There are several thoughts running through my head after going through the SEC, Big 12, and Big (We Can't Count Past) 10 Media Days these past two weeks.....First, the SEC: Tim Tebow may be the most poised football player I have ever seen in front of a microphone. He wasn't phased at all by a question from Clay Travis about his virginity, a question I don't think was appropriate for a press conference. Travis claims he asked the question because he knew Tebow would say 'yes' because Tebow is someone who lives his faith. The last Florida QB to win the Heisman was also a devout Christian, but I don't remember anyone asking Danny Wuerffel about his virginity. I think Travis simply wanted to gain some publicity for himself and his blog, and that is the reason you won't see any links from me referring to him (or his blog)....

On the Sergio Kindle situation: I'm not buying the texting-while-driving explanation, and I think any intelligent person is similarly inclined. If you are texting on your phone while driving, and you hit a curb, it is enough of a bump for you to stop looking at the phone and hit the brakes to stop the car. However, if you are driving drunk and lose control of the car, hitting a curb and running into a building is completely believable. There is also the fact that people who are texting and have a car accident because of it don't claim: "I just ruined my life. I ruined my life." .......Mack Brown needs to stop the hyperbole about only recruiting "good kids who graduate". If he actually believed in that and walked the talk, he never would have recruited Ramonce Taylor, who already had a questionable past before he arrived in Austin. Brown's refusal to punish Kindle severely for his latest mishap is just more evidence that when it comes to a decision between winning or his integrity, Brown chooses winning. I understand that Brown is probably nervous at the thought of starting a defensive line of Lamarr Houston, Kheeston Randle, Sam Acho, and Alex Okafor in the first game of the season, but suspending Kindle for the first two games of the season would be worth the risk. It isn't like Louisiana-Monroe and Wyoming are world-beaters texas is in danger of losing to, and Brown could at least have the appearance of being a disciplinarian while still having Kindle back for the game against Texas Tech. Even if Mack doesn't want to admit Kindle was drinking again, he could have easily justified the suspension by saying it is the punishment for a second offense, since Kindle already had a first offense with his 2007 DUI arrest.... Does anyone besides me wonder where the hell Kindle is going to get $8,700 to pay off the damages he did to that apartment building? I don't knwo of many college kids who have $8,700 sitting around. Maybe Mack is letting Sergio auction off texas' 2008* Big 12 Champions sign on ebay?....After reading his comments to the media, I still think Sergio doesn't get it, and that is Mack Brown's fault.

"I've made smarter decisions. I became more of a type of leader that tried to instill in guys the type of work ethic they need so they don't have to go through what I had to go through," Kindle said. "I need to make smarter decisions. I've had to mature a lot the past few weeks. It could have been worse. It could have been a lot worse."

Sergio, it isn't leadership that prevents you from "going through what you had to go through", it is character, something you obviously lack, and something Mack doesn't have the integrity to teach you....

Toki Wartooth, blogger for Hail To The Orange,  SBNation's University of Illinois blog, has an excellent story about Penn State head coach Joe Paterno.

The picture above is a play diagram Paterno drew on the tablecloth while explaining to the Big 10 media that the spread offense is nothing new. What Paterno is actually diagramming is a single-wing spread formation, and the play-action shows a spinning fullback with the wingback coming on motion behind the tailback and fullback. What we would call Orbit motion today was a simple spin back in the 1940s. You can see the left end split out, the LT, LG, the X marks the center, RG, RT, RE, and a wingback aligned 1X1 off the left tackle. You will also notice that including the FB and TB, there are only 10 p[layers shown in this diagram. Toki needs to move the coffee cup the next time.

 

If you look to the upper right side of this picture, you can see the right end split out, just near the hand holding the coffee cup. Why do I bring this up? Because Toki's story underlines a simple truth: Awesomeness never grows old, and Joe Paterno is living proof of this fact....

I'm not much of a fan of LSU's football team. In fact, since I count some LSU fans among my friends, I rather enjoy watching them lose, simply because it gives me an excuse to rag on my friends for making a poor choice when choosing their football team. However, I will be rooting for LSU's left tackle Ciron Black to excel this season. Black is a returning All-SEC pick and has received All-American consideration, but the most important thing he has done in his time in Baton Rouge is contact a little boy who was lying paralyzed and partially blind in a hospital bed. Read this article, and you will see why I think Ciron's parents did an excellent job raising him...

Jerrod Johnson's name tag at the Big 12 Media Days was misspelled. If we had brought Tony Jerod-Eddie to Irving, I could see why this mistake might have been made, but since Jerod-Eddie didn't make the trip, that is really just inexcusable. It makes you wonder if the nametag was made by texas alumnus and former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk.