Ladies and Gentlemen -

I will apologize in advance as this may be your only update this week. However we do have some college football news to report and some Email Q & A to cover for your information and entertainment.

So let’s get to it shall we?

DUKE: A Kentucky judge has confirmed what Duke football fans have known for years: Their football team is as bad as it gets.

Bad enough that Louisville should have to find another football team to replace the Blue Devils without penalty after Duke pulled out of the final three games of a four game contract last season.

In a lawsuit filed late last year, Louisville asked for $450,000 dollars in damages and any additional damages the court saw fit to award.

But Duke’s lawyers argued that the Blue Devils performance on the field was so poor that any Division I team would suffice as a replacement. Duke is 6-45 over the past five years and 13-90 since 1999.

Simply put, eleven hamsters would provide a bigger challenge to an opposing team.

NOTRE DAME: How bad is your football program when your Athletic Director would leave for the same position at Duke? Well, the Fighting Irish Athletic Director Kevin White did that just last week.

EDITORS NOTE: This is a sure sign that you suck.

OLYMPICS: Believe it or not, in Las Vegas this week a group is meeting to determine who will represent the United States in an Olympic demonstration of “Rock-Paper-Scissors”, in hopes that this will become an actual Olympic event in the near future.

One gibbering idiot was quoted as saying: “The manual dexterity and mental acuity to be a champion in this sport is equal to any sport anywhere in the world.”

EDITORS NOTE: What are we going to hear next? Wang Chang Foo is the Mark Spitz of “Rock-Paper-Scissors”? Kill me now.

ALABAMA: This week starting linebacker and one time running back Jimmy Johns was arrested in a drug sting by local police on five counts of selling cocaine.

Coach Nick Saban immediately responded with this statement: “This type of behavior obviously will not be tolerated and he is no longer a part of our program.”

EDITORS NOTE: Please note that at no time did Coach Nick say “He was looking into it” or “Waiting for all the facts” or even mention giving Johns another chance.
For the fans in Tallahassee and Knoxville; this is how it is done.

NCAA: Just in case you were wondering. We are all STILL waiting to hear about the investigation into Reggie Bush and Southern California.

EMAIL Q and A

Q: You wrote that “Most California fans” are of the “fair weather” type. In your mind, what constitutes a fair weather fan?
Brad - La Jolla, California
A: There are alot of ways to determine a fair weather fan Brad. But lets take a look at the most noticeable.

If all your college game day wear STILL has the price tag on it and it hasn’t been washed and not because it’s “lucky”, then you are most certainly a “fair weather” fan.
In California Speak: If the brand new shirt fits, then I don’t have to acquit.

Q: Mike, couldn’t you at least “try” and be a fan of the University of Southern California Trojans?
Jenna - Los Angeles, California
A: I would rather play Twister with Rosie O’Donnell.

EDITORS NOTE: I made myself throw up with that visual, sorry.

Q: Hello? Ever heard of the Ivy League?
Roxanne -Ithaca, New York
A: No I haven’t and you want to know why? Because your marching bands suck. And as a side note: Your cheerleaders look like they could floss with a number two pencil.

Q: For your information San Jose State is a “big” in-state rivalry game with both the University of Southern California and the Golden Bears of California!
Juan - Berkeley, California
A: Has anybody ever gotten killed over the results of the football game or divorced over your team affiliations? Then it’s not a “Big” rivalry game dumbass.

Q: How dare you dismiss AI Day on Trojan gameday! Amensty International Day brought “awareness” to the plight of the political prisoners unlawfully detained in this country! I am sure that the concept of justice is too difficult for you to understand!
Stephan G. - Los Angeles, California
A: I understand a lot of things Stephan. For example, I understand that you are a wussy with too much time on your hands.  

Q: Why all the hostility towards California? Frankly it saddens me. I believe that if we just shake hands, it will send a message of hope and peace and understanding. What do you say?
Amarella Sanchez - Encinitas, California
A: Shaking hands with someone from southern California is like shaking hands with a damp Twizzler.

Only 64 Days until Kickoff………

RTR
MEB

Ladies and Gentlemen -

It’s time for our last installment of the College Football Spring Game Tour.

I know, I am kind of sad about it too, but we only have 112 days until Kick-off…and we will continue to bring you the latest breaking news from the practice fields and coach’s clinics right up until the start of the 2008 season.

Before we roll into the final leg of our College Football Spring Tour let’s discuss some College Football news from San Diego, Baton Rouge and the upcoming 2008 Bowl Season.

It seems the judge in the civil suit against Reggie Bush by his one time sports agent and benefactor Lloyd Lake will be open to the public and not held behind closed doors as Reggie and his lawyers requested.

My favorite statement in the article by the San Diego writer: “Reggie Bush has not cooperated with the NCAA Investigation.” NOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooo Really?

Whatever happened to the NCAA branding someone a “Hostile Witness” for failing to cooperate and finding the individual and university guilty on all counts because of their “failure” to cooperate?
See for yourself:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/nfl/20080503-9999-1s3bush.html

Great News College Bowl Lovers! Two “New” Bowl games have been added to the schedule for 2008!

We have the St. Petersburg Bowl, that’s in Florida, not Russia and the other new Bowl game is in Washington D.C. Which I presume is going to be called the “Bulletproof Vest and Ballistic Shield Bowl”, because that’s what you are going to need if you travel to downtown D.C. at night.

LSU: (UPDATE) Let’s not mince words here or use some cute sports metaphor to describe the recent dismissal by Coach Les Miles.

Tiger quarterback Ryan Perrilloux has been dismissed from the LSU Tiger football team for being a self-serving, “It’s all about me” jackass, that clearly can’t take any direction from his coaches.
I hope that cleared it up for everybody.

AUBURN: Tommy’s Tigers will once again field what could possibly be the class of the SEC West with new offensive and defensive coordinators and an outstanding crop of young players reporting to the plains.
Also, from the “Little Known Fact” Department, Coach Tommy Tuberville’s ears are so big that he can actually hear your thoughts.

MIAMI (FLA): The Hurricanes just don’t seem like the Miami of old without all the felony arrests, you know kind of like the Tennessee and Florida State of today. But they are none the less building a team that will contend for the Atlantic Coast Conference Title, in a couple of years.

WASHINGTON: The Huskies will be much better than they were a year ago, but they are still a long way from the Glory Years of yesterday. And as a side note; I have nothing against the current coaching staff or athletic administration, but I still miss Coach James.

BEST QUOTE OF YESTERDAY: Coach Woody Hayes, The Ohio State University
” There is nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you.”

ILLINOIS:Coach Zook and The Fighting Pumpkins will make a serious run at the Big Ten, I mean Eleven Title this year, but will come up short to the mighty Buckeyes of Ohio State. Believe it.

ARKANSAS: Coach Bobby Petrino will have to wait another year before prized transfer Ryan Mallet from Michigan will be able to suit up for the Razorbacks, as the NCAA ruled the young man ineligible for the 2008 football season.

A visibly disappointed Coach Petrino told the local Fayetteville media that the quarterback position will now be determined through an intense round of “Rock-Paper-Scissors.”

EDITORS NOTE: The funny thing is Coach Petrino actually thought the NCAA was going to be “fair” concerning this situation. That’s almost as funny as when the NCAA uses the word “academics.”

TEXAS TECH: The Red Raiders (Get Those Guns UP!) are primed and ready for a breakout year and challenge everyone for the Big 12 title. This year they will throw more passes than Bill Clinton at a Church picnic.
Count on it.

KENTUCKY: Trying to replace Andre Woodson at quarterback will be harder than trying to find a Wildcat fan that actually cares about football season. Impossible? No. Difficult? Yes.

BOSTON COLLEGE: Seriously, Do you care? I didn’t think so, me either.

RUTGERS: (See above)

PITTSBURGH: (See Rutgers and Boston College)

WISCONSIN: The fact that the Badgers always have a competitive program capable of beating anybody on any given Saturday just goes to show you that cheese isn’t as bad for you as some scientist would have you believe.

MISSOURI: The Tigers return quarterback Chase Daniels and that should be good enough with the surrounding cast to get them to a top tier bowl game, but a ten or eleven win season?
Never.

CALIFORNIA: (Please see either Boston College, Rutgers or Pittsburgh)

NOTRE DAME: This season you can expect to see “All” of the Fighting Irish’s games on NBC, which of course stands for No Body Cares.

COACH’S QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Coach Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State University
“I have got a fever and the only prescription……is MORE Cowbell.”

MINNESOTA: I don’t have anything to report on the team this spring, but I did find out an interesting fact. The “Golden Gopher” mascot of Minnesota is “not” a groundhog as I had orginally thought.

In actuality, it is someone from your office or work place that is always willing to go get lunch for the staff and pay for it themselves.

I hope this cleared up any misunderstanding.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Can Coach Steve have a quarterback that doesn’t get arrested or suspended?
Come on, there just isn’t that much to do in Columbia!

Expect this kind of drain on the Ole Ball Coach to have him go into retirement within two seasons. Remember you heard it here first.

TEXAS A&M: Coach Mike Sherman better hit the ground running at Kyle Field. If he thinks the Green Bay fans were disagreeable after a loss, he hasn’t seen anything yet. Welcome to Aggieland.

Hootie Snitch will wrap up the week tomorrow with a round of emails.

Have a great weekend and if you are in need of a getaway there is no better place on the planet to escape than with my friends at the Stony Brook Chalets in Gatlinburg.

Check them out and tell them Your Favorite College Football Prognosticator sent you.
http://www.stonybrooklodging.com/

EDITORS NOTE: In case you were wondering; “Yes”, that was a shameless plug.

RTR
MEB