auburn wins the national championship

photo by todd van emst — courtesy of jay g. tate

 

Auburn defeats Oregon, 22-19.  War Eagle!

Just as predicted the Auburn Tigers are your BCS national champions.  I listened to the game on the internet (at 4:30 am) while drinking coffee and making (and eating) pancakes.  I wish I could have watched it, but our internet connection just won’t do it (I was booted off-line at least 20 times during the first half — only 3 in the second).  The game wasn’t any closer than I thought it would be — but it was a LOT lower scoring.  I expected to see it come down to the last possession, but I never ever would have guessed that neither team would break 30 points.  I was envisioning something like 48-45.

A few interesting stats and whatnot:

• This is Auburn’s first national championship since 1957.  [But they were shafted in 2004.]
• Auburn finished the season as the only team to beat more than five teams ranked in the top 25.  They beat seven. ONE-HALF of the teams on Auburn’s schedule finished their seasons ranked in the top 25.
• Gene Chizik is 7-0 in bowl games, and 2-0 in national championships.  [But he was shafted in 2004.]
• Heisman Trophy winner Cameron Newton ate three Oregon players while throwing for 265 yards and rushing for 64.
• Freshman running back Michael Dyer rushed for 144 yards and was named offensive MVP.
• Wes Byrum ended his Auburn career by kicking yet another game-winning field goal for the Tigers.  He’s the highest point-scorer in school history.
• Defensive lineman Nick Fairley had 5 tackles, 3 for a loss, and won defensive MVP.  Also, it’s been reported that he will, for the next few weeks, be visiting at least three of the Ducks in their nightmares.
• Speaking of Nick Fairley, Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas rushed for -6 yards on the night.  [Yes, that is a minus sign.]
• This is the first season in which Auburn has won 14 games in a season.  And they came from behind in 9 of them.
• Auburn is the 5th consecutive SEC team to win the national championship.  But this was a down year in the SEC, you know.

Uniforms

Nike designed some super awesome uniforms for Oregon to lose in.  And I use those words super and awesome to mean it looked like 5th graders were given charcoal and highlighters and asked to draw football uniforms with feathers on the shoulders. I know Nike gave the feathers-on-the-shoulder order, because not even 5th graders would think that looks good.  Here’s a photo of an “athlete” in the uniform:

an oregon "athlete" in uniform designed by 5th graders with charcoal and highlighters

And here’s a photo of a scared athlete in the same uniform:

a scared athlete in the same nike uniform (note the nice-looking auburn jersey)

I kind of hesitate to make fun of these Oregon uniforms, though.  Because the last time I did, I was told it was bad of me.  I think the exact words were, “This blog drips with the hypocrisy of Christianity.“

Odds and Ends

I have only one friend who is an Oregon fan.  His name is Charlie. You ought to head over to his blog and say hello.  But don’t be rude; I’m sure he’s already pretty upset.  As a matter of fact, if his comment on my post yesterday was any sign, I’m not sure he’ll even get out of bed today.  Anyway, a simple “sorry for your loss” should suffice.

And to close it out today, would you guys do me this one small favor?  [Of course, as usual, everyone is welcome -- encouraged even -- to comment below.]  But just out of curiosity I’d like to know how many Auburn fans regularly read my blog.  Would you guys let me know? You don’t have to type anything more than “war eagle” (though you’re welcome to type more if you like).  Now, I’m talking actual Auburn FANS, though, not just those of you who were cheering for us last night.  Though we do sincerely appreciate your support and thank you for your encouragement.

War Eagle!  The SEC rules.

 

brett’s morning blend (14dec10)

10 Commandments of Scripture Interpretation

Skye Jethani’s list of helps for properly interpreting scripture.  Among my favorites:

• You shall not ask questions the text does not want to answer.
• You shall remember that the simplest interpretation is usually, but not always, correct.

If Jesus Had a Blog

Jesus is concerned with the kingdom, while his followers don’t share his excitement.  The fake comments are very entertaining (and telling).

Narnia and the Evil Penguins

The plot summary of one megachurch’s big Christmas event.  I wasn’t sure whether or not to post this link… but the evil penguins put me over the edge.  [When I lived in China, my colleagues and I often recounted tales of sinister penguins and their diabolical plots to ruin life as we know it.]

Name a Mathematical Theorem After a Loved One

Just in case any of you were thinking about surprising me this Christmas with this gift, know that, while it’s a nice gesture, it is quite unneeded (and completely a waste of your time and money).  Not because I don’t want my name forever connected to a mathematical theorem or formula — but because Pythagoras and Quadraticus already laid claim to the two I wanted.

Gene Chizik Has No Chance to Succeed at Auburn

From December 2008, Stewart Mandel of ESPN explains why Chizik was a horrible hire and how Auburn will be hurting for years to come as a result — especially because he won’t be able to compete with Nick Saban over at Alabama.  Mandel says, “…Chizik has absolutely no chance of succeeding at Auburn.  Zero.”

Paul Finebaum chimes in, “He is a dead man walking.”

Auburn plays in the national championship on January 1o, two years after this article was written.

The State of Alabama #1 in College Football

The best college football in the country is being played in the state of Alabama.  There’s not much arguing that.  Last year’s national champion and Heisman winner.  This years (soon-to-be) national champion and (already) Heisman winner.

Insanewiches

An entire blog devoted to awesome sandwiches and burgers.  Yes, that is the best thing since, and to go with, sliced bread.  My favorite so far, Quadzilla:

1/4 lb ribs, 4 x 1/3 lb patties, 8 strips bacon, 4 slices pepper jack cheese, and barbecue sauce

fashion, football, and chuck norris

image courtesy of trackemtigers.com

Auburn will be playing in the national championship in January (this writer types while still grumbling about 2004).

Here are a few quotes (take a guess at how many are true):

“Auburn was too good for us.”  – South Carolina coach, Steve Spurrier

“I ain’t never got beat like this before.” — South Carolina receiver, Alshon Jeffery

“On the day Cam Newton transferred out of Blinn College, I became the toughest man in Texas.  I hope he doesn’t get drafted by the Cowboys or the Texans.” — Chuck Norris

“We had some great players, but never a better team than this one.” — Former Auburn coach, Pat Dye

“Our short arms and sharp teeth are no match for Cameron Newton or the Auburn Tigers.” — Tyrannosaurus Rex everywhere (the plural is indeed “Rex”)

“I want to be the greatest player in Auburn history.” — Cameron Newton (to Bo Jackson)

“You are the greatest player in Auburn history.” — Brett Harrison

“Cam Newton is the second-best college player I’ve ever seen. Herschel Walker, and only Herschel Walker, was better. And not by much.”  – Mark Bradley

“I believe Cameron Newton is the best college football player to ever put on a uniform.  And Auburn University is the best school in all the SEC.  We Georgia Bulldogs never could touch them; we used to pee our pants before Auburn games — some guys would go through four or five uniforms in one game day.  That’s where we came up with the black uniform idea; at first it was yellow, but we thought that would just look too stupid.  We were right — have you guys seen Oregon?” — Former best college football player ever, Herschel Walker

“On the day Cam Newton transferred
out of Blinn College, I became the toughest man in Texas.” – Chuck Norris

And below is a picture of our competition for the national championship — and how amazingly ridiculous they will look when we beat them (and before).  [Auburn is ranked #1 in the BCS and will be wearing home uniforms in Glendale, Arizona -- nice-looking, respectable home uniforms like the one pictured above... worn by Cameron Newton, quite possibly the greatest college quarterback in history.]

The players above were told to stand in numerical order. And Oregon will be wearing yellow when they meet the Auburn Tigers.

Please feel free to discuss in the comments how stupid the Oregon uniforms look or how many of the above quotes are true.

 

injustice in the ncaa: cam newton

image courtesy of trackemtigers.com

[*If you generally skip my posts concerning sports, this one is also about Christianity, slavery, and drawing and quartering people.  Come on, give just this one sports post a shot.]

Okay, I’ll admit it.  All this Cam Newton stuff has got me really riled up. You know when one character in a movie realizes something nobody else knows, and they try to explain it but no one believes them, and you just want to yell at the screen for them to listen to the guy, because he knows what he’s talking about?  That’s how I feel.  I don’t believe I’m smarter than everyone else (or anyone else) — that’s not my deal.  I just can’t seem to find anyone willing to think through this in logical fashion.  At least no one willing to offer me acceptable or reasonable answers.

I’ve posted on some comment boards, asking some of the very questions I asked in my last post.  Basically I’m wanting to know:

Why do so many of us support the punishment of innocent people in the area of college football recruitment?

Do we really think it’s fair to end the academic and athletic career of a student athlete whose greedy relative tried, unbeknownst to the player, to shop him around for money?

So far, I’ve received three types of answers:

1. We have to be consistent.  In the past we’ve punished some players for the sins of their relatives.  We can’t just change our minds now.  We’ve always done it this way.
2. We need to be extremely strict on this, so as to deter it from happening in the future.  We punish the player regardless of his involvement or knowledge of the wrongdoing because that will teach other students’ parents not to do this.
3. Are you an idiot?!  You must be, because everyone in the whole world has met and discussed this and we all agree except for you.  The NCAA agrees with us, as do most of the conference officials and university presidents.  We punish Cam Newton and others like him simply because most of us think we should — especially those really important people.

I don’t know about you, but I believe all three of these reasons to be full of crap.  Get this — using these same three arguments, I’ll offer some other suggestions that must be good, right, and logical:

1. Slavery is good. Really, we should keep this whole people-as-property thing going.  Why rid ourselves of a perfectly good system?  I mean we’ve always done it this way.
2. Henceforth, from this point on, we will draw-and-quarter any student athlete whose parent or other relative has inquired at any university concerning a pay-for-play plan.  Then we will send the four portions of his lifeless body to the four corners of these United States.  We will teach parents that they can’t do this sort of thing.  We’ve just got to hit them where it hurts. Slaughter their children.
3. Let’s keep the current BCS system forever; it’s so awesome and all the officials and school presidents like it so much already. Forget a playoff, everybody — computers and polls are where it’s at.

And just for the sake of pushing a little further, let me try this all again but with Christianity as my subject of choice:

1. Well, we’ve always met in a building with a steeple and a lot of pews that all face the front. And you want us to consider meeting in someone’s home now?  Where will the preacher put his pulpit?  And do we really have the funds to buy songbooks for everyone to keep at home?  How in the world will we know if everyone’s following our required order of worship (welcome – 2 songs – opening prayer – 2 songs – scripture reading – 1 song – communion – giving – 1 song and mark another in your songbooks – sermon – invitation song (previously marked) – elder speaks for a moment – song – closing prayer)?
2. All forms of dancing are wrong and evil.  Males and females cannot and should not swim together or near enough to one another to be seen while in bathing suits.  Any alcohol is sin, and Harry Potter is Satan incarnate.  Anyone involved in any of these activities — or who knows someone who is — will be shunned, gossiped about, and possibly disfellowshipped or excommunicated.
3. Are you kidding?!  Everyone knows the way to reach out to the lost is to have an awesome band on Sunday morning and a knock-off Starbucks coffee shop in what used to be the foyer (we now call it the cafe).  Yeah, all the biggest churches are doing it, and all the biggest Christian authors are writing about it….

Someone please offer me a better reason for punishing an innocent student athlete for the sins of his father.

justice in the ncaa: cam newton

image courtesy of trackemtigers.com

In light of the SEC Championship game and all the news on Cameron Newton, I wanted to post just a few of my thoughts and concerns.  There’s an awful lot of talk out there about the loophole now present in the NCAA.  I realize there is a loophole at this time — that a parent could potentially shop his kid around to universities, provided the athlete “doesn’t know” about these dealings. But here’s what I’m thinking:

• First of all, and my biggest question, why would we ever think it would be okay to punish an unknowing son for the wrongs done by his greedy father? Does that seem fair in any way?  Whether money was exchanged or not, this just isn’t right.
• When forced to err on the side of either justice or mercy, I myself choose to err towards mercy.  I realize national institutions, governments, and the like can’t be expected do that.  But the Cam Newton Debacle is not an issue of justice versus mercy.  To punish a player for the sins of a family member is to travel far beyond justice and deep into the realm of injustice.
• I understand there’s a loophole. but are we refusing justice simply because we’re afraid it will be abused?  Because rules get abused every day; that’s life.  I would suggest we find a way to punish the wrongdoer and not his offspring.  The answer to rules being abused is not to punish the innocent — and there’s no such thing as guilt by genetics. I don’t really care how big a loophole there is, no 21-year old kid can force his father to behave, or be expected to — especially if he doesn’t even know about the situation.
• Everyone is worried about “the slippery slope.”  We don’t want to set a precedent that this sort of thing can happen in college athletics.  But what about the alternative precedent, this one:  We like to end students’ academic and athletic careers because of offenses they neither committed nor knew about. Is that the precedent we want to set?
• And I’ve also got this question continually nagging me:  Where is the line? How far away does a family member of a college athlete have to be before the athlete is not himself held responsible for that individual’s actions? What if it were Cam Newton’s brother who’d asked for money without him knowing?  What if it had been his brother-in-law?  What about his stepmother?  Or an abusive father who lost custody in a divorce ten years prior?  Grandmother?  What if it was me who asked for money from Auburn, and agreed in exchange to deliver the quarterback?

Your thoughts?

By the way, my final score for the game:  Auburn 42, South Carolina 28.

[Edited:  I've been getting some answers to my questions, although they're pretty unreasonable and illogical.]

brett’s morning blend (30nov10)

I’ve been away from home (and computers, internet, electricity, and running water) for a few days, so morning blend is a little late; and there aren’t just alot* of links.  [I'm also behind on reading and posting comments.]  But the links that are here are quality, I assure you:

Youth Groups Destroy Children’s Lives

I am strongly in favor of more Christian interaction between adults and youth — which means less “traditional” youth group functions.  This article offers just a couple of good reasons for such.

Skye Jethani’s 30-Day Twitter Experiment

Basically Skye said not too very long ago that he’d never do Twitter for 10 reasons (you can find a link to those 10 reasons in this article).  But he was talked into giving the whole Twitter experience a try.  This is his first post in a series showing what happened when he set aside “one month to determine if [he] could engage Twitter in a redemptive way that would not erode [his] soul.”  Interesting piece — and check out his initial 10 reasons.

*The Alot is Better Than You at Everything

This is a great blog that I just found a couple of weeks ago.  The author writes (and draws cartoons) to illustrate his coping mechanism for dealing with regular use these days of the non-existent word “alot.”

The Iron Bowl According to Facebook

You guys know my Auburn Tigers defeated Alabama on Friday afternoon (despite having given them a 24-point head start).  And you know that we’re still undefeated.  And you probably know that if we beat South Carolina, we will be the SEC Champions AND will go to the National Championship.  This is Chad Gibbs’ Facebook take on last week’s game.

 

where is the line?

image courtesy of trackemtigers.com

 

Where is the line?

I’m not sure how much you guys have been keeping up with this Cameron Newton  news story.  Obviously, as a big Auburn fan, I’m keeping up with it a little closer than are most people (and I know my blog is generally more religious in nature — though this story has a religious bent, for sure).  If you’re not following along, here’s an extremely basic and oversimplified idea of what’s going on (which I will rush through in order to get to my big question).

• Cameron Newton’s father, Cecil Newton, admitted there was talk between he and an ex-MSU football player concerning money in exchange for his son’s enrollment to Mississippi State University — where Cameron ended up NOT going to play.  [This from mrsec.com]
• This confession was offered after numerous accusations by several MSU recruiters and boosters alike, some unnamed and others on the record.
• This confession also came after denials were initially made by Cecil Newton in the past couple of weeks concerning pay-for-play arrangements or requests.
• Cecil Newton also claims that neither his wife nor his son ever knew anything at all about these discussions.
• As far as we know, there has not been any witness to speak at all to any such discussions having happened with other schools (including Auburn University).  Auburn, who has known about this investigation since MSU turned in partial information to authorities in January, have determined Cameron Newton was not involved in any pay-to-play scheme and is fully eligible for play.

We obviously don’t yet have all the facts, but one huge question arises in my mind.  And I’ve not yet read anyone asking this question:

Where is the line?  How far away does a “representative” of a college athlete have to be before the athlete is not himself held responsible for that individual’s actions?

It seems we were all happy to call Cameron Newton innocent when it might have been Kenny Rogers asking for money from Mississippi State’s boosters.  Kenny Rogers was just some evil, greedy, and scheming man — and Auburn and Cam Newton could never be held responsible for his nasty behavior.

But when Cecil Newton is doing the requesting “on behalf” of his son — even without his son’s knowledge — Cameron is no longer eligible?

What if it were Cam Newton’s brother who’d asked for money without him knowing?  What if it had been his brother-in-law?  What about his stepmother?  Or an abusive father who lost custody in a divorce ten years prior?  Grandmother?  What if it was me who asked for money from Auburn, and agreed in exchange to deliver the quarterback?

Cameron Newton is 21 years old..  What if he were a 30-year old guy who’d come to college to play football after serving in the military or working for a while after high school?  Would his dad asking for money then be a problem?  What if it was his 10-year old son asking for money?  His wife?

If Newton’s high school youth minister had asked for money, would he still be eligible?  What if it was his coach from junior college in Texas?  His auntie who always makes him sweaters for Christmas and just wants a little sumthin’ sumthin’ in return?

Where do we draw the line? That’s my big question.  Whether there was money exchanged or not — no matter what’s true or false — I just want to know what happens when an athlete doesn’t know cash is being requested by a family member, a friend, or a pizza delivery guy?  To what extent do we hold a 21-year old football player responsible for the actions of those with whom he has relationship (or doesn’t) — especially if he has no knowledge of the situation?  Do we throw away a Heisman Trophy, a college education, a successful football season, and a university’s ability to compete in college athletics for the actions of a greedy weasel of a father?  What about for the actions of a greedy weasel of a Kenny Rogers?  What about for the actions of a greedy weasel of someone in between?  This is a really important decision that someone’s likely got to make in the very near future.

Where is that line?

 

cameron newton and chronic halitosis

image courtesy of trackemtigers.com

I played football for one season. It was 7th grade, and your author had played soccer every fall from the age of 7 — but was up for trying a new sport one year.  I didn’t try out for the school football team, and instead played city league ball.  There were four teams (each complete with its own cheerleading squad), and I played for the Packers.

I remember amazingly little about the season.  But there was this one coach with really bad breath — I mean chronic halitosis of the worst kind.  The guy ate sour-cream-and-sewage flavored Chex mix before every practice, and brushed his teeth with eggs. His breath was so bad that, had I been smarter, I would’ve purposely played mediocre ball so as to not be lectured for poor play OR congratulated for good play.

The other coach I remember was named Jack — or maybe his son was named Jack?  But he dressed and looked  a whole lot like Steve Spurrier — visor, clipboard, and all.  I don’t really remember any of the players or much else about the season, other than my role on the team (and that I liked speaking with Jack Spurrier much better than with dragon-whisperer).  I played defensive tackle on the left side and tight end on offense.  Pretty much I tried to tackle the quarterback and occasionally ran the reverse.  I also ran a lot of pass routes, but 7th grade football isn’t generally considered to showcase an electrifying, through-the-air style of play.  I’m not sure there was ever actually even a pass thrown.  I had four sacks on the year, no touchdowns, and happily returned to the soccer pitch the following year.

It’s not that football wasn’t fun; it’s just that, at the end of every game, I felt like we’d not done much.  I wasn’t sure if the games were too short or if running routes for nonexistent passes just wasn’t my thing. I later realized the problem: there really wasn’t a whole lot of football in football games. The majority of our time was spent in a huddle, calling plays, or lining up for a new play.  Soccer was a sport where I could run and play for every minute of the game; there was always something happening — and I didn’t have to wear a view-obstructing helmet or anything called a butt pad.  So I returned to the gentleman’s sport.

But I have nothing against football.  College football is actually my favorite sport to watch — in person and on television.  I love it.  These days I’m staying up until 3:00 am on Sunday mornings just to read the play-by-play of Auburn games scrolling across the bottom of my computer screen.  [I love Auburn football.]  And I enjoyed playing intramural football every year I was in college (and even a few after I graduated).  So I don’t have anything against the sport, but I am calling it like I see it.  It’s kind of a slow game.

This little chart shows what I’m talking about:

a televised nfl game contains 11 minutes actual play

But now on to more important things, and the reason I’m posting today.  In the newest issue of Sports Illustrated, there’s a great article on Auburn quarterback, Cam Newton — your next Heisman Trophy winner.  The article:  Catch Cam If You Can (You Can’t).

This is the most interesting paragraph in the article, which explains that Newton’s first choice was Mississippi State — though he gave his father final say in the decision:

Last December the choice of which college to attend came down to two schools—Auburn and Mississippi State. Newton preferred Starkville because of his close relationship with Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen, who had been Newton’s offensive coordinator at Florida. But Cecil thought his son should choose Auburn, which had an experienced offensive line (four starters were returning) and was only a two-hour drive from Atlanta. Newton let his father make the final decision, and a few days before Christmas, while sitting at the dinner table in his brother’s house in Jacksonville, Cecil Sr. uttered two words that would radically alter the college football landscape: “It’s Auburn.”

Thanks, Cecil.  And tough luck, Bulldogs.  Maybe next time.

Oh, and in addition to being obedient to his father, Cameron Newton gives back to his community… despite his incredibly busy schedule and high profile.  Here’s a great article on Newton’s involvement with a local elementary school:  Newton Giving Back.

Newton for Heisman. And coaches, have you considered breath mints?

who for then what?

The kid’s head was right in front of the television, and my mind traveled back to Mike Myers in So I Married an Axe Murderer.  And then back to Auburn University, 1995 — okay, so my mind’s already been on Auburn a lot lately.  Anyways, good film.  Axe Murderer was the go-to movie during my freshman year of college — I must have watched it 20 times that ’95-’96 school year.  I had nearly every line memorized; and the movie — or one of its hilarious quotes – undoubtedly came up daily.

A few of us got in the habit of singing “There She Goes” (by The Boo Radleys) each time a certain girl entered our Chemistry class.  Others of us would, in our best Scottish accents (mine is horrible — all my accents are), make fun of each others’ big heads (like oranges on toothpicks).  Coffee shops were just becoming popular in Auburn, and always someone was complaining there’d been a mistake because they ordered the large cappuccino.  None of us trusted the Colonel with his wee beady eyes.  And my roommates and I ate haggis for dinner at least four nights a week.

As far as movies go, So I Married an Axe Murderer WAS my freshman year of college.

I haven’t seen it since.

Funny how we have those movies.  Those albums.  Those lotions from Bath and Body Works (Sun-Ripened Raspberry rules).  Those aquamarine-colored L.L. Bean anoraks (yeah, I was probably the only guy with that color).

Music and movies, smells and shells — these are the closest we’ve got to time travel machines.

That which seems so very important, funny, interesting, popular, or relevant today likely will not last beyond a season.  But it may forever possess a remarkable ability to return us to that season, even if only for a moment.

Take the time, then, to smell the roses (and the lotions) and to quote some funny movies.  That may one day be your only ticket to Memory Lane. You’ll have to write your own moral for this blog post; this is far too trite.  And, really, I didn’t have a point when I started writing anyway.

I leave you with a “War Eagle!” and a few of my favorite quotes from So I Married an Axe Murderer:

Harriet:  It’s late.
Charlie:  Not for me.
Harriet:  Who for then?
Charlie:  Who for then what?
Harriet:  Well you sighed and then you looked at your watch so I was just wondering who it was late for.
Charlie:  Not for me. I love the night life. I like to boogie!!

Charlie:  Tell me one bad thing that you’ve done, and it better be evil.
Harriet:  How evil?
Charlie:  Really evil. Like so evil, that you would say it was E-VEEL, like the FRU-ITS of the DE-VEEL.

Harriet. Harri-et.
Hard-hearted harbinger of haggis.
Beautiful, bemus-ed, bellicose butcher.
Un-trust… ing.
Un-know… ing.
Un-love… ed?
“He wants you back,” he screamed into the night air like a fireman going to a window that has no fire…
except the passion of his heart.
I am lonely.
It’s really hard.
This poem… sucks.

Bonus: Speaking of reminiscing, old stuff, memories and the like, from whom does this quote come (without googling) – and of what season in your life does it remind you?

The smell from a grill could spark up nostalgia.

Or maybe you just want to express your deep love for Axe Murderer…

beauty and the beast — plus a rat

the beauty

baylor doing what she does best: climbing

something about the color of her eyes and colorado skies

and one of my top 3 favorite photos of my daughter and i

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lsu and a pact with you-know-who…

Big game this week for my Auburn Tigers.  I’m nervous for several reasons:

1. Auburn’s had way too many close games, and at this rate we’re bound to drop one some time.
2. LSU’s got a great defense — 3rd in the nation, I believe.
3. Les Miles is really lucky.  Some say he’s even got an agreement with the dark lord.  Of course I know a guy in Mississippi who claims Mr. Miles is himself the great accuser.

Everett: Well, there are all manner of lesser imps and demons, Pete, but the great Satan hisself is red and scaly with a bifurcated tail, and he carries a hay fork.

Tommy Johnson: Oh, no. No, sir. He’s white, as white as you folks, with empty eyes and big hollow quotes. He loves to travel around with a mean old hat. That’s right.

My Thoughts: The press keeps talking about how LSU is going to show Auburn a defense the likes of which they’ve not yet seen this season.  True.  But why is no one talking about how Auburn is going to show LSU an offense like they’ve not yet seen this season… or last season?  I mean, against whom was this #3 defensive ranking earned?  Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and McNeese State?  [That was not sarcasm.  Those really are the teams.  Oh, and North Carolina hung 24 on this defense -- with probably half their starters out on suspension.  And I'm reading that Auburn can't put up 35?!]

My Predictions: Lee and Jefferson combine for at least 2 interceptions, 3 sacks, and a fumble.  Patrick Peterson will look really good for LSU, but won’t overcome an offense that’s too strong, led by the best quarterback in the nation.  Auburn not only will win, but (in a single game) will knock LSU out of the top 5 (maybe 10) defenses in the country.  Auburn will have at least 400 yards on offense and 5 touchdowns.  I’ll allow that LSU’s defense is talented enough to choose whether those touchdowns are running or throwing — but touchdowns they will be.  Auburn plays its first complete game this weekend. Auburn 41, LSU 24.

Oh, and this week the LSU Tigers are ranked #6 in the AP, #6 in the Coaches’, and #6 by the BCS.  Yeah.

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the rat who hitched from dar to geita…

So this little fella’ got in our truck at some point towards the end of our time in Dar es Salaam.  We suspected there had been an animal in the vehicle when one morning Baylor’s sippy cup had been chewed to near non-recognition.  But we didn’t know he was still in the truck until (after being home in Geita for a day) I opened the glove compartment and stuck my hand in to find a map… and nearly had it gnawed off by what I thought was the first squirrel I’d seen since leaving the states.  One handy dandy trap from our local market, set with peanut butter and a raisin, did the trick.

[I put my shoe in the photo to give you an idea of the size of this joker.  By the way, for those of you interested in the barefoot / minimalist shoe movement, that's the shoe I ran my last two half-marathons in (well, one shoe of a pair.]

a scored and certified size 12 1/2 rat (counting the tail)