College Football Week 4 Analysis

For once I am going to get my analysis out before Friday! All year I have started my college football analysis on Monday to only have it posted Friday. What can I say I have the joy of being smothered by school.

On to Week 4...

16 South Carolina 10 Ole Miss

All summer long message boards were flaring up about Ole Miss being overrated. Personally, I thought No. 4 was high for the Rebels, but we would not see that for a couple weeks. I mean really lose their first big game? Please! I never imagined the Rebels to play so lousy against South Carolina. But as lousy as the Rebels played you have to get a lot of that credit to the Gamecock defense. South Carolina missed countless opportunities to put the game away, but still managed to halt a late Ole Miss charge. Jevan Snead has looked nothing more than average this year. It's one thing to lose on the road 33-30 in a tough game, but to lose 16-10 when your offense played so lousy is just sickening for the people of Oxford. Greg Hardy and Co. showed that the defense will not be able to get Ole Miss out of all their offensive woes.


30 LSU 26 Mississippi State

I really do not know what to think about LSU's game. There's a part of me that is aggravated because for much of the game LSU failed to close the door on the Bulldogs. They failed to capitalize. They missed PATs, field goals, mishandled punts, and blew assignments in the defensive secondary. It was a lackluster performance that had me on the verge of a heart attack.

But then there's another part of me. A part of me that says finally the offense let Jefferson air it out. And heck it might not have been pretty but the Tigers did win. It's far too common of a thing where moronic people go on the Internet and undermine a huge defensive stand for LSU. I, for one, will not. LSU was up 30-24 and failed to move the ball on offense. The Tigers punted it back to Mississippi State with plenty of time. Then it happened a couple passes and more bruising runs right up the middle and poof! the Bulldogs were on the 2 yard line with a 1:29 left and a 1st and Goal. This was it. It was over. I was seeing everything. Bulldogs score and make the PAT and it's 31-30. LSU gets the ball back and Jefferson throws an interception. Starkville newspapers explode at the fact that the Bulldogs beat the Tigers for the first time since 1999. I, foolishly, thought it was over. On 1st and Goal from the 2 Anthony Dixon plowed to the 1 yard line. It was insane how close he was. Must of been the width of a cockroach's antenna. No more. Then, LSU called a timeout in anticipation of the touchdown. On 2nd and Goal Mississippi State again gave it to Dixon, but this time he got nothing. Zero. Zip. Nadda. 3rd and Goal and my pulse is up to 240. The Bulldogs try a trick play, they fake the hand off and go for a pass to a wide open tight end. It went flawless and then Chad Jones swatted the ball down. Pulse is now at 260. Here it was 4th and Goal at the 4 inch line. Quarterback Tyson Lee took the snap and went right up the middle. Nothing. Not a yard.

LSU would get the ball back and purposely get a safety and win 30-26, but it was all so odd. We, the fans, thought it was over. This is what amazed me. Mississippi State cut through LSU's defense all afternoon. The running game was going down our throats, yet at the end of the day the defense thought to themselves, "hey we haven't lost it yet." I do not know how this LSU team will do this year. Each week is a different team, but what I do know this: I will not forget the day LSU stopped Mississippi State from getting 4 inches. The day the defense did not quit. The day LSU thought to themselves it is not over yet.


31 Virginia Tech 7 Miami-Florida

At the end of the day when you add all the numbers up, Lane Stadium is one of the most underrated hostile environments out there. LSU went there in 2002 and got demolished 26-8. It happens countless times a team walks into that stadium thinking not much of it only to get jumped on. In the rain the Hokies jumped on the Hurricanes and beat up on Randy Shannon's crew like no one has done all year. At halftime it was 21-0. After two stellar games, Jacory Harris had an uncharacteristic nightmare of an afternoon against the Hokie D. It is not so much that VTech won it's how they did it. Right out of the gates they jump on visiting opponents and before you can blink an eye it's 14-0. Sure Jacory Harris rallied his troops at Doak Walker Stadium, but this was different. This was Lane Stadium, home of public humiliations and embarrassments since 1965.

42 Oregon 3 California

When I posted my predictions for the 2009 season I said, "By the end of October the California Bears WILL no longer be in the dark horse National Championship talk." It is not the end of October but a tremendous blow was taken to the Cal National Championship talk. The Bears were manhandled by the Ducks in every facet of the game. The funny thing is Cal actually went up 3-0, but at the end of the day they got out gained 524 yards to 207 yards. Certain teams in this country have class. On any given Saturday they are going to come to play. Sure they might not win, but they will fight till the end. California does not have that yet. You are the 6th ranked team and you lose by 39 on the road to an unranked Oregon Squad? And let's not forget USC plays at Oregon later in the year. Talk about a game to look forward to! Heck, if Oregon plays like that the rest of the season we might be seeing the Ducks in the Rose Bowl.

Tebow injury: Unlike anything we have ever seen in his four years at Florida, quarterback Tim Tebow got his lights absolutely knocked out. There's a lot of talk on whether Tebow will play LSU in two weeks October 10 (aka Judgment Day). Let me answer that question right now. TEBOW WILL BE PLAYING. I would be very, very surprised if he did not start. Tebow wants to play this game bad and LSU wants to play him just as much. Two years ago we beat UF in Tiger Stadium 28-24, but last year the Gators took it to LSU in the Swamp 51-21. Everyone is anticipation of this match up. It is Judgment Day after all.

College Football Week 3 Analysis

College football will always amaze. No matter the circumstances, no matter how certain I am a team will do, in some way or another college football will amaze me. This week was no different by a long shot.


23 Florida 13 Tennessee:

This game has more people scratching there heads despite the favored team still winning. Florida was supposed to win 60-10. Florida was going to mop up the Vols on Saturday because after all new UT coach Lane Kiffin talked trash about Urban Meyer. This game was about as big a lock as there was. FLORIDA WAS GOING TO DESTROY TENNESSEE. But at the end of the game the mighty Gators had only beaten the Volunteers by a mere ten points. Confusion has sent into the minds of nearly half the college football fan base. I, for one, am still scratching my head.

I have heard the statement, "if Tebow didn't fumble it would of been 30-6." Well I can shoot one back at you, "if Crompton would of scored at the end of the game when UT had the ball at midfield it would of been 23-20." With all excuses aside this is what we learned...

One of three things happened: a) Florida is not as good as we thought they were [doubtful] b) Tennessee is a lot better than we expected or c) Lane Kiffin knows how to put together a game plan.

Honestly, I think the answer is C. Kiffin, from what I have heard, put together a game plan that took away Tebow's options. I do not think anyone expected it to work as well as it did. Here's the thing: Tim Tebow will not be the QB he was last year if he forced to carry the ball 25 times a game. That is too much. Even Superman will get worn down. Remember 2007 when Tebow was really fighting through some pain? You better believe Florida wants to avoid that again.

So if you limit Tebow's options are you saying a team has a chance against Florida? Yes, but again let's keep in mind that you can always say, "well Florida was off Saturday." Maybe that same game plan does not work in the future.

And finally, most likely the Gators will go undefeated and they will win the BCS Championship, but that easy path to the top looks more jagged than we imagined.


16 Washington 13 USC

Each year, despite the loads of talent at Southern Cal, the Trojans trip up against at least one team. One week after beating Ohio State in Columbus the Trojans fell to the Washington Huskies in Husky Stadium 16-13. Couple things: Jake Locker is legit. Against LSU he tore us up and caused hell all night. When he did the same thing to the Trojans, LSU's defensive struggles did not look as disappointing. We learned a lot about Aaron Corp as well. From the looks of the game Saturday he is nothing spectacular. One of the more interesting things about this game is the fact USC scored only 13 points. Sure the Trojans trip up, but it always manages to be a 20+ score. The fact that UW shut down USC to a mere 13 points raises my eyebrows. Okay, so Corp does not have a lot of experience, but you still have Joe McKnight. Maybe Coach Sark has this team farther along than we imagined.


31 LSU 3 Louisiana-Lafayette

After Saturday's victory LSU is 23-0 against ULL. 16 of those games have been shutouts. The Ragin' Cajuns really thought they had a chance tonight and for a great majority of the game they did indeed hang with the Tigers. LSU still displayed an inability to make things happen on offense. The defense, for the second straight game, was stellar, but how good is one's defense if your offense is not doing much? Jordan Jefferson is still very much a work in progress, but I have to ask why oh why do they not at least open up the playbook? Another tailback dive on first down? It's far too predictable and frankly boring. I have confidence LSU will get things going on offense in the coming weeks.

College Football: Concerns, Issues After Week 2

Two weeks into the season and we already have back to back weeks were a top 5 team have fallen. I can only imagine what the rest of the season holds. Here's what I learned from week 2.

Florida 56 Troy 6: The Gators' D has given up a total of 9 points in two games, but we have yet to see them go against a quality opponent. Florida's second warm up game gave us nothing new about the Gators. UF will take on Tennessee who is not what I would call "a quality opponent" yet.

Houston 45 Oklahoma State 35: One week after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs, Oklahoma State gets beaten at home by the Houston Cougars. This upset is not all that incredible. Houston likes to throw the ball a lot with quarterback Casey Keenum, the 2008 Conference USA offensive player of the year. I am sure Oklahoma State has a better defense than last year, but at the end of the day this game shows us that their pass defense is still lacking. What happens when Oklahoma State goes up against other Big 12 gunslingers like Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, and Taylor Potts? The remarkable thing is Oklahoma State went down 24-7 rallied to take the lead 28-24 then again at 35-31.

Michigan 38 Notre Dame 34: This was a game that has been marked for months. The losing team was sure to have a head coach who's job security would be damaged. Coming into this game I did not look at Michigan with the same underdog status as most of the country labeled them as. (Mainly because RichRod's offense came into being against Western Michigan in week 1.) Did I honestly think UM would win? No. Overall, very good game and even though ND lost they still have no reason to think this season is over. In the fourth quarter UM held a 31-20 lead that was quickly turned into a 34-31 ND lead with 5:13 left. NOW HERE IS WHERE THINGS GOT INTERESTING. Michigan can not get the ball moving and punts the ball to Notre Dame. The ball is downed with 3:25 left in the game. On first down ND runs for 13 yards for a first down. Now it's first down and ND runs a another play up the middle and is stopped for one yard. UM then uses it's first time out. There are 2:29 left in the game and it is 2nd and 9. On the next two plays ND throws the ball and both are incomplete. UM gets the ball back on a punt on there 43 yard line with 2:19 left and 2 timeouts. And it is right here where you have to ask Coach Weis what was he thinking. If you are going to make that gamble where you throw it instead of opting to run the ball and burn there timeouts you better execute the play otherwise you are going to get ripped apart. Here's the thing, let's say Weis runs the ball on 2nd and 3rd down and both times UM calls a timeout. Well at least when they would get the ball back Michigan would have no timeouts. Weis gambled and lost and now he must pay.

And by the way I was very impressed with Tate Forcier. In his first start he threw for 240 and ran for 70. 310 total yards in one start? Not bad at all.

USC 18 Ohio State 15: This was the game of the week. USC was supposed to run over OSU, but for much of the game OSU was in control. Even after Terrelle Pryor's first play interception, OSU was still able to take control of the game. OSU had the largest crowd in The Shoe's history, they neutralized Joe McKnight, they made Matt Barkley look average, and they had a 5 point lead, 15-10, with 7 minutes to go in the fourth. Yet in the end Ohio State lost a heartbreaker. Behind Matt Barkley, USC had a 6:10 minute drive that was oh so similar to Juice Williams of Illinois's 8 minute drive back in 2007. Even though USC broke OSU's back with that 6:10 drive, the Bucks still had a shot with 1:05 left. After a return to the OSU 36 yard line the offense sputtered and OSU fell again. I can only help but think when is Pryor going to have his moment? Sure it was a difficult situation, down by 3 with 1 minute left, but these are things Pryor is supposed to do. He was brought in as the next Vince Young. This was a situation in which he was supposed to excel. A guy like Pryor is supposed to fall in this sort of sentence. "The game was lost and any normal quarterback would of lost, but we had Pryor so we won." Bottom line when is Pryor going to have his moment?

LSU 23 Vanderbilt 9: There's a lot to be said about the LSU game. There's good and bad news. First the bad, or I should say UNSATISFYING news. LSU's offense is not at the place we all thought they would be. Many times on Saturday LSU went three and out. This was frustrating by all means because our playcalling seemed to be so bland. All summer there was talk about how Gary Crowton was going to really pump up the LSU offense. I, as well as all LSU fans, was excited to see The Wizard (Crowton) do his magic, but we have not seen that yet. I understand QB Jordan Jefferson is young, what I do not understand is why we ran the same old running back dive up the middle on three or four consecutive possessions. Each time LSU was getting no yardage whatsoever. What needed to take place for it to be realized that a running back dive on first down was not working? Also, LSU had 5 wide receivers many times, but very rarely threw the ball deep.

Here are some things to keep in mind if you are one of the people upset by LSU leading Vandy by the mere score of 16-9 in the fourth quarter. Imagine if one of LSU's three field goals resulted in a touchdown. Instead of 16-9, we are looking at 20-9 and a final score of 27-9. The main thing is the offense is still a work in progress but at the same time if they could just punch it in the endzone a little more than LSU would not be in the situation they were Saturday - up by only 7 in the fourth.

Now for the good news. In week 1 LSU's defense gave up an appalling 471 yards of offense to the Washington Huskies. A lot of skepticism came out as to whether or not new defensive coordinator John Chavis was the man for the job. The performance against UW was nothing to be proud of, but I was convinced Chavis would get it under control. After all he is not a first year coach, he has been doing this for years, and he's been good at it.

That all changed this past Saturday against Vanderbilt. The LSU defense gave up a mere 210 yards. Period. Vandy had one scoring drive that would of ended had LB Kelvin Sheppard not dropped an interception that would of surely been six points. Chad Jones, as well as the rest of the team, was tackling a lot better. Also, the defensive line started to really get into it. How about the play by Drake Nevis and Al Woods? And what about cornerback Patrick Peterson? He literally shuts down his side of the field. I am excited to see this unit continue to grow throughout the season.

As of now LSU can compete with Alabama, Ole Miss, and Georgia mainly because of our defense's play Saturday. Again I might be jumping the gun on that at this moment.

Florida? Lots of improvement needs to be shown on offense if we want the sky to fall October 10th, but never say never.

Things I was WRONG about...

Unless UCLA has one heck of a defense, UT's offense is not that good. I guess in the end it was just the fact they were playing Western Kentucky. In there home stadium the Vols lost 19-15 to a young, inexperienced UCLA team. Vol QB Jonathon Crompton's performance was dreadful to say the least. He was 13 of 26 for 93 yards and 3 interceptions. Touchdowns? Zero. And oh yeah he lost a fumble as well.

Auburn. I was kept thinking dark times where upon the War Eagles. They did a lousy job of hiring a coach and the SEC West was far too loaded for them to make any noise. I know it's only been 2 games, but rest assured a 49-24 over Mississippi State is something to raise your eyebrow on. Look I know it's early on, but I am ust saying do not be surprised if Auburn starts making some noise.

College Football: Issues, Concerns After Week 1

You really have to question my intelligence when I decide that I would like to put my thoughts on the first week of college football the day before the second week begins. I will do my best to avoid this happening again.

Anyway here's what I picked up from week 1...

Florida: The Gators romped Charleston Southern 62-3. We did not learn anything about the UF because a) they went against Charleston Southern and b) look at A. Saturday they play, gasp, Troy. But come September 19th the Gators will have there first challenge when they play Tennessee (an unknown team) in the Swamp.

Alabama: Saban's defense is definitely legit and a formidable opponent, but at the end of the day are they are good as they came across against Virginia Tech? Yes, they did beat a top 5 opponent 34-24, but that VTech offensive play calling is so horrid! It has to be frustrating being a VTech fan watching that offense. Also, Greg McElroy did get into a groove in the second half, but he was shaky for sure in the first. Still the young quarterback helped put up 34 points against a top 5 defense and that can not go unnoticed.

USC: The Trojans behind playboy Matt Barkley beat San Jose State 56-3. This week they go into Columbus and the general thought is Ohio State struggled against Navy so USC will win, right? In the words of Lee Corso, "not so fast my friends!" I originally said USC would lose to Ohio State and I can not change my opinion because week 1 did not go as flawless as I had hoped for Ohio State. Ohio State needs this game more than USC. USC does not run the triple option so Ohio State will have a better chance preparing for their opponent. Overall I just do not see a 19 year old freshman quarterback going into the Shoe in front of 100,000+ fans and pulling out a victory.

Oklahoma: Andre Ware was the only guy who said the offensive line for Oklahoma would cause huge problems for Sam Bradford. He said OU would lose 3 to 4 games this year because of it. He was laughed at, but after week 1 his proclamation holds true. BYU was causing havoc for Bradford all day before he left the game injured. Keep in mind OU was only up 13-7 when he went out! Major kudos to BYU for right out of the gates setting the tone for a season that could be nothing short of spectacular.

Oklahoma State: All I keep hearing is, "well I guess Georgia is not as good as we thought they were." Wait! What if it's just the fact that Oklahoma State is finally for real? In a game of epic proportions (highest preseason ranking ever for OSU) the Cowboys beat the Bulldogs in Stillwater 24-10. Despite the stingy UGA defense, Dez Bryant was still able to have his touchdown that would break open the game. Main thing is do not blow off Georgia for the rest of the season because after all, this could be a very special Cowboy squad.

Boise State: I am telling you in 10 years the Boise State Broncos are going to have a national championship. That school is not only winning against bigger schools they are doing it with the athletes. High school athletes are going there because the offense is fun and you get to get on the field right away. Why wait 2 years on the bench to play when you can start right from the get-go at Boise State? In the season opener the Broncos dismantled a Oregon team in the oddest final score I have ever seen, 19-8. I was very surprised to see Oregon not have any fight in them. Lackluster effort for a team in trouble.

Notre Dame: No lie, I was pretty impressed by the 35-0 win by ND against Nevada. First a shutout is a shutout. Second, Nevada has one the nation's best quarterback in Colin Kaepernick. College footbal guru, Phil Steele, named Kaepernick the 7th best quarterback in college football! And this guy could not muster any points? I honestly think that this Notre Dame has a chance to be a very special team. National championship caliber? No not quite, but BCS bowl bound for sure.

LSU: The first half was not what the LSU faithful where hoping for. The defense looked out of sync and Jake Locker was having his way. But in the second half things changed. Let's put it this way: if LSU were to have stopped Washington from that last scoring drive than Washington would of had only 150 yards in the second half! But as we know Washington drove down the field and scored with no time left to lose 31-23. The general negativity surrounding LSU already from LSU fans is sickening to even comprehend. I can understand questioning a defensive coordinator who is young and inexperienced, but John Chavis is neither of those. Chavis has experience and he has been successful many times in the past. Will LSU be holding opponents to 14 points a game? No, but I do know they will improve as the season goes on. I am hopeful the defense will come around.

Cincinnati: Maybe we were all wrong to think Cincy's 2008 season was an anomaly. Sure it was only one game, but it's hard to look back the lashing the Bearcats put on Rutgers this past Saturday. On Rutgers's home turf Cincinnati rolled to a 47-15 win! Rutgers, by many, seemed like the logical choice to be the team that represents the Big East in a BCS Bowl.

California: The jury is still out for this Golden Bears squad that I am convinced will falter midseason. Winning 52-13 is always reason to smile, but lets not get past the fact it is Maryland. We need more weeks to see California play before we make a better call on this team.

Miami-Florida: What a game. How Miami managed to stop Florida State that many times inside their four yard line is beyond me. Jacory Harris definitely showed he has the potential to be the next great Miami quarterback. Though one has to wonder is Harris that good, or just a product of a lousy Seminole defense? On the other side I have to say I was impressed with Christian Ponder of Florida State. No reason the Seminoles (or Hurricanes, whom I predicted would have 5 losses a week ago) can not go 9-3.

Penn State: Joe Pa's crew has got a defense. Period. So what if it's Akron the fact that a college team only got 8 yards in one half of football is amazing. The game was over at halftime. If Daryll Clark can stay hot than look for the Penn State game against Ohio State to decide whether or not Joe Pa returns to the national championship.

Illinois: I almost forgot to talk about this game. Missouri came into this game as a team the nation was expecting to have a major drop off. After being blessed with Brad Smith and Chase Daniel, Mizzo came into this year with no real quarterback threat. Yet somehow the Tigers managed to completely manhandle the Fightin' Illini 37-9? Hate to be bold, but Ron Zook's job is in trouble if he can not turn this around. Losing by 4 touchdowns to Mizzo when you have a senior quarterback in Juice Williams does not bode well at all. Should you be nervous about this season if you root for Zook's crew? Yes, gulp, oh yes.

Tennessee: I know it's only Western Kentucky. I know that WKU is about as bad as Division 1 football team as there can be, but still you have to acknowledge that Jonathon Crompton going 21 of 28 for 5 touchdowns is signs of improvement. Yes, I know Lane Kiffin left Crompton in the game well into the fourth quarter, yet I still can not help but think to myself that maybe Tennessee is a lot farther along offensively than we expected. And did I mention in his first game as a college back Bryce Brown went over the century mark? Yes it was Western Kentucky...but still.

Michigan: Western Michigan is no power house, but the school is a respectable MAC power team. When I take that into account and then I see that UM won 31-7 I have to say I think RichRod's offense is more in sync than we all thought. This weekend against Notre Dame will go a long way to tell us how good this UM offense is. ND will be favored, but to blow off Michigan would be silly.

2009 College Football Bold Predictions

This is it. After what has seemed like 10,000 days of waiting college football is back. Thursday night meaningful games will finally kick off, but before that day comes let me lay out my predictions for the season.

Florida WILL go undefeated and they WILL win the National Championship.
(I keep looking and when I really evaluate this team I do not see them tripping up once.)

By the end of October the California Bears WILL no longer be in the dark horse National Championship talk.
(I have been hearing all summer how this Cal team is going to make some noise. I do not see this year being any different from the other years we, the fans, were lead to believe this.)

Ohio State WILL beat USC on September 12th.
(Matt Barkley is 18 years old. He turns 19 on September 8th. He has never started a college game. I do not think in his second game of the year he will be able to pull out a victory in front of 100,000+ screaming fans. I do not care how good he was in high school and I'm sure he will have a fine college career. But at the end of the day I do not think with such little experience he will be able to beat the Buckeyes.)

Baylor behind the nation's best kept secret, quarterback Robert Griffin, will pull off a big upset this year, but Baylor will not going bowling this year.

Miami Florida's head coach Randy Shannon will be fired at the end of the year as his team will again under perform. The Hurricanes will finish with 5 losses.

Michigan will not lose more than 4 games.

Once again Texas will just sneak by Oklahoma State. Much like the Fiesta Bowl, Colt McCoy will lead Texas for a late score at the end of the game to beat the Cowboys.

Oklahoma beats Texas. Oklahoma loses two games. Texas goes to the Big 12 Championship and then the National Championship.

Notre Dame will be getting a BCS bowl after they finish the season with only 2 losses. And yes they will lose to USC again.

Alabama will lose at the most 2 games during the regular season. Ole Miss will lose only one when the Bengals come into town. Ole Miss will go to the SEC Championship Game.

LSU will have their swagger back this year, but a very hard schedule will keep them out of the SEC Championship Game.

Rutgers will not win the Big East. Pittsburgh will take the conference and the coveted BCS bowl bid.

West Virginia will have 5 losses this year. Speculation will begin about whether Bill Stewart is the right guy for the job.

Alabama will beat Virginia Tech 31-14. Tech has a defense, but the offense will not be able to do anything against Alabama's defense.

Texas A&M has another losing season and surprisingly gives Mike Sherman one more year.

Dan LeFevour. He's what some would call the "poor man's Tim Tebow." He will lead Central Michigan to the MAC Title and to go along with that Houston will win the Conference-USA.

Sorry Archie Griffin, but you no longer have the record by yourself. Tim Tebow will win the Heisman trophy.

Oregon looked pretty impressive in their bowl victory against Oklahoma State so I will have to take the Ducks. Look for Oregon to end Boise State's 49-game regular-season home winning streak. It will be decided by one score.

Well that's all I have. In all honesty I'm the "Jeff George" of making predictions. Average, but nothing more.

Geaux Tigers!







Email me MM

Dissecting the Man Known as Brett Favre

This needs to be analyzed. There needs to be a team of MIT grads studying Brett Favre daily. 24 hours a day men and women in the top of their field need to watch Favre and his everyday movements. He needs to be examined because honestly what is going on in the sports world with No. 4 does not make any logical sense.

It's beyond obnoxious and annoying. It's sick. It's disturbing.

For the past 5 years after the Super Bowl has ended the headline story revolves around Favre and the possibility of him retiring. It went on to the point that we all knew he would be hanging it up soon. The Great Green Bay Packer would cry his eyes out and go off into the Mississippi sunset only to be sparely seen as an analyst on ESPN.

This is how retirement goes. You push it off for years and then boom! it happens. You need to stop playing. Your body can not take it anymore. You thank all who have helped you along the way and you hang it up. It's what everyone has done. Emmitt Smith, Steve Young and Steve McNair are some recent retirees who followed this path.

But Favre was different. Something psychological took place in him. First in the winter of 2008 he retired. He officially hung his cleats up. He cried his eyes out and he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with an article that glorified his terrific career.

But then he came back. Said he still wanted to play. After months of chaos between Favre and the Packers (Favre did not want to have to compete for the starting job with Aaron Rodger), Favre signed with the New York Jets. And No. 4 was again back in the league.

The Jets season went well and they looked like they were heading to the postseason. Whether it was a lack of focus or Favre's sporadic play, New York gagged and missed the postseason. Criticisms about the quarterback came out of the Jets locker room and shortly after the season Brett Favre again, for the second straight year, officially retired.

Then it happened again. Almost like a joke. The Man Who Can't Retire resurfaced as being interested in coming back to the NFL, specifically the Minnesota Vikings. Rumors begin to float around that one of Favre's reasons for going to Minnesota was to stick it to current Green Bay Packers' general manager Ted Thompson twice a year. So we the general public were lead to believe that Favre was going to come back to the Vikings soon. The months dragged on and the speculation only intensified. Message boards exploded with daily topics about the subject.

Then in late July, Favre announced he was done. He was really done this time. No more games. He made quotes that his body could not take the toll of a full NFL season. The issue was over. Favre was not coming back.

Then like clockwork it happened again, Favre was still interested in coming back to the NFL. Reports came out that Favre was going to sign with the Vikings. A couple of Minnesota players were positive Favre was going to sign very soon. And he did. A two year contract worth 25 million dollars.

I feel like I just survived a nuclear bomb blast. I am walking around the city seeing the debris and not knowing what is up and what is down. Favre's antics are inconceivable. It's more than a man still wanting to play the game. It's a guy who can not make up his mind. Period. I want to understand this. I want to understand why Favre thinks their should be no hard feelings because he now going to be playing for the Minnesota Vikings. I want to understand how a man can play this retirement game for so long. Again this is not normal. This is completely new breed we are all unfamiliar with. Maybe Favre was always this psychological, disturbing, indecisive guy.

But through it all is there anything that can could happen next with Favre that would surprise you? Would you be surprised if Favre said, "I don't want to play anymore for Minnesota?" No. Would you be surprised if Favre got a serious injury mid season, said he was done and then in the summer of 2010 reports came out that the Buffalo Bills where talking with him? No.

As confused as I am, I can not imagine what is going on in the hearts of the Green Bay Packer faithful. Here is a man who was the face of their franchise for 16 years and in the end he goes to the Minnesota Vikings to some degree to "stick it to Ted Thompson."

Don't deny it Favre. It's a motive.

The Ultimate 2009 SEC West Breakdown

Earlier this summer I posted my thoughts on the SEC East. I stated I would give my analysis for the SEC West. Well, finally I have an SEC West prediction for the 2009 season, but this time things are a bit different. Instead of me breaking down the SEC West I let my dad spread his thoughts.

Enjoy.

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I need a fix. It has been seven months since I’ve watched a live LSU football game and my patience is waning. National recruiting day anticipation and the post signing euphoria carried me through February and into early March. March Madness was good until LSU drew North Carolina in the second round. College baseball season was great – hey, we won a National Championship, but that was over in late June. The final blow was discovering that someone (hopefully inadvertently) erased the Georgia Tech Game on the DVR. I am left with my imagination.

Lately, my only relief comes from listening to Bill King of Rivals Radio analyze who has the best three deep roster. Beside that bit of fascinating analysis, we get an hourly call from an Auburn or Tennessee hopeful asking Bill to confirm that they could really be better than all of the prognosticators are saying. “We had a great spring, our conditioning is going well and our coaches have great discipline – can we win 8 or 9 games?” Nope, sorry boys, you are in the darkness. Just about every fan base in the NCAA has experienced it at some point, certainly we have at LSU. You are going to be thrown into the pits, forced to grind and gnash your teeth.

Twenty-four days and a wake up and it will be over for me. LSU kicks off on the West Coast with Washington, Ty Willingham’s latest debacle. Meanwhile, I have decided to do a bit of prognosticating myself. Here is my shot at handicapping the SEC West. Being an engineer, I decided to take an analytical approach. Not that it will make my projections any more accurate as the one thing I have learned over the years is that predicting sporting outcomes is a crapshoot. You throw it down and walk away. Here it goes.

I have broken my analysis into five categories, each weighted relatively evenly. This includes the

1. athletic quality of the roster using historical recruiting as the benchmark,

2. quality of the coaching staff,

3. returning players in leadership positions,

4. key difference makers or star quality athletes,

5. and finally -non-measureables (things I just have a feel for).

Strength of Recruiting

There are always exceptions, but you can get a pretty good feel for the quality of school’s roster by simply analyzing their historical recruiting success. If you look at the top schools in the country, determined by ranking services such as ESPN/USA Today, you will find a fairly close correlation with the school’s success; and the recent recruiting success as determined by ranking services. It is that simple. Sure, the recruiting rankings often miss on perspective athletes and they often under or over estimate a team’s overall position, but they are generally very closely aligned to how a team performs and finishes. For purposes of this evaluation, I just picked one service and looked at the rankings over the past five years. This is what I found utilizing the Rivals website rankings from 2004 until 2009:

Rivals Recruiting Ranking by Year

2004: Alabama (15), LSU (2), Auburn (21), Ole Miss (30), Arkansas (22), Miss. State (62)

2005: Alabama (18), LSU (22), Auburn (13), Ole Miss (30), Arkansas (24), Miss. State (33)

2006: Alabama (11), LSU (7), Auburn (10), Ole Miss (16), Arkansas (26), Miss. State (44)

2007: Alabama (10), LSU (4), Auburn (7), Ole Miss (27), Arkansas (31), Miss. State (39)

2008: Alabama (1), LSU (11), Auburn (20), Ole Miss (29), Arkansas (36), Miss. State (44)

2009: Alabama (1), LSU (2), Auburn (19), Ole Miss (18), Arkansas (16), Miss. State (25)

Based upon this analysis, you would have to say that Alabama and LSU likely have the most athletic rosters. Auburn should be third followed by Ole Miss and Arkansas in a coin toss and Mississippi State bringing up the rear. I think this is fairly accurate, but I believe Ole Miss is understated in their positional rankings. Either last year was a total anomaly or they have recruited far better than Rivals predicted because they appeared to be as athletic as any team they faced in 2008, and then some.

Quality of Coaching Staff

From my standpoint, ranking the coaching staffs is really subjective. I don’t have access to anything other than my TV Set and the Internet. I don’t get to attend practices, talk to people who are in and around these campuses, so I am really going by what I read and personal observation. There are many that feel Saban is the best coach in the SEC West, and perhaps the country. Bobby Petrino is looked upon as an offensive guru. Neither one of them did too well when they ventured into the NFL so perhaps they are not what they are made up to be. Houston Nutt has a great reputation for doing more with less. Les Miles is not viewed positively by the press and the other two guys are not even on the radar yet.

So I am left with my own book of thoughts. In my opinion, I think Saban is a great program manager and perhaps excels above everyone else when it comes to transformational leadership. He is a Lee Iacocca type when it comes to building and changing culture, but he is prone to error like all humans. He pulled a few stinkers in Baton Rouge in his previous gig and I am guessing those same mishaps are in store for the Bama Nation. Houston Nutt has never been to the mountain. It seems to me he has not proven anything yet other than he is a smart guy that can motivate a team through stretches. Miles did a great job in his first three years in Baton Rouge, but last year was not his best effort, for whatever reason.

From my limited view, I just don’t see any differentiation here. Any one of these four coaches can do it given the right set of circumstances and players. I am calling this a wash.

Returning Players in Leadership Roles

Senior leadership is always a huge factor in success. No one wins without chemistry and chemistry usually starts with your seniors. No senior leadership inevitably leads to under performance and high quality leadership results in the opposite.
Last year’s LSU team, from the outside at least, seemed to be lacking in this area. We had some great players and good guys, but I don’t think they established the culture and mindset that was needed for success. This year’s seniors may be exceptional. Getting Ciron Black, Charles Scott and Brandon Lafell to postpone the NFL was obviously a boost. These are the guys that are going to keep the team together. Alabama lost a few great leaders, guys that made a difference last year. Who knows if they can be replaced? Ole Miss has most of their roster back, so I would have to assume they will be okay in that category.

My call here goes with LSU. I know I am a homer, but I think that guys like Ciron Black just don’t come along very often.

Difference Makers in Key Roles

As was reinforced to the LSU faithful last year – no quarterback, no team. It is that simple. You don’t have to be an all American, but you have to show up and make the plays when it counts. John Parker Wilson was seemingly nothing special athletically, but that guy made all of the plays throughout the year. Javon Snead is just flat out good. He made a couple of throws in the LSU game that were world class, and he showed up when the bell rang.

How important was Alabama’s nose tackle. Nobody could move that guy off his line and hence, nobody could consistently run on the Tide. Take away Cody and Alabama is a different team.

Both Cody and Snead are back, but new play makers will emerge in the SEC. Whatever team has the most playmakers will have an advantage. Based upon what I saw last year, I give this edge to Ole Miss and Snead (along with Hardy and the rest of that roster). Alabama and LSU should be okay and Arkansas is somewhat unknown. Ole Miss gets the edge mainly based on Snead’s success last year.

Non-Measurables (gut feel)

Now this is where I normally get into trouble. Non-measurables include emotions. Emotions lead to collective brain farts, like the Auburn guy on Rivals Radio that is trying to convince himself that by working hard and having better team discipline the Tigers/War Chickens/Plainsmen will just be good enough to win. Sorry – stay in your hole.

Here is the thumb nail summary:

Everything seemed to fall in place for Alabama last year. That doesn’t normally happen two years in a row. They will have to earn it this year.

LSU had the opposite type of year. Nothing seemed to go right, so you would think that we are due for a few breaks. Personally, I think we used them all up in 2007; we can’t count on the football Gods this year. Also, our schedule is brutal. If we didn’t have to play Bama, Ole Miss and Georgia on the road and host a Florida team that Alabama and Ole Miss dodge, we might have a chance. Alas, that is too much to overcome.

Arkansas is the team that might just sneak up and steal the whole thing. Mallet can throw the ball and they have a bunch of players coming back. But there is an old saying; everything back from nothing is still nothing.

So that leaves Ole Miss. Everyone, including myself, expects them to get caught reading their clippings and gag on themselves. But I got a feeling (emotions) that this is going to be Nutts year to show the world just how good of coach he is.

My call:

1. Ole Miss
2. LSU
3. Alabama
4. Arkansas
5. Auburn
6. Miss State

2009 SEC East Football Preview

College football is roughly two months away. Even so, us, the obsessive fans, are already beginning our predictions and speculations on every possible thing.

Come on don't lie. You already know how each player will do on every team and how many yards so-and-so will rush for and how awful so-and-so will be, right?

Today I am going to touch on each team in the SEC. This is short and sweet and basically I want to get out the single biggest question the nation of college football will have about this team.

I will continue my college football preview as the summer progresses.

SEC East

1. Florida: Fresh off the 2008 BCS National Championship (second in three years) the Gators are the clear front runner for the 2009 title. All 11 starters will be returning to the defense and on offense a guy by the name of Tim Tebow will be back as well. The underlining question for the Gator unit is can they keep the same intensity and repeat? The nation knows Florida is for real and it's that bulls eye on their head that will cause Urban Meyer's crew to never take an opponent softly. Without Percy Harvin, now a Minnesota Viking, how will this Florida offense do? Will it plug someone else in and continue to pound their opponents or will the loss of Harvin be bigger than anyone imagined? Only time will tell.

The Florida Gators have a lighter schedule compared to past years meaning a repeat is a strong possibility. With that said there still are some games that Florida has circled. October 10th Florida travels to Baton Rouge to play LSU (this game shall be known as Judgment Day) and October 31st Florida will play the Georgia Bulldogs.

Can Florida trip up in these games? You betcha. Going into Tiger Stadium on Saturday night is by no means easy, and a deep rivalry, like the one with Georgia, can always swing either way. Any chance for a hiccup game against an opponent you would never think would give Florida trouble? Can't see any, but look for Troy, September 12, to score some points. Sure they'll lose 50-26, but Troy scores.

2. Georgia: Going into the 2008 season the Bulldogs were a National Title contender. There was a lot of talk that 2008 would be the year that Coach Mark Richt finally put it all together and wins a title. Well, things went bad before you knew it. They lost to Alabama 41-30. (It was 31-0 at halftime.) Then, November 1st Florida flat out embarrassed UGA by winning 49-10. Finally, Georgia Tech mounted a second half comeback to beat the Bulldogs 45-42. After the season Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno leaft for the NFL and Athens, Ga. is left in the dust....

...or so we were led to believe.

The three losses last year for Georgia were painful and this 2009 squad wants to prove to the nation Richt's team is back. Georgia will make noise, but the main question is how will new quarterback senior Joe Cox do? If Cox can grab the reins of the season early on Georgia could be a sleeper in the SEC. Whatever you do watch the Florida/Georgia game this year. Georgia fans are still pretty angry about Florida running up the score in last year's 49-10 slaughter. Don't think the Georgia players will not be pumped for that game?


3. Tennessee: If you like football and do not know who Lane Kiffin is than I can pretty much assume you live under a rock. New Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin has already made his impact on the SEC...and he is yet to coach a game. First it was the snagging of coaches from other SEC teams, then it was the accusations against Florida coach Urban Meyer, then it was the building up of an under-the-radar recruiting class by grabbing studs like Janzen Jackson and Bryce Brown at the last minute, and finally it was the recruiting violations. Kiffin has a big task in rebuilding the UT football program, but it will need time. The main thing is how successful will the Vols be in year one? Let's put it this way, if the Tennessee Volunteers finish with 8 or 9 wins you can sure that Vol Nation will be foaming at the mouth on the potential this coach has. How will this team do once it really starts recruiting?

Do not get your hopes up because Tennessee will be annihilated September 19 at The Swamp against Florida. But, look for Tennessee to pull off at least one upset in these three games.

October 10 Georgia
October 24 @ Alabama
November 14 @ Ole Miss


4. South Carolina: Steve Spurrier did not arrive in Columbia, SC last night. In fact this will be the Old Ball Coach's 5th year with the Gamecocks. With a 28-22 record critics begin to wonder will Spurrier ever build a team for South Carolina that will be stronger than one or two games over .500. Coming back this year for the Gamecocks will be Stephen Garcia who has the poetential to be the best QB Spurrier has ever had at South Carolina. The biggest issue for this team will be replacing the top three playmakers on both sides of the ball, including cornerback Captain Munnerlyn, safety Emanuel Cook and linebacker Jasper Brinkley on defense. After a spring practice where Spurrier left in frustration due a poor performance by the team one has to think if this South Carolina team will ever leave the land of mediocrity. With a schedule that includes games at Georgia, Alabama, and Tennesse, and home against Ole Miss and Florida don't look for that to change.


5. Vanderbilt: The Commodores 2008 season was one of the most incredible of the year. Not only did Vandy finish with a 7-6 record (4-4 SEC), the Commodores also won their Music City Bowl game against Boston College 17-16. Coach Bobby Johnson continously gets applauded for turning around a football program that has always struggled in the SEC. Main question is can Bobby Johnson and his crew keep this going into another year? The team returns 19 starters, not including former QB Mackenzi Adams. In steps Larry Smith who started the last two games of the year. Even with games at LSU and Florida, and home against Georgia and Ole Miss, the Commodores should still be able to enter bowl season for the second consecutive year. But keep in mind that in the history of Vanderbilt football (119 years) never have the Commodores gone to bowl games in consecutive seasons.


6. Kentucky: Last year's Kentucky team surprised a lot of people, myself included. One year after losing lightining-in-a-bottle Andre Woodson the Wildcats were still able to get into the bowl season. QB Mike Hartline came into the position last year with a lot of pressure, but remarkablely was able to guide Kentucky to a 7-6 record. Even better the team beat East Carolina (an early season sleeper) 25-19 in the Liberty Bowl. Much like Coach Bobby Johnson of Vanderbilt, Coach Rich Brooks of Kentucky is faced with the pressure of keeping the momentum going. The best thing happening to the Wildcats is the team will go back to running a similar offense to when Woodson was still in town. Last year the team strayed away from it because a new QB was in town. As Brooks says passing works best for the Wildcats. Despite a promising outlook for the offense the biggest issue for Kentucky will be the defense and its consistency. Cornerback Trevard Lindley is an All-American prospect, but will he be enough to get a fourth straight bowl game? Doubt it.


Up next SEC West...

Eerie Thoughts: How a Coin Flip Altered the Career of Kareem and Hakeem

My job, when aimlessly wondering the internet through sports statistic site after sports statistic site, is to find that story that history overlooked. That story we as modern basketball fans never considered. And, every now and then, I find something.

The coin flip: the simplest way to make a decision on the most equal of matters. And more importantly, up until 1985, or before the NBA lottery, it was the one factor that separated two teams with identical records at season's end.

The more I looked into coin flips being used prior to the draft, the more I realized how much of an impact it had on the history of the NBA. In particular two coin flips stand out the most.

More importantly, two careers stand out as impacted by the coin-flip: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olujawon's.

Can you imagine for a moment Jabbar never having been a Buck with Oscar Roberstson, or Olujawon never having been a Rocket?

In 1969 the biggest player coming out of college was Lew Alcindor (later to be known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Whoever had the number one pick the choice was obvious: Alcindor. The race for the top spot consisted of a coin flip between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns. Obviously, Milwaukee had won, but I began to think to myself what if Phoenix had won?

During the 1969-70 season the Suns roster consisted of legends Connie Hawkins (24.6 points per game) and Gail Goodrich (20.0), as well as Dick Van Arsdale (21.3), Paul Silas (12.8), and Jim Fox (12.9). Now, can you imagine how the Suns would of been with Jabbar? The lineup would of consisted of Gail Goodrich, Dick Van Arsdale, Connie Hawkins, Jabbar, and Fox and Silas rotating. Pretty interesting to consider. More importantly, maybe Jabbar (unlike Milwaukee) would of liked Phoenix. Also, what's to say if that coin flip does not side with Milwaukee that Jabbar never ends up going to the Los Angeles Lakers and Showtime never happens? Better yet would Oscar Robertson ever have gotten that 1971 NBA title?

Eerie things to think about...

And this is not even considering the fact the fact that both the Harlem Globetrotters and ABA tried persuading Jabbar to join them and not the NBA. Granted, I still think the coin flip had more of an impact.

Only 15 years later a similar incident took place. Going into the 1984 draft Hakeem Olajuwon remained the biggest commodity every team desired. And as history shows us a coin flip was thrown between Portland and Houston, where the Rockets prevailed the winners. The Dream went on to have an amazing career with two titles in the 1994, 1995 seasons.

But let's imagine for the sake of me talking what happens if Portland wins that top pick and The Dream goes to play alongside Drexler and Company? How's that turn out? How dominate do they remain over the next decade? And what about Michael Jordan? Would Houston have Jordan at No. 2 or Sam Bowie?

Who knows.

It's just an incredible thing to think about. Despite the blatantly amazing talents of many athletes a lot times, a least in the case of something like Jabbar and Olujawon, great teams first start building up by non other than pure, simple luck.

But for the Phoenix Suns and Portland Trailblazers I'm sure the term "bad luck" also applies.

Lack of Effort + Ability to Quit = 58 point loss

I was going to sit on this. Let it rest for a couple days, but I couldn't. No, you see losing by 58 points in a basketball game is horrendous. But, for an NBA team to lose by 58 points, oh well that's a crime.

Let me put it this way what the Hornets put on tonight is worse than what your dog leaves in the grass in the morning.

Much worse.

Tonight the New Orleans Hornets at home, against the Denver Nuggets, trailing only 2-1 in the series, lost 121-63. The game is epic in all proportions, specifically on the quit-scale.

I'm sure there are some choice words from the Hornet fans for George Karl running up the score. That is understandable in some aspects, but I really do not think Karl is the one at fault.

See if a team loses by 25 and the other team is still working to increase that lead, being angry at the opposing coach can be more understandable, but not for 58 points. The main thing is in order to get to the land of being down by 50+ points that team has to do something remarkable, absolutely unprecedented, they have to quit.

And folks the New Orleans Hornets quit. No team loses by 58 without quitting and there is nothing more disheartening, more gut-wrenching than to see the team you root for throw in the towel. I can't point fingers at specific people, but I'm sure those guys know who they are, and frankly I think I'll be mentally disturbed for the rest of my life.

You never forget the day your team quits. No, quitting is not when your team lets up when down by seven with 15 seconds left. That's just facing the reality that you lost.

This is different. Far different.

The last time I can think of a team quitting on me was the New Orleans Saints, and I am not talking about the 52-3 loss they had at Lambeau Field in 2005. (Frankly, I think the events of Hurricane Katrina played a role in that, but that's another story.)

The day the Saints quit on me was January 6, 2002. The Saints were 7-8 going into the final game of the season against the 12-3 San Francisco 49ers. Sure, the previous two weeks the Saints had lost by a combined score of 88-31, but that was nothing compared to this.

In a lackluster effort the Saints got shutout 38-0. The pinnacle of loneliness with your team is when you see them quit. I saw that with the Saints in 2002 and I saw it with the Hornets tonight.

It might be one loss, but it speaks volumes about the character of some of the guys on this team. And frankly, I don't like it.

3 Strong Reasons Why Lane Kiffin Being Successful is Good for the SEC and LSU

No coach has had more of a splash in the Southern Eastern Conference recently than Lane Kiffin. He has done nothing short of stir up drama, but rest assured I do think his success will ultimately prove good for the SEC and LSU. Even as an LSU fan who's team lost out on recruits Bryce Brown and Janzen Jackson to Tennessee, I still stay strong to this thinking.

Tennessee v. Florida

In the past this game was an SEC favorite. Remember in 2004 when Tennessee beat Florida 30-28? The game then was a early season fan-favorite fist fight. It was early in the year, but the implications of the game where huge. But in recent years the game has featured nothing more than lopsided Florida victories. Last year Florida pounded Tennessee 30-6 in Neyland Stadium, the year before Florida pounded Tennessee 59-20 in the Swamp. Since 1993, Florida is 12-4 against the Volunteers. If Kiffin can get a good team together than this rivalry can be resurrected. It's unlikely that this year Kiffin's club will beat Florida considering the talent Florida has compared to Tennessee, but I do expect the Vols to hang with the Gators for three quarters.

Overall, Kiffin does well, this rivalry is watchable again.


More recruits to Tennessee

If Tennessee gets good again than more recruits will head to Vol Nation from Alabama. Now granted I know the negative aspect of UT getting good is LSU losing some recruits. That is frustrating, but that's part of the game. With that said, I still think LSU's recruiting class turned out, hmm alright this year. Wouldn't you agree?

But back to the subject, right now Nick Saban runs Alabama. He gets the best recruits there and frankly I have always been a fan of sharing so Kiffin hopefully you can get Alabama to share. Same can be said about Florida. Urban Meyer runs that state, wouldn't be too terrible if some sharing took place in the Sunshine State as well.


LSU rarely plays Tennessee

This is the one some many LSU fans fail to grasp. Yes, I am well aware LSU plays Tennesee in Baton Rouge in 2010 and then in Knoxville in 2011, but after that LSU will play Tennessee about once every four years. Since 1993 LSU has squared off with Tennessee only seven times, but keep in mind two of those games where in the SEC Championship. Overall, five matchups in 13 years. If anything Tennessee becoming good again is a thorn in the side of Florida and Alabama because those two schools have to play the Vols every year no questions asked.

Be Green: Double Wipe Campaign

In the US the Be Green campaign has spilled over into all facets of American life, but the latest campaign looks to make a bigger impact than anything the world has ever seen.

Dr. Wesley G. Billings of the Energy Institute of the World has just manifested the lasted campaign to capture the spirit of being green.

In a recent interview with Dr. Billings, he reviled his reasoning behind his Be Green campaign.

"Everyone seems to wanting to save paper and be smarter," Billings stated. "That's great and I think it is honestly working. With that said, I really do think what I bring to the table is innovative and nothing short of exciting."

Billings eyes light up like a hobo who spots an unoccupied hot dog. He speaks vividly on his plan and how it asks citizens to use a piece of toilet paper twice before deposing of it.

"Think of the paper we would save if little Billy was able to use the same piece of toilet paper more than once. Heck, what if he could use it six times!"

Through Billings research he has estimated that if one uses toilet paper at least more than one time, than paper usage would go down in the US by 27.4% alone.

To spread the word of Billings's message shirts are being sold at colleges and malls across the US.

"Starting in the big cities such as Portland, Maine; Topeka, Kansas; and Lubbock, Texas we are spreading the word of the campaign. We are thankfully hitting the big markets right from the beginning. In the future we hope to get Milwaukee! But I have to say I think the public will love the shirts we have made. On the front it will 'DW,' on the back they will say 'Just Fold It Over Once More. Please.' I think it's a real gold mine."

Going up against Billings and his campaign is the organization, the People's Right of the Bathroom. PRB, as they refer to themselves, insist that Billings's proposal eats away at the very foundation of our society.

"How dare he tell me what to do in the bathroom!" shouted PRB president William Blaring. "This campaign is only the beginning. First, they want to suggest something, next they slam down a law saying how long you can be in the John. Well, I'll tell you what, never will I ever bow down to anyone when we talk about my bathroom rights!"

Blaring's disapproval only continues to highlight how sour a subject toilet discussions are. As Billings states, he knows getting people on his side will be difficult because "one's time in a bathroom is sacred."

"I realize I am infiltrating the hardest lair to invade, the bathroom, but I do believe that if we wipe once more with that same piece of ply, than the world can be greener, and that we can make a difference."




Note: This article was done in humor. Do not think of it anymore than that.

MM: Email Ballay05@yahoo.com