: Oklahoma-Alabama; Sugar: Florida-Utah; Cotton: Texas-Ohio State.
So, who was the lone vote for Utah as No. 1 in the AP Poll?
Our tax dollars at work. Texas lawmakers must decide whether to keep the $6 million high school steroid testing program. The first 10,000 tests found only four positive results.
Rep. Joe Barton is at it again. Rep. Barton and Rep. Bobby Rush,Illinios, introduced a bill that would prohibit the promotion or marketing of a postseason game as a national championship unless it is the final game of a postseason playoff system.
Some people in Utah were not concerned about the fact that the Utes were not voted No. 1. They feel Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is wasting taxpayer time and money pursuing a lawsuit against the BCS.
And while it's true that the championship teams from the five non-BCS conferences are not guaranteed to play in a BCS bowl, all of the Football Bowl Subdivision conferences, including the Mountain West Conference to which the University of Utah belongs, agreed to the format.
Plus, it's hard to argue that Utah has suffered under the current system, playing in a pair of BCS bowls since 2004. And the MWC, if it continues to consistently field Top 25 teams, can earn an automatic BCS bowl bid through the BCS' conference re-evaluation process.
Frankly, there are more pressing concerns for our state leaders than college football.
ESPN will not pressure the Bowl Championship Series into pursuing a playoff.
If the coaches really want a playoff, they need to step up.
These coaches have more influence than they care to acknowledge. So Brown wants a playoff. Pete Carroll wants a playoff. Bob Stoops wants a playoff. JoePa wants a playoff. We know because each one has expressed that desire time and time again.
But if they want it badly enough, then they must take another step. Stand up to the television networks that exert way too much influence over college football. Tell the AFCA to get out of bed with the BCS.
In short, stand shoulder to shoulder with other major coaches and present a united front.
USA Today's Mike Loresti has some ground rules for critics of the BCS.
Well, you knew this was coming. Pete Thamel of the The New York Times believes the SEC rules in college football.
As the 2008 college football season evolved, the assumption around the country was that the Big 12 had surpassed the Southeastern Conference as the country’s premier conference. The teams’ flashy play and big scores, it seems now, might have been more an indictment of the league’s defenses than a testament to their offenses.
Kansas City Star's Jason Whitlock is excited about the resurgence of the great white athlete.
Well, now here comes Tim Tebow, and it appears everyone is ready to fall in love with Touchdown Timmy, the half-man, half-monster quarterback. He appears to be a novelty, a white athlete with limitless athleticism.
I think he’s a symbol of what has already transpired and what we’ll soon recognize. The boys from the suburbs are spending just as much time as the boyz from the ’hood working on their bodies and skills.
I don’t have any hard evidence. I can’t back it up with 40 times and vertical leaps. I’m basing it off what I see when I travel the country watching the best athletes compete.
This wasn’t discussed much at the time of the selections a year ago, but in the 2008 Pro Bowl the four defensive ends were all white, including Jared Allen. Other than cornerback, a pass-rushing defensive end is probably the most athletic player on a football field.
Husker Extra looks at the role of the agent in college football.
A Baylor alum roots for Texas. Kevin Wood appreciates UT fans pride in our school and team. But then he can't be much of a football fan if he does not know the first name of Baylor's quarterback.
I fear much of Waco is simply disinterested in Baylor football. Even if star quarterback Michael Griffin and company, under the impressive leadership of Art Briles, can get BU back to long-lost winning ways, the BU athletic department has always found it a challenge to get those in the Waco community without ties to Baylor involved and excited.
At least he knows the coach's name.
Send your complaints to Barry. Oklahomans did not care for FoxSports' coverage of the BCS championship game. Awful Announcing was also unimpressed. This probably has something to do with it.
Just couldn't resist... This commercial ran on Fox Southwest. They should have pulled it by now but thanks to YouTube we have it for posterity.
Following the gravy train of college sports... money.
There is no recession in college football.
Recession? What recession? Not in college football, where business is booming -- and the price of doing business only continues to increase at a startling clip.The latest craze is a spending spree on assistants. It's the kind of turn in the ever-escalating arms race that will make more than a few athletic directors cringe -- then grudgingly open their wallets as they try to keep up with the big boys.Assistant coaches today are commanding numbers that would have been considered insane for most head coaches just 10 years ago. Top-tier programs -- and those that aspire to join that group -- are bidding openly against each other for coordinators and position coaches.
The message is clear: if you can't beat 'em, outspend 'em.
Chick-fil-A Bowl's 2007 IRS filling gives an idea of the economics behind the game.
How many more will follow? Western Washington dropped the football program.
Head coach Robin Ross learned that his program had no future. He was told by Shepard and athletic director Lynda Goodrich that Western Washington was dropping football. It was eliminating a program that had existed since 1903.
Ross said he felt blindsided.
"It was not something I foresaw," he said. "It was not something we had discussed. Of course, there's always budget constraints, and this is kind of a sign of the times. But it was never brought up, how we could raise more money or anything like that."