Bowls, Old Footballs, and Other Such Round Things

You've probably heard about Doug Flutie's retro kick. But did you know that he was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week? The Courtier pointed me to a great page on the history of the drop kick. Must have been impossible to throw a spiral with one of those old-style balls.

I agree with Schadenfreude Dave: nothing is more canonically Tressel than giving someone a collar stay. We are talking about a guy who stuck to his uniform — the sweater vest — in 72 degree weather. I felt bad for Weis and company by the end. Tressel and Weis have a lot in common, though: they both have their dream jobs, and both took their teams to a bowl in their first year. For Ohio State it was merely the Outback Bowl, and the loss felt ignominious. But the next year, Ohio State had a championship season. Notre Dame will be back next year, better-stronger-faster, even though things look grim now.

I wasn't sure Ohio State could pull it off, but they did.

I stayed up late, and was gratified to see Penn State come away with the win. Guess firejoepaterno.com will be making that branding switch any day now. Well before I lived in Pennsylvania, I learned to appreciate JoePa at my mother's knee, mainly for his wide-reaching commitment to Penn State.

I admit to surprise that Texas is leading USC, even though it's arguably by virtue of a touchdown that should not be. (That was a strong drive — they might have gone in on the next play even if Young had been ruled down. But we'll never know now.)

Enjoy the rest of the game. Switching gears, though, Tangerine Penguin has a shrewd analysis of the president's probable stance on the McCain Amendment.

P.S. I love the people who come here via Google, but "vince young prostitutes" and "dana jacobson is an amazon"? Care to clue me in?