All right, first things first . . . our good friends over at Roll 'Bama Roll posed a few questions to Hey Jenny Slater's Doug Gillett and me.
Although we authored our respective answers without knowledge of each other's responses, Doug and I achieved a scary degree of synchronicity. Also, while Todd claims that I approve of cheating, I prefer to think that I deserve a commendation for original thinking.
TODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!
Secondly, while we're hitting the S.E.C. West weblogs here at SportsBlogs Nation, I also need to direct your attention to And the Valley Shook, where our resident L.S.U. fan offered a fair and balanced appraisal of my examination of Les Miles's remarks at S.E.C. Media Days, in which he reasonably replied:
That is a perfectly valid criticism. My links to the results of Southern California's games against Auburn in 2003 and against Arkansas in 2005 and 2006 were intended to demonstrate the success against the S.E.C. enjoyed by the Trojans, the putative national title game opponent whom Coach Miles unwisely maligned, but the larger point is legitimate.
Recent results in matchups between the S.E.C. and the Pac-10 are difficult to gauge due to the lack of comparable quality between opponents in most instances, but I have defended the Southeastern Conference against assaults from overzealous Pac-10 fans when warranted. On the whole, though, I give the Pac-10 its due and I think Midwestern expatriates recently relocated to the South should, too.
Lewis Grizzard said it best: we don't care how y'all did it back in Cleveland.
Incidentally, I'm curious . . . why is it that the conference wars typically seem to involve the Pac-10 and the S.E.C.? Senator Blutarsky noted the most recent volley just today, pointing once again to the West Coast equivalent of Les Miles, and folks with feet in both camps can appreciate the subtle differences, but there isn't any inherent reason why the West Coast and the Gulf Coast ought to be at daggers drawn.
It seems to me that the Pac-10 ought to have a much bigger quarrel with the Big 12 than with the S.E.C. and, in any event, there is plenty of disdain between other B.C.S. leagues. For instance, check out the Big East critiques being offered over at Black Shoe Diaries.
The Pac-10 and the S.E.C. share neither geographic proximity nor common bowl tie-ins. For all the attention paid to the split national title of 2003 and Auburn's omission from the mix in 2004, we in the South aren't any more singleminded about national championship arguments than other college football fans, and, besides . . . such debates are part of what makes the sport great.
So what gives, folks? Why does this feud get all the hype? To quote a Los Angelino with my surname, "Can't we all just get along?"
Go 'Dawgs!