We block this state.

From the Shakin the Southland post, “Wide Receiver Blocking Skills”:

… The final concept here is downfield blocking either after a back has broken the first/second layers of the defense or after a completed pass.  This is where receiver blocking really is critical.  Downfield blocking involves hustle, technique, and recognition.  The receiver has to understand what is going on around him to assure that he finds someone to block and takes the correct angle to get to this defender.  These are the really big ones that can turn a nice gain into a touchdown.

Like what you see on the play starting at around the 3:25 mark of this clip.

This conference for rent

There’s a lot that sucks in the realignment shuffle we’re watching, but if this comes to fruition, everything else pales in comparison:

FedEx CEO Fred Smith has spoken to various conference officials and made it known that his Memphis-based company could provide millions of dollars — perhaps as much as $10 million annually — to a BCS-affiliated league willing to offer an invitation to the University of Memphis, multiple sources close to the Memphis program have told CBSSports.com.

“It could be $10 million every year for a conference to use however it sees fit,” said one of the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “When you think of the big picture, it could be the equivalent of a five-year, $50 million contract or a 10-year, $100-million contract. Fred is talking about a massive amount of money.”

Though almost anything imaginable remains a possibility, the most likely scenario in this ongoing expansion frenzy, according to multiple sources, is for Memphis to receive an invitation from the Big East soon or after some of the Big East’s current members move to the Big Ten. But, a source said, “it’s hard to tell how this is going to shake out.”

It’s enough to make you switch to UPS.

The sad thing is that if this actually goes down, some pundit out there will hail it as a bold new business model for college athletics.

Exhibit A why sports bloggers should be licensed

Anybody with a keyboard can make a prediction.  But, hey, impressive track record, dudes:

… We have already sat down and mapped out each team’s individual seasons … while some state “you can not pick these things” … we did the same thing last season in JULY and almost nailed the majority of the season …

Wow, they almost got half right.  The Joshua Nesbitt of college football blogs…

(h/t Leather Helmet Blog)

The reason the Big XII is disbanding

If Uncle Ron’s not going to be around, what’s the point of soldiering on?