Head Scratchers

      On national letter of intent day, I tuned in to all the shows, checking to see how the Ducks had done.   Were there surprises, did we keep the commits?   But instead of reveling over the signees, I was struck that ESPNU had hired, of all ex-coaches, Gene Chizik as a guest analyst on recruiting.    It would seem that speaking to his experience it would only take a few minutes - open your wallet and check with the recruit's parole officer.   And that worked out well for him didn't it?   His recruits were of such high caliber that he was out of a job in only 4 years.  Yes, I am still flailing away at the Auburn program, eventually the cone of silence will be lifted and the Tigers will have to find something else to occupy the space that will be vacated by the National Championship trophy.  How about an autographed picture of Cecil Newton?   I'll bet we can get you one for around $180,000.

Items I will never buy:
Gatorade
Under Armour
Windows 8 phones
Anything from Foot Locker

Why?  All endorsed by Scam Newton.   You see, some of us have to stand on principle.   

     A real mystery is the ability of Ole Miss to have the #2 recruiting class in the nation!   How does a 7 - 6 team rate so highly with recruits.   Must be the lure of beautiful Oxford, the football tradition, or the state of Mississippi and their progressive attitude.......

     However, another 7 - 6 team topped the nation with five 5 star recruits - USC!   Wow, the tradition is gone guys, why?   A simple answer, the best agents seem to be based out of L.A.   We saw from last year that the Trojans play as individuals and give up when they realize they're not coming out on top.  They were nothing but front runners that weren't worthy of their 2012 pre-season #1 ranking.   It seems it's one season-long audition for the NFL.  The question here is how long will Lane Kiffen be the head man at USC?

     Speaking of USC, firing your basketball coach in January?  If A.D. Pat Haden thinks this will right the ship, you missed the boat.  Firing O'Neal at the end of last season would have allowed the new coach the chance to recruit.   Now it just looks like the program is in chaos and recruiting will be no easy chore.

     A mother knows best, at least that's what H.S. running back Alex Collins' mom thought when she hid her son's letter-of-intent to Arkansas.   Look, I get it, I don't like Bret Bielema either, but sometimes you just have to let kids make mistakes for them to learn.  How can you argue with a chant like 
Woooooooooo, Pig ! Sooie!
Woooooooooo, Pig ! Sooie!
Woooooooooo, Pig ! Sooie!
Razorbacks!
On second thought, Alex, listen to your mother!

     On to baseball!   The Tigers open spring training games with the Atlanta Braves on February 22nd.   An awkward situation is brewing.   My son-in-law is a staunch Braves fan, while, well, you know my loyalties.  This is the quandary, my grandson has both Tiger and Braves gear, what will he wear that day?  A tough decision for a 5 month old.