Hey, if you’ve just gotten back from that early morning run to the mall to check out the post-xmas bargains, you’ve worked up a little appetite, right?
- Eric Berry on Tennessee’s 2010 prospects: “Next year I think UT is going to be very good, in the SEC championship. And if not, I think it’s a wasted season.” EB, next year you’re likely gone and the Vols will be breaking in a green QB. Prepare to get wasted.
- Discipline in Shreveport.
- The Mountain West’s quest for an AQ berth in the BCS is helped by the teams at the top of its conference and killed by the rest of the bunch. And the bowl games don’t matter.
- TCU’s Gary Patterson does the math on an eight-team playoff and realizes it doesn’t change anything.
- The Cotton Bowl wants to be a part of the BCS. It may have a long row to hoe.
- Maybe the WWL will have a new competitor when the current BCS contract expires.
Get The Picture 
I have to say that something/someone effectively providing legitimate competition for the WWL would be a great gift. Once upon a time I was a big fan of ESPN, back in the days when they were barely crawling and were thought to be incapable of surviving. I guess it’s been about 25 years. Now, it just controls entirely too much for the good of the game. I don’t want to kill ESPN; I want to make it better with a little healthy competition. But that is a tall order at this point.
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Chuck, dead on. There was a time, before they were the WWL, that ESPN was very good. That is why they became the WWL, now they need a big slice of humble pie. I am including some strong competition for ESPN in my New Year’s wishes.
As for Eric Berry, you have to be thankful he has football talent because he isn’t going to make it on his ability to think. TN in the championship game? Seriously? Only if four teams above them all stumble badly, or get ruled ineligible.
It may be impossible to predict this early but here is what the SEC East looks like to me in 2010, assuming the players expected to play are available/healthy/eligible: SC and UGA dead heat at the top, UF a half step behind in 3rd, KY a close contender for 3rd, but probably 4th. TN will likely finish 5th, I just don’t think Vandy will beat them out. Eric, a mind (and a year) is a terrible thing to waste.
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“‘I’m still committed to Georgia, but I’m going up to Louisville for a visit on January 8th,” said [UGA linebacker recruit B. J.] Butler, who plays for Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceloa. “I really want to play for coach Strong, so I’m thinking about going to Louisville.”‘
Number one, you’re not “committed” if you’re still looking. It’s like that old story about a ham and egg breakfast: the hen is involved, but the pig is committed.
Number two, you could play in the no-national-title-shot Big East for a rebuilding program that just made a change to an unproven head coach, but wouldn’t you RATHER play for championships with the big boys in the SEC for a program like UGA under our proven 10th year head coach?
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If iw ere the coaches I’d have taken back Butler’s scholarship. If that’s how you’re going to act towards your high school coaches and publicly state you will decommit under these circumstances, then you deserve to go to louisville. Good riddance
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The Cotton Bowl was last relevant on January 1, 1984. The Vince Dooley game of all Vince Dooley games.
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Urban stepping down at FU.
Wow.
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Remember he went to the hospital after the SECCG for what was called dehydration. Must have run some tests that had bad results for him to make this move this suddenly.
I was never a Meyer fan, as a coach or a person, but I wish him the best with his health problems. He is a young man and has a family that needs him, I hope he beats whatever the problem is.
My best guess as a replacement is Stoops or the Utah coach (Withingham sp?). The UF prez came from Utah and he worked under Meyer. Stoops went to Oklahoma from UF, but since Meyer says he is staying in Gainesville, I am not so sure about Stoops coming back into that situation. I doubt Mullen is considered highly enough at this point so I doubt he will be a candidate. It would have been interesting had Strong not already accepted the Louisville job. Chucky is always mentioned for high profile positions, but I don’t know about him running with the personnel UF has. It will be interesting to watch.
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Nick Stephens isn’t exactly green having been the starter for several games in 2008, but he isn’t very good either, and Tennessee returns the fewest OL starts in the SEC.
Their schedule is also brutal next year.
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