LandTheives Viewing Guide

What I'd be watching, if I weren't travelling to Norman or weren't at the six man football festival in Hico:

10 am - start off with Appy State at LSU - the game time was moved to accommodate fleeing from the coasts. This is a huge advantage to Appy State; the Bayou Bengals fans will be a mixture of still drunk and hungover and won't know what hit 'em. At least that's what I wished happened. Pick: LSU.
130 pm - a late lunch, maybe a nap.
230 pm - A challenging time slot. You can watch FSNSW and root for the Cougars against the favored Pokes; check out the 2008 version of the USC Trojans, or examine DickRod's debut as Michigan coach. I would probably channel surf amongst all three, rooting for the Cougars, Cavaliers and Utes, and expecting to be disappointed in all three games. Picks: Cowboys, Trojans and Wolverines
500 pm - add TCU vs New Mexico on Versus to the rotation. Since the DMN will spend more ink on the WR meltdown for the Dallas Cowboys, watching this is the only way to keep up with the Frogs in Dallas county. Pick: Frogs.
700 pm - At this point, you're probably at halftime of the TCU game, and can add the Bama - Clemson game to the rotation. Pick: Clemson
730 pm - The Missouri - Illinois game starts on ESPN. It's diabolical of the world wide leader to take the only two games featuring ranked foes on both sidelines and put them on at the same time. Drop the Frogs game - sorry Poe - and flip b/w Bama-Clemson and Mizzou-Illinois.Pick: Mizzou.
900 pm - As the 700ish games roll into halftime, Washington vs Oregon starts on FSNSW. The late Pac10 games are often a well played treat. Usually U-dub is not involved. At the conclution of this game, you would have watched football for 14 hours, with perhaps a one hour respite. Pick: Oregon

Ah, what a great day.

Stolen Thoughts 8-30-08

• Malcolm Kelly's knee injury is not healing as desired.
• Former Sooner Dan Cody was cut by the Ravens.
• SMU fired Phil Bennett b/c he couldn't win games. Most of the time, that was offense related. They brought on June Jones, and while the DMN declares the debut full of hope, Rice averaged 31 pts per game last year and scored 56 on the Mustangs.
• If I weren't going to the OU game today, I'd be going here.

LandThieves Stat of the Week

The Sooners have not lost to a school that hails from the Volunteer state since January 2, 1939, when the Vols beat the Sooners in the Orange Bowl. At that time, the Sooners were 0-1-1 against Tennessee schools, but have rebounded to win their last four games against Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Middle Tennessee State.

Stolen Thoughts 8-29-08

I checked over at the Waco Trib for a breakdown of the Bears game last night. One of the headlines was "Baylor University pushing recycling at tonight's football game". So they started Kirby Freeman. Kirby seems like a good kid, but it's just not working for him as a D-1 QB. I thought SuperFrosh Robert Griffin was as good as a true freshman QB could be, which is tantalizing good at times and maddeningly mistake prone at times. He through a great deep ball for a near score in the first half. The Fox Sports team raved about the WFU DB tipping the ball away, but it looked to me like the Baylor receiver let it bounce off his facemask, arms and shoulder pads for an incomplete pass.

Enough Bear coverage. Here's a nice article about Sooner LB Mike Balogun.

My prediction for a South Dakota State upset of Iowa State was a little bit off. We don't know yet, but maybe Chizik is making headway in Ames.

In other news, the best car salesman in Huntsville, Texas had a big night against East Central of Oklahoma, better known as Mark Gastineau's alma mater.

Mocs Preview Limerick

To both my readers:
I just can't get fired up about the OU-Mocs game on Sat. evening. The Mocs were 2-9 in 1-AA last year. Statistically, they had a bad offense that was offset by a bad defense.

I'll do more in-depth previews next week, but for now you get a preview limerick and that's it.

The Sooners are hosting the Mocs
Without LB Austin Box
It will not matter
The guests couldn’t be badder;
OU could win the game in crocs

Switzer Irked at Comparisons to Clinton

In a special sit down interview after a San Antonio reporter compared him to Bill Clinton, LandThieves editor in chief Joe Huff sat down with The King.


JH: Walk we through your thoughts when you read this article.
BS: You've got to be freaking kidding me. Monica Lewinsky? Gennifer Flowers? I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole.


JH: Well, you're both from Arkansas, and reputed to be philanderers. You don't see the comparison.
BS: Have you seen Hillary? If I were married to her, I'd definitely break the marriage vows. Of course, I wouldn't marry her in the first place. Ivy Leaguers with cankles just aren't my type.


JH: Tell me about other ways that you're different than Clinton.
BS: By most counts, Bill had 8 good years, tops. Clinton used police officers to help him meet women. I can get them on my own. I won three national championships in 15 years. Five years after resigning, the Dallas Cowboys came calling. What did you see Bill Clinton five years after his presidency? Campaigning for his wife? Bill intimidated interns into having relations with me. I slept with my assistant's wife - so they say.


JH: What president do you see yourself most like?
BS: JFK. We both became famous in Dallas.

Stolen Thoughts 8-27-08

• The UCLA ad in the LA Times was clever. The USC photoshopped response is genius.
• A new resource to track this lovely, violent game.
• Brody Eldridge is OU's best player. Of course, that's why he was voted All Big XII.
• A winning Nebraska helps the Nebraska economy. Of course, you've got thousands of people purchasing these.
• Holy cow. Wayman Tisdale had his lower leg amputated in his continuing battle with cancer. Wayman is one of the greatest humans in Sooner history. Wayman, we're praying for a healthy recovery.
• This is not suitable for family reading, but it's pretty funny.

Big 12 South Previews - Week 1

• Boone State at Washington State - Washington State has never lost to Boone State, beating them twice in the early 1950s while Boone Pickens was a recent college graduate working at Phillips Petroleum. If the Pokes are not able to beat the Cougars, Pickens has vowed to destroy the economy of another small city in Oklahoma. Pick: Pokes
• Wake Forest at Baylor - This will be the inaugural game of the Art Briles era in Waco, and the game is sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention. The first four contests between the schools, played between 1949 and 1961, were part of the Baptist Bowl series. Now that the Baptists are trying to reach a larger audience, the clash has been renamed the Post-Modern Protestant Performance. Baptist Press recently featured an in depth article titled, "Baptist Football Resurgence - the Catholics suck at football now, too", which celebrated the downfall of Fisheater Football, WFU's ACC championship and Briles' hiring. WFU is ranked 23rd in the AP, and Baylor is ranked 11th or 12th in the Big 12, depending upon the poll. Baylor is still unsettled at quarterback, with Kirby Freeman, Blake Szymanski, Robert Griffin and Ryan Roberts all vying for the starting position. The Big 12 South hasn't seen such a wide open QB race since 1998, when Jake Sills, Eric Moore, Jarrod Reese and Patrick Fletcher battled it out for the Sooners QB spot. With apologies to my Baylor readers, I think that pretty much sums up the Bears season right there. On the other hand, tell me when the last time was Baylor had the most compelling game of the Big 12. Pick: Demon Deacons, albeit cheering to be wrong.
• Eastern Washington at Dust Pirates- many of you are wondering why TT is playing the Eastern Washington Eagles to open the season. People, this is simple. TT and CU got a 2 for one special, and Colorado gets 'em next week. Pick: Dust Pirates.
• Florida Atlantic at Texas - Schnelly, while at FAU, is 6-0 against teams from Texas. Of course, that's Texas State and North Texas. FAU is 0-5 against teams from the Big 12, getting outscored 36-188. The skills that helped me obtain a CPA certificate tell me that's an average of 7-35. Being that Howie called the Horns soft, I think a 28 point loss would be a moral victory for the Owls. Pick: Longhorns.
• Arkansas State at Cash Machine U - Sooner great Larry Lacewell went 69-58-4 from 79 to 89 at Arkansas State. He's the last coach at ASU to have a winning record. Jorvorskie Lane has a headache, but it shouldn't matter, as the Aggies will ride the emotional boost of the revealing of Reveille VIII to the adoring masses at Kyle Field. On the other hand, ASU gave Texas quite the game last year. Pick: Aggies.

We'll have the official LandThieves analysis of the Sooners-Mocs game by close of Thursday.

Tommie Harris vs Josh Jarboe

Saw this over at Sturminator.blogspot.com.

Week 1 Previews - Big 12 North

Since I don't think you, the reader(s), can handle it all at once, here are my Big 12 North Division previews

• Missouri vs Illinois - this is a huge border rivalry in two flyover states, aptly names the Arch Rivalry, and it's been played in St. Louis all the way back to 2002. The rivalry dates back to 1896 and has been played every year since - 2007. Missouri has won the last three games. Many people think the Arch Rivalry relates to the St. Louis Arch, however, a little known fact is that the winner gets dinner on the Hill, an Italian section of St. Louis with great restaurant, and the loser gets to drive through a Golden Arches on the bus ride back to campus. Pick: Missouri
• Western Michigan at Bugeaters - The Bo Pelini era resumes in Lincoln as Nebraska looks to remain undefeated against directional Michigan schools. Prediction: Bugeaters
• Florida International at Phog U - The Mario Cristobal era begins at Florida International. FIU has never won a non-conference game. I don't see that changing in Lawrence, KS. Prediction: Jayhawks
• North Texas at Willie and Friends - the second season of Todd Dodge ball kicks off in the Little Apple. If you're interested in additional information on this game, please seek medical attention immediately. Prediction: Wildcats
• South Dakota State at Baylor North - South Dakota State is one of the better teams in 1-AA. Iowa State is one of the better Big 12 North teams in the state of Iowa. Pick: South Dakota State
• Colorado vs Colorado State - The Steve Fairchild era begins in Colorado State. Fairchild left the Buffalo Bills as Offensive Coordinator at the end of 07. Rumors are the Bills season ticket holders posted the resume on the CSU website on Fairchild's behalf. Pick: Colorado

We should have the South previews up tomorrow evening.

Linebackers

A little insomnia last night enabled me to watch a replay of the OU-UT game from last October. In case you don't recall, Colt Mccoy passed for something like 4,000 yards in a single game by repeatedly throwing over the linebackers, who couldn't drop deep enough quick enough into pass coverage. The scary part was that Ryan Reynolds was one of the ones repeatedly picked on. I believe he was dinged up last year, but the fact that he's our sole returning LB terrifies me now.

College Football Pick 'em - 2008

Join the LandThieves College Football Pickem group at espn.com

Here's link to the home page. No password is required to join the group, but you do have to register for espn.com

See you there, and good luck!

Week 1 Game Previews - National Games of Note

The Week 1 games are, for the most part, preseason games. We'll take a weekly look here at the national games of note and get to the Big 12 previews later in the week:

• Alabama at Clemson - There are a lot of questions about these teams headed into the year. Many pundits have big things predicted for the Clemson Tigers. These pundits feel an obligation to pick a team coached by someone with the last name of Bowden to be in the top 10. They forget that Clemson has lost at least four games in all but one of the seasons Tommy Bowden has been coach. Alabama will be improved this year, as Saban signed 80 players to scholarship offers in the spring and setup a cocaine sting to get back under the NCAA imposed scholarship limits. A review of common opponents from 2007 indicates that Clemson beat ULM. Pick: Clemson
• Appalachian State at LSU - Many people are asking the question, "Can Appy State pull the upset two years in a row?" The answer is...No. Pick: LSU
• La-Monroe at Auburn - Louisiana Monroe looks to continue its winning streak against Alabama-based SEC schools. This game is for additional bragging rights in Alabama, as Auburn has already made their "At Least we beat Louisiana-Monroe" bumper stickers to be passed out after the game to all Auburn fans that stay the entire game. Of course, Troy could make the same bumper sticker. Prediction: Auburn
• Tennessee at UCLA - The Vols last travelled to UCLA to play the Bruins in 1997 and beat UCLA 30-24. The Bruins were so upset about this they travelled to Austin the following week and beat Texas 66-3. I love that I was able to work mention of that game into this preview. UCLA now has Slick Rick as HC and Norm Chow as offensive coordinator. Unfortunately, the UCLA QB competition this summer has been sponsored by the Darwin Awards. Pick: Volunteers

We'll have the Big 12 Previews later in the week.

Rankings based on NFL Talent

I've been reading a lot about Georgia as the preseason #1 pick going into the college season, with other options being the Sooners, Trojans and Buckeyes. I decided to go to http://nfldraftsite.com, which has draft projections for the next two years online (and it's free), and see how the players stack up. The site has projected seven rounds of picks and another round of compensatory picks for 2009, and 2010. From that you can assess the level of pro talent on each roster. Admittedly, college and pro games differ (ask John Heupel or Danny Wuerffel for instance), but you gotta have some pro talent to succeed.

I took the 512 picks and assigned them a point value, with a top 8 pick getting 32 points, next eight picks getting, 31 points, and so on. I also went ahead and gave an extra point for a 2009 pick vs 2010, as upperclassmen should count for somethign extra. Without further ado, here is how the teams rate based upon this evaluation, with their USA Today Coaches poll ranking in parenthesis:

1. Ohio State (3)
2. Southern Cal (2)
3. Tennessee (18)
4. Miami FL (no votes)
5. Clemson (9)
6. Wisconsin (12)
7. Texas (10)
8. Oregon (20)
9. LSU (6)
10. Oklahoma (4)
11. Michigan (24)
12. Florida State (30)
13. Florida (5)
14. Arizona State (16)
15. Alabama (26)
16. Virginia (13)
17. Missouri (7)
18. Iowa (no votes)
19. UCLA (47)
20. Purdue (no votes)
21. Auburn (11)
22. Penn State (22)
23. Kentucky (42)
24. Notre Dame (42)
25. Stanford (no votes)

Using this highly unscientific method of rankings, Georgia is ranked 36. Admittedly, the ranking is a bit flawed, as it gives no credit for exceptions freshman and sophomores, so you don't get credit for a Knowshon Moreno, Joe McKnight, or DeMarco Murray. Also, it doesn't factor in the impact coaching has (for every Bill Callahan, there's a Jim Grobe out there). Other elements of interest in the above: a) Miami FL still has talent; b) Notre Dame has more talent than Charlie Weis would have you believe; c) Stanford's upset of USC last year wasn't as far fetched as previously thought.

Here are rankings of other teams in the USA Today preseason top 25 (flawed nfl draft rankings in parenthesis):

• 8th ranked West Virgina (46)
• 13th ranked Kansas (70)
• 14th ranked Texas Tech (40)
• 15th ranked Virginia Tech (31)
• 17th ranked BYU (49)
• 19th ranked Illinois (39)
• 21st ranked South Florida (29)
• 23rd ranked Wake Forest (75)
• 25th ranked Fresno State (66)

Aug 24 in LandThieves History...

On Aug 24, 2007, the gruesome details of the alleged altercation between Michael Beckett and Brian Thomas came to light. Trial is set for later this year. This is all Bush's fault.

Stolen Thoughts 8-21-08

• The folks at the blessed alma mater aren't making it easy for Jarboe to get a fresh start at Troy.
• Erin Andrews graces Thursday nights on ESPN again.
• TT coach - I mean former Sooner assistant - Mike Leach is contemplating recruiting in Jamaica. Someone should tell him that you can't get there from Love Field.
• Charles Barkley is going to have a televised colonoscopy. Reminds me of an line I read in a fine booked title "It's only a bruise", where the doc is taking the temp of an o-lineman rectally. Doc says, "Could you fart and give me a clue."
• Howard Schnellenberg apparently did say the Horns weren't tough. It's video'd and everything.
• Ben Mauk's appeal is being reconsidered by the NCAA. Cincy is a top 25 rated team. With him as QB, the Sooners game on 9-6 gets tougher.
• Bob Stoops is worth every penny. So Joe C and David B say.

Football season kicks off a week from today. I can't wait.

More Reveille 8 Coverage

Reveille VII has her own unique perspective on Topeka's most recent export.

Carnac the Magnificent

The answers are:

a) TCU Football Coverage

b) John McCain endorsement

c) Letters to the editor complaining about Kevin Blackistone's departure

The question was:

Name three things you won't read in the Dallas Morning News.

Heyyyooooo! Be sure and tip your wait staff. I'll be here all week.

Top 10 Victories during the Blake Era

The Daily Oklahoman is doing a big "Bob Stoops @ 10" thing this week. To supplement their superb coverage, I thought I would provide a little different perspective. For you, the loyal reader, I submit the Top 10 Victories of the John Blake era.

1. Oct 12, 1996, Texas - This was JB's first victory. The Sooners were pathetic in the four games prior to this. They were coming off losses to TCU, San Diego State, Tulsa, and Kansas, and UT was ranked.
2. Oct 19, 1996, at Baylor - this victory was significant because it was a) Blake's first two game winning streak; b) kept the unbeaten streak alive over Baylor. The Sooners came from 10 points down in the seconf half to beat Baylor. Pause for a moment to let that sink in.
3. Sep 6, 1997, Syracuse - this game was an absolute thriller to watch. Demond Parker ran for 200+ yards. OU blocked a field goal at the end of the game to seal the victory. You woulda thought we won the national championship that day the way we reacted in the stands.
4. Oct 18, 1997 Baylor - the Sooners intercepted a two point conversion with 28 seconds left to secure a one point victory.
5. Nov 22, 1997, at Texas Tech - John Blake is undefeated in Lubbock as a head coach. I wish Stoops could say that.
6. Sep 5, 1998, North Texas - The largest margin of victory during the Blake era. The Sooners were down 6-0 after the first quarter. QB Patrick Flether went 5-5 for 84 yards and a score.
7. Sep 12, 1998 at TCU - I was actually at this game with TexPoes. I have never been more embarrassed about winning a football game. OU was 5-19 passing. The best pass play was an interception...the Sooners threw a pick and the TE, whose name escapes me, stripped the ball from the defender after the pick and the Sooners went on to win the game. The weather was horrible. This also concluded the only three game winning streak of the Blake era. LDT was held to 22 yards on 10 carries. The teams combined for 15 first downs.
8. Sep 27, 1997, Louisville - I remember two things about this game: a) I about got in a fight with a gent sitting in front of me over a chairback; and b) the Cardinals had a receiver named Arnold Jackson. He caught 3 balls for 16 yards.
9. Nov 9, 1996, at Boone State - this was Blake's only W against our intrastate rival. Of course, at that point, Tulsa was a rival as well, and ECU would have been if they were in Division I.
10. Nov 21, 1998, Texas Tech - Conspiracy theorists believe Spike Dykes was paid by fellow Big 12 coaches to lose the game in an effort to save Blake's job. Fortunately for all of us, it didn't work.

Honorable mention (hey there were only 12 wins to analyze):

i) Nov 14, 1998 over Baylor and ii) Oct 31, 1998 over Iowa State. I have blocked both these games from my memory. However, I would bet money that the Pride of Oklahoma dressed up in costumes and played La Bamba at halftime of the Cyclone W.

Drug Testing Suggested for Fox Sports.com

Ran across the inevitable Top 10 up and coming coaches list.

Todd Dodge, UNT coach, is listed as an up and comer. That I have no issue with, I'm actually a fan of his. The twist is that his next logical step as a coach is Oklahoma Offensive Coordinator. The folks at FSN believe that Dodge will leapfrog Heupel on that front? Seems like they've been playing the Summer Olympics Drinking Game a little bit too much.

I also ran across an article today (courtesy of a link on the Tulsa World site) that ranks Briles as the 7th best coach in the Big 12. And he hasn't even coached a game yet (never mind the fact it's a Sorting News column from April 08). That's like saying Bo Pelini is one of three coaches in Bugeater history to have never lost a game as coach.

The Daily Oklahoman is slobbering over the HeadVisor this week, as Stoopsy is in his 10th year as Sooner coach. To all you Poke fans out there, I'm sure they'll return the favor when Gundy makes it to year 10. Be warned, however, that you've only had one coach since WW2 last 10 years, and that was Pat Jones. If memory serves me correctly, that's five years with Jimmy Johnson's recruits, and five years sinking the ship, or as statisticians call it, "reverting to the mean".

Boone State and the Number 8

Last year at this time, we surmised that Boone Pickens was trying to get American football started in China. This summer, while watching too much of the Olympics, the talking heads of NBC won't stop blabbering about 8 being a lucky number in china. This just further supports the theory from last year. To extend, I submit for you:

As Washington State - W
Houston - W
Missouri State - W
Troy - W
Texas A&M - W
at Missouri - L
Baylor - W
at Texas - L (they will start out with a double digit lead and lose by 20; it's a tradition)
Iowa State - W
at Texas Tech - L
at Colorado - W
at Oklahoma - L

This puts the Pokes at 8-4, a vast improvement over the 7-6 records the past two years. Coach Hair Gel will then get a 7 year contract extension, which will cover him until he's 48, which is a multiple of 8. It's just creepy.

Report: Favre "tired of Phelps", denies owning pit bulls

In a bizarre postgame interview this evening, Brett Favre said he was "tired of that punk from Baltimore stealing the headlines" and denied that he owns pit bulls. Favre failed to throw an interception in six pass attempts against the Redskins, but was in mid-season form by forcing some throws into coverage. During the postgame interview, Favre was asked if he watches the Olympics. He launched into a tirade. "I'm tired of that punk from Baltimore stealing all the headlines. Look, I came to Minnes-- I mean New York - to win. At my age, I have to stay focused. I don't have time for other things. I barely have time to text Peter King and get a restraining order for Wendi Nix. I don't have time for running a pit bull kennel, and I don't know why anyone would accuse me of that, either."

When asked for more details about the accusations, Favre declined comment and left the press room. John Clayton is contacting Favre's cousin's stepsister's brother-in-law for more information from the family.

Stolen thoughts 8-16-08

The Sooners are shuffling DB spots again. I am not a fan of the constant shuffling of DBs. I feel like it contributes to those plays where we completely blow coverage, since the safety was just playing CB two weeks ago sometimes. With so many returning starters at the QB position this year, changing positions in the secondary has to put the secondary at a disadvantage.

Jacque Taylor is a TT doubter for the same reason I am.

SI has a great eight pic slideshow of Phelps victory in the 100M butterfly last night.

Jarboe Signs with Troy

This means he will play in Oklahoma - Stillwater, that is - later this year. A real journalist would actually look at the OSU schedule and give you the exact date. But I'm watching the Olympics and tired.

On a related Boone State note, the dip in the price of oil has apparently delayed the Boone State indoor practice facility. I wish this fund would have been in place earlier in the decade to load up on Enron stock.

Our Long National Nightmare has Ended

The news broke yesterday that Reveille VIII has been chosen. Fortunately for us here at LandThieves, Reveille VII was able to use his inside connections at Cash Machine U to obtain a picture of the new Aggie mascot. Because of the secrecy around the process, Reveille VIII remains masked until the big unveiling in late August.

Stolen Thoughts 8-12-08

• One of West Virginia's attorney's is foregoing his $109k of legal fees, and believes he "helped unify the state".
• Doug at Hey Jenny Slater has his 2008 motivational posters for the SEC up. They're like mine for the Big 12, but funnier.
• Apparently Bob Stoops had some offensive lyrics on his web site. I didn't know he had a website. When going to http//www.bobstoops.com, I end up at the SoonerSports football page. Since Stoops has not been arrested for packing heat on campus, I'm sure some minor disciplinary action will be sufficient.
• Troy University coach Larry Blakeney is my choice for preseason Coach of the Year. When asked if he thought the Troy-Boone State game this year was a "revenge" game, Blakeney responded, "They might have a bonfire and burn some of T. Boone's money to get ready for the game." T Boone is not in favor of burning his paper for energy sources, but he is an advocate for wind, as long as your tax dollars are helping.

Scrimmages Closed

The scrimmages Stoops did close
Why he did that? No one knows.
Can DeMarco still run?
Did Sam peak in year one?
This topic is making me doze.

Around the NFL

Was wondering this a.m. how some Sooners are faring...

• Vikings LB Rufus Alexander blew his knee out last year 1/4 into his first Vikes preseason game. Reports from various sources Fox Sports, MVN and the Daily Norseman are mixed on his chances for a spot on the roster this season.
• Dusty Dvoracek continues to battle injuries for the Bears.
• Malcolm Kelly had minor knee surgery. The only minor surgery is a surgery that's not your own.
• The Daily Norseman doesn't expect CB Marcus Walker to make the final roster.
• Dan Cody is injured again.
• Travis Wilson (Browns WR) and Reggie Smith (Niners DB) are making positive impressions.

Overall, this Sooners and NFL blog is a great blog for tracking Sooners as they get injured in the NFL.

Josh Jarboe Rap Limerick

In our final analysis of Josh Jarboe, I present a limerick to sum up the situation.

Josh is rappin' 'bout A-T-L
Re: things that'll get you in jail
It's not very stable
To shoot a pool table
He got kicked off the team as well.

Stolen Thoughts 8-8-8

Brian McCormack has an interesting blog about The Business of College Football. To read about how the attorneys cleaned up in the WVU vs DickRod case, click here.

Brice Cherry at the Waco Trib tells of Art Briles' Bear team practicing some trickeration. Mark my words, the Bears will sneak up on someone this year.

Brett Favre's Jets jersey is setting sales records.Of course, most of these sales are to Peter King and ESPN staffers.

The hoops Olympic roster, college only, from the excellent folks at Storming the Floor.

QBs and Age - An NFL Post

Our long national nightmare is over. Brett Favre has finally been traded. The Pack is probably my second favorite NFL team, courtesy of some friends I made in GB at a previous job.

Courtesy of some research I cobbled together today fromPro-Football-Reference.com here's some info about the top 25 passers in the NFL, based upon pass completions, who played beyond the age of 35, they are classic names like Fouts, Montana, Unitas, Hart, Marino:

Win % by Age:

21-20%

22-27%

23-52%

24-53%

25-50%

26-52%

27-57%

28-59%

29-59%

30-51%

31-62%

32-62%

33-59%

34-56%

35-58%

36-58%

37-61%

38-59%

39-49%

40-37%

41-41%

42-36%

43-0%

44-29%

QBs 39 and over don't have winning records.

5 Qbs started at the age of 38 and didn't return for the season when they turned 39: Elway, Marino, Montana, Tarkenton and Steve Young. Of the QBs that continued, Jim Hart and Phil Simms are the only QBs to have more wins as a starter at the age of 39 than the age of 38; Hart went from 0 wins to 1 (with 2 losses) and Simms returned from an injury to lead the Giants to an 11-5 record. Warren Moon was the only other 39 year old to start the entire season, going 8-8 after a 9-7 campaign. Moon, Testaverde and Unitas are the only QBs to start games into their 40s, and none of them posted a winning record with these three legends - I mean two legends and one long suffering reject - at the helm.

Odds are not in the Jets favor here.

Wazzuu

If you need further reason to root for Washington State against Oklahoma State later this month, read this article from the Seattle Times on their new coach, Paul Wulff.

Stolen Thoughts 8-4-08

• First of all, a big tip o' the hat to OU AD Joe C, for pushing forward on the 1971 OU-NU reunion. There's not many events worthy of a 27 year reunion, but that game might be one of them. I love how it's part of extending an olive branch back to the Cornhuskers. For you young 'uns out there, or SWC faithful, the 70s-80s OU-NU clashes were great football, and there was a great respect between the two programs. The battles didn't have all the animosity that many rivalries have today.
• OSU is wearing orange bracelets reading, "Big 12 Champs, 12-8-2008" this year. At least that's what the Daily Oklahoman article says. I was curious what championship was played on 12-8-08, because I figured the Pokes were cheering for the cross country team or something. Found out the Big 12 football Champ game is on the 6th. I thought I was onto something, but an AP article indicates the bracelets say 12-6-08. I'll never get those five minutes back, but I was amusing the heck out of myself for awhile.
• The Big 12 champs thing is a bit optimistic. They should shoot for "Above .500 and play in a bowl game not in Texas or Louisiana." I think that's too much for one bracelet though. The last time the Pokes accomplished that was 1988, when they had a kid named Sanders as a RB and Hair Gel was QB.

Practice Coverage

This week is the first week of practice for the Sooners, and also a busy work week. As a customer service message to you, the faithful reader, I present this daily practice report. The names may change, but the stories likely won't.

• ______ showed why he's a starter today.
• Reserve _______ showed some promise in drills today. "We expect big things from ___ this year", said position coach _____.
• ______ looked good in practice today. If he keeps this up, he will challenge _____ for playing time.
• ______ is injured and will be out for ___ days. This will give _____ an opportunity to get more reps with the first and second team.
• ______ is tending to an academic matter and will not be at practice for the first two weeks. This really hurts his development (so does flunking out of school). This will give _____ an opportunity to get more reps with the first and second team.

Even if you're not a Sooner fan, this should also work for Baylor, TCU, Texas A&M, Illinois State, and others.

Gone

Jarboe has been dismissed. I'm glad he's gone, but as Stoops mentioned, "we hope he can move forward in a positive manner." Josh, we here at LandThieves wish you the best.

As for the HeadVisor, as I'd stated previously, I'm glad this decision was made.