I know it was a short week, but how did it get to be Thursday already? All right, I've been really busy and so have you, so we're way behind and there's a lot to which to get, so here's what you need to know, quicker than it will take you to knock back that all-important first cup of coffee:
It is time once again for my weekly predictions, which are available for all of the S.E.C. games and the national games of interest. As always, there is a national game of disinterest, as well.
I believe a consensus has been reached: I offered my final thoughts on the East Coast bias, Nestor agreed, and I didn't make anyone queasy by combining pictures of Kristin Davis and Antonin Scalia in the same posting.
Robert Bork and Mary-Louise Parker? That I'll do. (Photograph from The Moderate Voice.)
Like a dutiful citizen, I cast my ballots in the BlogPoll and Maxwell Pundit voting and took the time to explain the former. The results are in, as the BlogPoll has been released and so have the Maxwell Pundit standings.
For what it's worth, the BlogPoll ranks Auburn fourth, L.S.U. fifth, Florida eighth, Tennessee 12th, and Georgia 13th. Three S.E.C. squads received first place votes. Alabama checks in at No. 24 and among the others receiving votes are Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, and South Carolina.
A mention of South Carolina warrants a picture of Mary-Louise Parker. Hey, would I disappoint the guy who went to all this trouble?
By far the best quotation offered in Bulldog Nation last week was this gem from Mark Richt, reproduced exactly---brackets and all---as it originally appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Uh . . . Coach? You talk to Michael Adams in the family-friendly tailgating zone with that mouth?
Only he didn't say "butt" . . .
Last week, I asked my readers to name the best conference in college football other than the S.E.C. The A.C.C. came in first with 38 per cent of the ballots cast, which struck me as somewhere between surprising and shocking. More plausibly, the Big Ten came in second (26%), followed by the Big 12 (16%), the Pac-10 (6%), the Mountain West (4%), and Conference U.S.A. (2%).
No ballots were cast in favor of the Big East, but the fourth-highest vote total (8%) went to "none of the above" . . . which either means those voters rejected the premise of the question and went with the S.E.C., anyway, or they think the M.A.C. or the Sun Belt is among the two toughest leagues in the sport. If you're one of those voters, please leave me a comment letting me know why you voted the way you did.
Sun Belt fever . . . catch it!
The new poll is, I assure you, intended in good fun. Meanwhile, 34hawk's recent diary contains a poll question that is both more pertinent and more time-sensitive. As if that didn't give you enough to do, a discussion question has been put forward for the good of the order.
First, the Gators couldn't tell the difference between an alligator and a crocodile. Now, they can't tell the difference between 26 and 2006 . . . and it isn't their 100th anniversary, anyway. How the heck do we keep losing to these bozos?
Speaking of centennial celebrations, special thanks go out to my old roommate from law school, Pete Allen, who reminded me of the recent 100th anniversary of the first forward pass.
Two recent stories have me seeing red . . . literally. Paul Westerdawg isn't sold on putting the 'Dawgs in red pants the way I am and Nico is campaigning to have the 'Bama faithful dress completely in crimson.
"All red!" (Photograph from Albert L. Ortega.)
Finally, I hope you will take advantage of my recent affiliation with Football Fanatics. By clicking here and ordering gear, you get top quality Bulldog merchandise and support Dawg Sports, too.
That's all the news that fits for now, so let me let you go. Get to work and, in case I don't talk to you again beforehand, have a good weekend.
Go 'Dawgs!