The Tyler Rose Says It Best.....

In an excerpt from Saturday's Dallas Morning News story about a gathering on Heisman Trophy winners in Austin to honor him, Earl Campbell perhaps said one of his most meaningful quotes in regards to the modern college athlete. The 1977 Heisman winner was asked about former Longhorn QB Vince Young--and it almost seems like baiting by the reporter-- Campbell's quote was striking: " Athletes are great when they get a degree."

Now, yes, I whole-heartedly agree with Campbell that college athletes are great when they get a degree. It's one of the few things that gives some air of academic integrity to an otherwise minor league system for the professional sports. At the same time, Dallas TV sports anchor Dale Hanson said it best when Young was trying to decide on returning to the 40 Acres or going pro- "If he (Young) can't figure out that it's in his best interest to go pro, then he NEEDS another year of education". The hard, cold truth is that Young was at his most marketable point when he declared for the draft and avoided any unnecessary risks that a 4th season would bring in Austin. And no matter what a teacher says, a degree from any university very rarely will pay in the $58 Million over 6 years that the NFL did.


Of course in that same article, Campbell confesses to wearing an average of 20-25 tear away jersey PER GAME while at UT--- something that A&M, OU & Texas Tech fans have been screaming for years. Either way, Campbell is a good man from a different era. And he's a pretty good cook. Next time in Austin for a game, be sure to grab some of his BBQ-- or else.


Do you want to anger this man? Then buy some BBQ!

Billy Cannon Punt Return vs. Ole Miss 1959

Billy Cannon's Halloween Run

Halloween was good to Tiger fans in 1959 as LSU's Billy Cannon ripped off this famous 89 yard punt return to lead the #1 Bayou Bengals over the #3 Ole Miss Rebels. Cannon breaks 7 tackles in this clip, helping him to win the Heisman Trophy that year. Cannon was a local kid, who grew up in Baton Rouge before attending LSU and ended up helping the Tigers win the previous year's National Championship by throwing a halfback pass for a touchdown in a 7-0 Sugar Bowl win over #12 Clemson. His Jersey, #20, is the only number retired by LSU.

Life after college was up and down- Cannon is one of 20 players to play all 10 years of the American Football League's existence (he was a first rounder of the Houston Oilers, helping them win the first 2 AFL Championships). He then practiced orthodontics for a while, but also ended up serving time for counterfeiting. In 1986, Cannon sold his Heisman Tropy to Tom Moran, who keeps it in his Baton Rouge restaurant, T.J. Tibs. Part of the agreement for the down on his luck Cannon was that he would eat for free at the restaurant from then on. 1988 saw the debut of the film "Everybody's All American", which is rumored to be at least partly based upon Cannon (and partly on Washington Redskins/UNC footballer Charlie "Choo-Choo" Justice). While the author of the novel, Frank Deford, denies any ties to either player, the movie was filmed mostly in Louisiana and involved several actual LSU home games.

ESPN to air "Addams Family Football" this fall

Uncle Fester doppelganger Larry Coker will be jumping into the analyst booth this fall for ESPN. Coker will join Everyman Hero/ Heisman Trophy Winner Doug Flutie as new talent for the fall games. Yes, the kid that grew up in Okemah, OK (pop. 3,308) bares a striking resemblance to the Addams Family character (odd coincidence-- the TV series ran for 64 episodes. Coker's last year at Miami was his worst. If you remove the final (and worst season) season, his head coaching career covered 62 games. Hey, you can't escape some scary, meaningless trivia). My hunch is that Coker will take a little time to warm up, but his knowledge of the game and his experience at some of the biggest football factories (he's coached at Tulsa, OU, Oklahoma State, The Ohio State University before Miami) will give some great insight to the viewer.

Johnny Rodgers Punt Return

Johnny Rodgers Punt Return in The Game of the Century

Johnny Rodgers, nicknamed "The Jet", gave Nebraska fans 3 years of greatness from 1970-1972. His most memorable moment was obviously that 72 yard punt return against Big 8 arch rival Oklahoma in 1971. Played on Thanksgiving Day in Norman, the game drew 55 million viewers and matched No.1 Nebraska vs. No.2 OU. The Cornhuskers won 35-31, which put them in the Orange Bowl on the way to their 2nd consecutive national title. Rodgers grew up just down the highway from Lincoln in Omaha, where he starred at Tech High. Once he joined Big Red, he played Flanker, Returner and Tailback. He was a 2x All American and won the 1972 Heisman and Walter Camp Awards. He was a first rounder of the San Diego Chargers, but chose to go to the CFL with the Montreal Allouttes (where he was rookie of the year and helped them to a championship in 1974). He returned to the States in 1977 to play for the Chargers, but by that time injuries had started to take their toll. Sooner fans sometime point to a controversial non-call (look to see if you agree with a possible clip on the NU 45 yard line), but the game was played in Norman......

Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?

Some of the planned possible improvements include these new palm tree goal posts in an effort by the Dade County Convention & Visitors Bureau in an effort to increase tourism

It appears that the Miami Hurricanes are in danger of being a team without a home-- much like Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk TV series. Evidently the U had decided to move on to a new crib-- Dolphins Stadium in Sunny Fort Lauderdale-- much like every other major tenant of the giant Erector Set just west of Little Havana (see the Dolphins and the actual Orange Bowl Game). However, the fine tuning of the deal hasn't been as smooth and now it's a 50-50 chance that the Boys from Coral Gables will continue to beat the stuffing out of foes at the OB. One of the catching points? The Canes don't want to play in a Stadium named Dolphin Stadium (because it might look as if they don't call the shots there. Welcome to the world of the Florida Marlins, kids.). There are other items to be haggled over, but that's the most entertaining one.

In my opinion, it's very rare that the shared Pro/College stadium arrangement works out. Someone's always a loser and seems somewhat out of place, no matter what steps are taken. And usually, the deal ends up with the teams going their separate ways. And more often then not, it's been the college teams that end up worse off. Let's examine:

• SMU and the Dallas Cowboys shared not only The Cotton Bowl (which the Cowboys left for more money from controlling their own stadium), they also shared Texas Stadium (which the Ponies flocked to in the Pony Express Days) only to see them not fill the stadium and return to campus after the Death Penalty Days. WINNER: NFL. The Ponies never bounced back from the Death Penalty.
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• USC and The LA Raiders. Al Davis's crew came to SoCal in 1982 and played in The Coliseum, always complaining of the lack of luxury suites in the massive stadium made it tough to compete in the NFL economic model. When LA balked at building a new stadium for him, Davis packed up shop and pulled a boomerang back to Oakland in 1994. WINNER: COLLEGE. Al Davis got what he wanted in Stadium renovations in Oakland and is still threating to move the team.
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• The University of Houston and The Houston Oilers shared the Harris County Domed Stadium, a.k.a. The 8th Wonder of the World--The AstroDome. The Oilers are a class unto themselves on this topic. Prior to moving to the Dome, the Powder Blue Crew played at Rice Stadium (home of the Rice Owls and at that time, also the UofH Coogs) and before that had played at Jeppensen Stadium over on the University of Houston main campus. Of course, with Bud Adams' trek from Houston to Nashville had stops in the Liberty Bowl (home of the Univ. of Memphis Tigers) in 1997, then on to Vanderbilt Stadium (1998) and finally to Adelphia Coliseum (now LP Field) in Nashville. The University of Houston played at Jeppenson and Rice Stadium before moving into the AstroDome between 1965-1998. The Coogs had some great teams behind Bill Yoeman's Veer in the 1970s and Jack Pardee's Run and Shoot teams of the late '90s (including Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware), but never drew consistent, substantial crowds. They moved back to a renovated Jeppensen Stadium, now named John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium in 1998. WINNER: PUSH- The Titans are bouncing back in Tennessee (including a Super Bowl appearance), the Cougars are experiencing some success on campus. The Harris County taxpayers seem to be losing the most.
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• In 1982 The University of Minnesota and The Minnesota Vikings both moved to the Hubert H. Humphrey MetroDome for the obvious reason of getting out of the frigid Minnesota weather. While the Vikes have improved over the previous Metropolitan Stadium, it appears that the sterile atmosphere pushed the Golden Gophers to build the new TCF Bank Stadium on campus and will return there in 2009. The Vikings are also looking for a new home as the HomerDome has grown outmoded for the current NFL, but through previous threats to move, the Twin Cities are looking into it. WINNER: NFL. The Vikes have blossomed in the Dome, while the Gophers struggle to fill it up.
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• Arizona State University and The Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals was created as a strange marriage of convenience when St. Louis owner Bill Bidwell moved his Cardinals to the Desert in 1988. Obviously, ASU's Sun Devil Stadium was the only facility in the metro Phoenix area that could host the games with its capacity (as proven by the Arizona Wranglers and Outlaws of the USFL in 1983-1985). However, the income streams available to the NFL club were less than desirable, which some might argue reflected the usual outcome on the field for most of the 1990s. The Cards have since moved to The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale that is a retractable roof stadium and the club's economic model fits better. Even better, the University of Phoenix doesn't field a football team to overshadow the Cardinals like the Sun Devils' on-field success often did. WINNER: NFL. The Cards left, but for a much better deal and are now an up-and-coming team.
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• Tulane University and The New Orleans Saints have seemingly flip-flopped positions in history. The Green Wave of Tulane were once a force to be reckoned with yet have now fallen on hard times-- just barely dodging the budgetary axe a few years ago and then the damage of Hurricane Katrina. The Saints have gone from laughing stocks to the 2007 NFC Championship game (yet still hold the title of one of 6 teams that have never been to the Super Bowl). And this Ying-Yang relationship goes back further. When the Saints were granted to New Orleans (allegedly in a backroom deal to help get Congressional approval for the NFL-AFL merger) in 1967, they first played at Tulane Stadium over in NOLA's Garden District (also mistakenly referred to as The Sugar Bowl since the bowl game had been held there since the 1930s). When they moved to the Louisiana SuperDome in 1975, they went together--partly because it was a better facility, and partly because Tulane Stadium was condemned on the same day the SuperDome opened. Perhaps one of the reasons that both the Saints and the Green Wave have had such futility in their new stadium is the simple fact that above-ground Girod Street Cemetery was cleared to make room for the SuperDome. WINNER: NFL. While the 'Aints haven't always been great, their future is bright.
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• Temple/Pitt and The Philadelphia Eagles/Pittsburgh Steelers. There is great irony in the fact that the most recent example of teams moving into and sharing a stadium are both located in Pennsylvania. Yes, Three Rivers and The Vet needed to go. Both were the outmoded 1970s cookie-cutter multi-use facilities that provided poor sightlines for all of their multiple uses. Pitt and Temple have been seemingly smart enough at the time to jump in on somewhat publicly funded initiatives to provide new facilities (Pitt left Memorial Stadium after 75 seasons to play 1 year in Three Rivers while Hienz Field was being completed/ Temple left the old Temple Stadium for The Vet after 50 years). WINNER: NFL.Both NFL teams run the show on both deals with the Steelers and the Eagles being the main reason that Heinz Field and Lincoln Financial Field were constructed.
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• Some places simply share the facility for short term periods while construction for new stadiums is going on. Recent examples include The University of Washington and The Seattle Seahawks sharing Husky Stadium while Qwest Field was being built (2000-2001); The University of Illinois and The Chicago Bears splitting Memorial Stadium in Champagne when Soldier Field was remade (2002); The New York Giants/Jets letting Rutgers University use Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands when the second edition of Rutgers Stadium was being built(1993). WINNER: PUSH. These were only seen as short term solutions to start with.

Is the WAC Really All That?

If you're buying what this guy's selling, perhaps I can interest you in some ocean front property....yeah, the Golden Gate Bridge is just around the corner there, Padnah.


Evidently, the Western Athletic Conference is the nation's premier mid-major conference, so sayeth SI's Corey McCartney. But it just strikes me more as offseason shock value more than anything. Yes, I'll give Boise State's Fiesta Bowl win and great season as something to crow about. Hawaii under June Jones has been entertaining, to say the least. I love Chris Ault's Nevada squad and his innovative "Pistol" set has been the best thing to happen around Lake Tahoe since Reno 911 hit Comedy Central.

The bottom line is this conference champ is,at best, the equivalent of the The Geek (greatness played by The Dead Zone's Anthony Michael Hall) from Sixteen Candles. Simply put, he's the coolest of the dorks (or the dorkiest of the cool kids, depending on if you're a glass half-empty/half-full guy). Harsh statement, but it holds water.

Let's look at the top of the league:

• Boise State's Fiesta Bowl win and recent record is impressive, but if you sit back and ask yourself and be truthful-- you know the Broncos wouldn't have been in that place if they played week-in/week-out in the Big XII or even the Big East. Case in point, BSU has the NCAA's best record since 1999 at 86-16 (84% winning percentage). But over that same timespan, the Broncos' records again BCS teams is a 6-11 (or 35%).
• Fresno State: a record of 10-15 vs the Big Boys (40%) but only 1 losing season since '99. Pat Hill's squad is fearless and will happily go on the road and challenge, but last season was a hard smack in the face.
• Hawaii- a record of 6-10 against Power Conferences (37%), but all of the wins have been in the islands- which combined with the time change, travel issues and other distractions turns into a huge home field advantage
• Nevada- 2 winning seasons since 1999 and a record vs the BCS of 2-7 (22%)
• Louisiana Tech- 3-23 (11.5%) vs BCS conferences and 4 losing seasons since '99 (playing an independent schedule in '99)

What does this mean? Well, just like members of the media snipe at BCS schools playing a weak non-conference schedule (see Kansas State in the 1990s, Auburn's 2004 13-0 Non-National Title team), these teams have played a weak conference schedule and sometimes, even a weak non-conference schedule (over the 1999-2006 schedule, these teams have played a cumulative total of 24 games against D-IAA or lower division teams). Anytime they go up against a team of merit, they get put in their place. I'm willing to give Fresno State its due, the last year was harsh. But over the past 15 years the Bulldogs have held their own--primarily on the road, no less--yet because of last year, no one wants to talk about them.

Keep in mind not one of the original charter members (BYU, Utah, Arizona State, Arizona, Wyoming and New Mexico) remain in the conference. Hawaii, which joined in 1978, is the longest serving member of the league. The league once tried to be a super conference--expanding all the way to 16 teams--only to see it implode and lose BYU, Utah, New Mexico, Air Force, San Diego State, Colorado State and UNLV to the newly formed Mountain West and see the upstart Conference USA grab UTEP, SMU, Rice, Tulsa and TCU (who subsequently left C-USA for the Mountain West). The fall out of this was simple- the WAC was left to scramble for the remaining pieces- Hawaii, Fresno State and San Jose State grabbed Nevada-Reno, Louisiana Tech and Boise State at the end of the millennium. Next they grabbed Idaho, Utah State and New Mexico State in 2005. The only major media market is the Bay Area with San Jose State and only one school has a stadium with a capacity over 50,000. The league stretches from Northern Louisiana over 6 time zones to Honolulu.
= ?

Odd man out because of geography/time zone/travel costs, Hawaii's the biggest name in this story, but kinda like Screech in the whole 'Saved By the Bell' world. Here he is growing up with Zach, A.C and Kelly Kapowksi at Bayside, then leaving for college and now eerily he won't go away and is part of 'Saved By the Bell: The New Class". Basically, the other folks all left for better places (Kelly for 90210, AC for Dancing with the Stars, Jesse for Showgirls/ Arizona and ASU for the Pac-10; BYU, UNLV, Utah, TCU for the Mountain West; SMU, Rice, UTEP, Tulsa for C-USA) and now the Rainbow Warriors are stuck cobbling together the best of the old Sunbelt and Big West conferences-- the former considered one of the poorest D-I conferences and the latter doesn't sponsor football anymore.

To argue that this is now the best mid-major conference (other than the Mountain West, C-USA, the MAC, the Sunbelt and, too a degree, the remaining D-IA independents) is the football equivalent of making chicken salad out of chicken droppings.

Who Says Academics Aren't in Touch with Reality?

Jim Delaney thinks this is TV Gold

Evidently, Big Ten (Eleven) Commissioner Jim Delaney was smacked in the face with reality by Comcast this past week and now wants an apology for the truth. Yes, it is not politically correct in court of public opinion to be referring to women's sports as "second and third tier sporting events". However, those statements weren't meant to denigrate institutions of higher learner as Delaney accused of Comcast on Thursday, but merely to speak the truth.

The Big Ten (Eleven) Network, was birthed last year and is having a hard time finding a home. Comcast, which dominates the Midwest cable market doesn't want to pay the big bucks that the Big Ten (Eleven) is requesting and feels that it should either be placed on a smaller distribution or as a subscription channel. I have no problem with this-- just like I'd get mad if some new channel that I had no interest in jumped into my basic package and up my monthly bill, I don't think forcing sporting events on the subscribers is necessarily a good thing.

The other big problem is simply the content of the channel. The Chicago Based Network will show all the Big Ten (Eleven) football games not picked up by ABC, ESPN, ESPN 2, or other places. The channel makes its money broadcasting 155 men's hoops games, 70 women's hoops and 170 'other events' like cross country, volleyball, etc. They can also throw in the occassional Big Ten (Eleven) Classic game, since they own the right to all broadcasts going back to 1960. Let's focus on these items:

• The football games. Since ABC & the ESPN networks control the better games, this means at best, the subscriber gets the 3rd-4th best matchup that week (assuming none of the Big Ten (Eleven) are playing AT Notre Dame). THIS BY THE VERY DEFINITION IS 2nd- 3rd TIER PRODUCT.
• The men's basketball games. Again, it doesn't cover the Big Ten(Eleven) championship and ABC-ESPN controls the top games. It does mean that the lesser teams will get on TV more.
• The women's basketball games. 70 games. see above. Yet, they can't even justify giving the same number of games broadcast on their own network to women that they do the men. Talk about Second Class Citizenry.
• The 170 'other events'. Yes, those 170 other events that are so popular that they don't get on TV as of now. These games are literally 2nd and 3rd tier sporting events in the eyes of broadcast executives (and that's being kind). Most likely they would rate below Ice Hockey, Gymnastics and ESPN's coverage of Professional Bowling in Neilson ratings.

Yes, it would be nice to allow Mom & Dad in Dayton a chance to see their daughter on the Minnesota diving team, but in reality-- THIS IS A NICHE PRODUCT, which is exactly what got Jim Delaney's feelings hurt in the first place.

A Dollar Just Doesn't Go As Far As It Used To.....

Inflation-- that evil word that forces everyone from Granny living on her pension to The Greenback Wizard Alan Greenspan to cringe- seemingly has struck again.

The victim this time? The University of Michigan, specifically, Michigan Stadium, a.k.a. The Big House. It appears that the Board of Regents has approved an expansion of their stadium.
That's right, the Big Get Bigger. For a mere $226 MILLION, the Wolverines will add a whopping total of 499 new souls to the stadium, making it larger than Burbank CA, Green Bay WI or Charleston SC. Yeah, and at 108,000 in capacity, Boulder CO is the next in the crosshairs of Big Blue.

So, for the price of roughly $500,000.00 PER NEW SEAT the Wolverines will be adding 83 suites and 3,200 club seats---items to which they can charge infinitely more for tickets than the $55 General Admission tickets that put your backside on a glorified 2 x 4 in the current configuration. Keep in mind, the original stadium was built for $950,000 in 1927, meaning it was a cost of roughly $9.50 per seat.

JoePa Terrified of Pitt

Listen to me about the Financial Realities of Today! I can't afford to stop working and I'm 126 years old!

Poor, poor Penn State. Here's a school with a great legacy of success, the Boy Scout Equivalent of Keith Richards in Head Coach Joe Paterno and allegedly the financial acumen of Pacman Jones in that Las Vegas Strip Club.

JoePa lamented the probable death of the Penn State-Pitt rivalry, one that currently sits with the Nittany Lions owning an 8 game lead over the Panthers because of 'the economic realities of a 12 game schedule.' Yes, economic realities that say Penn State must have 7 home games. This is a statement that one would expect Michael Scott to throw out on NBC's The Office, not Paterno. Evidently he's forgetting to take his meds because some of those same economic realities state that Beaver Stadium is the 2nd largest college football stadium in the NCAA at over 107,000. If the Penn State athletic department can't make the numbers work with 6 home games, then trouble must be brewin' at those schools with stadiums that seat less than 1/3 of the capacity.

The series was pretty much an annual event until 1992, when a 5 year hiatus set in as the two schools adjusted to life in the Big Ten (Eleven) and the Big East. The series hasn't been played since 2000. Now Paterno is treating Pitt like a D-IAA squad and saying it might be possible if the Panthers wanted to travel to Happy Valley twice and host Penn State once. And he's complaining about ticket prices set 7 seasons ago, saying that Pitt charged more for the Penn State game than any other of there home games. Of course, this isn't a shock. Keep some of the following in mind:

• The 2000 game was played in Three Rivers Stadium, which sat 59,000 for football. Prior to that, the Pitt home games were played at Pitt Stadium, which sat 3,000 less. Since 2001, all Pitt home games have been hosted at Heinz Field, which is shared with the Steelers and seats 65,000 (still not 2/3 as big as JoePa's home turf), but enough to make the gate attractive. If it isn't then the Steelers need to figure something out in a hurry.
• Most schools put in graduated pricing models due to the higher demand for certain games (as well as a tool to help sell more season ticket packages) , and technically, there isn't any true hypocrisies here--- Penn State charges the General Public $58 for a home game ticket whether it's against Temple or Notre Dame. Of course, getting back to those economic realities, brings up another question--- how do those other teams with smaller stadiums survive when EVERY ONE OF THE PENN STATE OPPENENTS FOR 2007 CHARGE LESS FOR THEIR GENERAL PUBLIC TICKETS THAN THE NITTANY LIONS? Indiana, for example, charges $38, while Michigan State only gets $46 and Michigan accepts $55. Have they found some magic potion to balancing the budget that doesn't exist in Happy Valley?
• Yes, keeping in mind that the 12 game schedule wasn't permanently in place until about 2 years ago, one wonders what those same realities were. For the most part in the 1990s, Penn State hosted 6 home games annually. Somehow, in the last 10 years, even with a larger stadium and increased ticket prices, the school finds it now financially necessary to bring in another 107,000 folks than it did in 1997 on an annual basis. Again, if PSU has these troubles financially despite all the success, sponsorships, outstanding facilities, then how do other programs even survive?
• Finally, the whole football side of things comes in. PSU's last nonconference schedule for the seasons 2005-2007 is as follows: South Florida, Cincinatti, Central Michigan (all at home in 2005); Akron, @ Notre Dame, Youngstown State and Temple (in 2006) and Florida International, Notre Dame, Buffalo and @ Temple (in 2007). Yes, the Notre Dame game is nice, but it's real hard for the Nittany Lions to say that they couldn't dump one of their games against a D-IAA squad like Youngstown State (no offense to the fighting Penguins) or from D-IA bottom feeders Buffalo, Temple or Florida International.

Colorado Introduces New Uniforms

The CU Board of Regents had some sort of Rocky Mountain High going on when they mandated the introduction of blue uniforms in the 80s.

Colorado is introducing new uniforms this year....and no, they are not going to look like the 1982 era when the CU Board of Regents basically told them to redesign their uniforms to look like Pitt. (Of course, was that such a bad idea? Pitt had 6 Top 10 Finishes from 1976-1983 including a title in 1976 and #2 spots in 1980 and 1981; while CU only had 1 winning season from 1978-1984, going 20-56 in that span).

In reality, CU is going to be yet another Nike fashion statement, but this time, the Buffs will be re-introducing (yet again) Silver into the new look.

Life Without Calvin Johnson Too Much for Ga Tech Mascot to Bare.....

Evidently having 9 scantily clad co-eds sprawled over a car makes it tough to drive

Ever since losing Superhuman WR Calvin Johnson to the NFL, spirits have been down for Georgia Tech. So much that even the Ramblin' Wreck mascot itself has seemingly offed itself with a conveniently planned 'accident'. It seems that the auto was being TOWED to a wedding in Savannah when it fell off the road into a ditch. Yeah, perhaps things would have gone differently if those cheerleaders weren't on the trailer, either at the time of the 'incident'.

Police immediately rounded up the usual suspects-- focusing on former Jackets QB Reggie Ball-- and ruled out the other Georgia Tech mascot, Buzz, who was still drinking away the sorrows of the 3 game tailspin that ended the 2007 campaign.

SOSA! 600!

OK, so it's not football and Sammy never returned kicks in college. Heck, he never went to college and if you believe him in the Congressional hearings on steroids in baseball a few years back, he's barely able to speak English. Still, Sammy broke the 600 homer barrier last night at The Ballpark in Arlington (which will never be referred to as Ameriquest Field or Rangers Ballpark in Arlington or any other Tom Hicks angle to line his pockets a little more at the expense of the fan). And since I actually was there, I will celebrate the historic occasion. For those of you who have never experienced the sadistic pain that is Texas Rangers baseball, it's not as bad as you'd think. Some of the positives include:

• being able to lose 60% of your water weight by the 3rd inning due to the blast furnace conditions known as "Summer" in Texas.
• enjoying the greatness of 3 divisional titles in 30 plus years in Arlington (why, oh why, did we convince the Washington Senators to move here? We had shots at the A's or expansion....and we get the cursed team.....)
• realizing that the Cowboys , who are building just down the road, were smart enough to air condition their stadium, yet here you sit sweating away, noting it's still 4 weeks until the START of the NFL TRAINING CAMPS.
• realizing you'll very rarely miss a day game, mainly because of the heat and the fact that the stadium is at min. 15 miles from any major business district in North Texas.
• tickets are always available, unless it's Dollar Dog Night, the Yankees or BoSox are in town, or it's in the first three weeks of the season, when it's still cool enough you don't die and the team is usually 'still in it'
  
• at least the Rangers are to be commended for being the first major league baseball team to serve Gameday nachos (at the good ol' Arlington Stadium/Turnpike Field) and have perfected the best part of the ballpark experience: cold beer and garlic fries.....

Penn State Returner Expelled.....(sort of)

Penn State JR S Anthony Scirratto was expelled from Penn State for the entire 2nd SESSION OF SUMMER SCHOOL for their part in an off season campus fight earlier in the year and is currently awaiting trial with another Nittany Lion. While this looks like a strong statement from PSU and JoePa, one realizes that all this punishment amounts to is simply a break that most other students take and will mean Scirratto will have to probably have a tad heavier academic load in the fall/spring since summer school is usually used to keep athletics either eligible or to get the school schedule in season a little more manageable. Even more so, Scirratto's scholarship is still in place and he will be eligible to take part in PSU preseason drills, a full 2 WEEKS BEFORE THE SUMMER SEASON ENDS. Yes, there are other players involved in all this madness, but Scirratto gets the attention for the following reasons:

1. Scirratto's 6 punt returns for 54 yards was second on the squad last year
2. Scirratto pulled off the 'hands team dream' of returning an onside kick 29 yards for a score. This came after a Penn State safety forced the Illini to onside kick the free kick (and this was a good idea why?). The successful return made Scirratto the only Nittany Lion kick return touchdown for the season and was the first onside kick return since the 1975 Cotton Bowl vs. Baylor.
3. Rumors had Scirratto being one of the Jersey guys that had turned on Tony's Crew and aligned with Phil Leotardo in the final season of The Sopranos. And that just ain't right.....
   

Cal's Jackson Too Fast For Playboy Cameras

Yeah, DeSean Jackson returned from that other photo shoot just in the nick of time.....

The Bay Area's version of Superman, Cal WR DeSean Jackson, was recently named to the 2007 Playboy All American Team. The above picture is again proof of Jackson's superpowers as even the lens of a Playboy photographer isn't quick enough to catch Our Hero. He's the blur on the left side of the photo.

In other Cal Golden Bear news, Street & Smith's expects great things from the team this year, tabbing them #11 in the preseason. Poor Center Alex Mack, a pre-season 3rd team All American gets the step child treatment in all the press releases seeing that Jackson gets the covers, the headlines, the all star webpage. You've got to think that if Mack had come along with a 3rd Team All American honor in say, ten years earlier when Cal was floundering, he would have been treated like he had just won the lotto.

The Pac-Man of the Plains?

Former Oklahoma State WR/PR Prentis Elliott continued his downward spiral this past week as he was given jail time for illegal transportation of a firearm in Tulsa. Elliott, a former blue chipper from Science and Technology High in Tulsa (and a Rivals 3 Star in 2004), actually had 6 counts against him this time, but settled for dismissals on the others and 15 days in the Cross Bar Hilton. The firearm offense came from being arrested by Tulsa police in a gang-related shooting in August 2006, which sheds light on the fact that he was involved in a scuffle with an off-duty police officer in 2003.

Well, it looks like Strike 3 gets Prentis two weeks of 3 hots and a cot, courtesy of the Tulsa County taxpayers, along with some of those neat shower shoes. Of course, Strike 2 might have ended up being the more costly in the grand scheme of things.....

• In Oct 2004, Elliott was allegedly involved with a fight with the Omega Psi Phis at the OSU Student Union.
• a Jan 2005 fight at an Omega Psi Phi party in Stillwater that forced Pokes Coach Mike Gundy to kick him off the team.

Of course, it's a shame, because Elliott was a talented returner and looks like he could have been the guy to give Titans CB Adam "Pac-Man" Jones a little break from all the negative pub. If only he could have stayed in school......