For the moment, it appears he doesn’t want to talk about it.

After starting quarterback Ryan Perrilloux was suspended a third time (in the last 10 months) and will miss all of spring practice, Les Miles has said that he will not be discussing Perrilloux and his future with the team. My take on the matter has been clear. If he wants to send a clear message to his team about off-the-field issues, he needs to dismiss Perrilloux. Period. LSU football may not be recruiting the brightest student-athletics in the SEC but I assure you they’re smart enough to see the hypocrisy in the star quarterback being given a third opportunity to NOT screw up when many on the time would be given their walking papers the first time they were involved in a bar fight or indicated in a forgery ring.

For the moment, Miles is, at the very least, non-committal on what Perrilloux’s future with the team will be. Miles told reporters today:

“I am not going to spend a lot of time thinking and talking about [Perrilloux],” said Miles at a pre-spring practice news conference Wednesday. “I am focusing on the guys who are competing for a position on this team now. I’d appreciate if you don’t ask me any more questions about him.”

When pressed by reporters for answers, Miles decided to take the always-wise approach of talking down to the media and explaining what being a head coach means.

“My discipline is about team discipline,” Miles said. “My responsibility is to the program and the team and not to the media. You guys get no vote and no say about the suspension. In time, you’ll get to know stuff.“

I’m sure that the reporters present at that press conference are comforted by the fact that eventually, if Uncle Les says it’s ok, they’ll actually “get to know stuff.” If Miles doesn’t suspend Perrilloux, he is taking an awfully big chance on a guy that is a repeat offender and has never actually been a full-time starter for any length of time in the SEC. This thing could all go horribly wrong for The Hat if he keeps Perrilloux on this team and he either plays horribly and costs LSU ballgames, if he gets in trouble again or both. For the moment, it appears that famous cap hasn’t cut of all the oxygen to Miles’ brain.

“The reality of it is [Perrilloux] is no longer part of the team [at this time]. It’s a very serious issue.”

The key phrase in that sentence may be “at this time.” While Miles refused to talk to reporters about Perrilloux at any length, he did leave the door open for the quarterback’s return to the team.

“He broke team rules, and I really don’t want to spend a lot of time thinking and talking about him,” Miles said. “His responsibility is to do everything right and get back on this team. And I’ll focus on the guys that are competing for jobs on our team currently.”

This is the third time that LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux has been suspended. He’s a junior.

I hope that Les Miles have the nerve to do what other college coaches (including himself), in both basketball and football, haven’t had the integrity to do: Kick this kid off the team. Time and time again, we see examples of athletic programs sending mixed moral messages to their players by giving the most talented break after break while preaching a message of accountability, respect and class to the kids seeing the least amount of playing time.

Case and point, last month Wake Forest dismissed a reserve running back for threatening messages he posted to his Facebook page. No second chances, no temporary suspension until they play a conference rival. Nothing. Just a handshake and a ride to the bus station.

Meanwhile, kids like Perrilloux who, for all intents and purposes has been a problem since arriving in Baton Rouge, has been suspended three times for violation of team rules. Former UConn point guard Marcus Williams was suspended by coach Jim Calhoun for his part in the heist of laptops from dorm rooms but was allowed to rejoin the team just in time for the starts of the Big East conference opener against Marquette. Isn’t that convenient?

I admonish Calhoun, Miles and coaches like them for taking moral stands of convenience and not sending a stronger message to not only their athletes but middle school and high school kids. The hypocrisy of the actions of these coaches and the special treatment received by the best players does not go unnoticed.

For now, the message seems to be that if you can run fast, shoot a jump shot or elude a blitz, you get to play by a different set of “team rules.”

The New American Gladiators was good wasn’t terrible

Had a chance to watch American Gladiators 2.0 as I’ve taken to calling it and thankfully, the re-make is very similar to the Mike Adamle/Larry Czonka-hosted version of the early 90s that I loved so much as a kid. They’ve returned all the old games with a set of new HGH-inflated Gladiators. Back are old favs like the cleverly-named Wall, Joust, Gauntlet and my personal favorite, Powerball, not to mention the return of The Eliminator with its ziplines and reverse motion treadmills.

The one thing I don’t understand about Gladiators 2.0: what’s with all the water? When a contestant is tugged from the rings in Hang Tough, more often than not in an extremely homoerotic fashion, he falls.. into water. If he isn’t able to scurry up up the wall in…. Wall, he falls… into water. If he gets his pummeled about his head in joust, he falls off his platform… into water. Even the eliminator features a water-based element or two. What’s with all the water? Why not have the contestants falls headlong into a vat of Extra Virgin Olive Oil or what happened to the big cushy mats of my childhood or a ball pit?

While the show may be enough to make me tune in on Monday nights, sans Heroes, it will not be enough to pull me from tonight’s BCS title game.

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Tonight’s the night

The college football seasons ends tonight in New Orleans with a game I am genuinely, truly excited to watch. I have no idea how Ohio State will come out and play, after having almost two months off but the same can certainly be said for LSU, who’s most recent game was more than a month ago. Make no mistake, the beginning of the game is huge for both sides. Ohio State wants to come out and control the tempo of the game, slow it down and grind it out until the end. If they’re able to do that from the outset, it boasts very well for the Buckeyes. But, if LSU is able to get some big plays early on and get a big lead, Ohio State will have to abandon the run, the strongest part of their offense, and rely on Todd Boeckman and against a veteran secondary like LSU’s that could be all she wrote. In a close game though, I’ll take Ohio State as I find Les Miles’ late game judgment to be suspect at best.

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The Rocket takes former trainer to court

The news this morning is that Roger Clemens has filed a defamation suit against former trainer Brian McNamee, who indicated the pitcher had taken HGH in the Mitchell Report. I do not think that because Clemens filed this suit that it automatically means that he is innocent.

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Bring in the noise

Is anyone else tired of the San Diego Chargers? Between LaDanian Tomlinson, who is becoming increasingly self-aggrandizing, Shawne Merriman, that HGH-addled freak and Philip Rivers, who is far too mouthy for how medicore his numbers are, I’ve grown tired of the theatrics. I understand that football is an emotional game but I don’t need to see Shawne Merriman dance around like a moron after every tackle or Luis Castillo do the samba after getting his only sack of the day. You know, for a team that complained after New England mimicked Merriman’s lights out dance, this Chargers team does an awful lot of celebrating.

More playing, less talking.

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DVD Wars 

I was at the gym when I heard on CNBC that Warner Bros. had inked an exclusive deal with Sony’s Blu Ray to distribute their titles. News that was particularly hurtful considering my recent holiday purchase of an HD DVD player. I’m not quite old enough to remember the VHS/Beta wars of the 80s but I can certainly empathize with those consumers. It really is tricky, not knowing which technology to invest in. For me, the Warner Bros. news hurt because it meant one thing and one thing only: No Dark Knight HD-DVD for Pat.  Now, I know I’m jumping the gun a little bit on this one given that Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins sequel won’t hit theatres until July but still, a little sad..

Monday, Jan. 7 - Allstate BCS National Championship

Ohio State vs. LSU

Before last year’s BCS National Championship game, some foolish, young sportswriter wrote this about Ohio State:

“No offense Florida faced this year is packed with the kind of dynamite the Buckeyes will have when Troy Smith … lines up under center… The difference between the two teams … is that Ohio State has Troy Smith and Florida doesn’t.”

Yes, I can admit when I’m wrong and boy, was I wrong. What followed was a humbling lesson in prognostication as Florida’s defense pressured Smith all night and limited him to less than 50 yards passing, winning the national championship easily.

So here we are again.

The Ohio State team that heads down to New Orleans is very different from the juggernaut that I, and many others, thought last year’s Buckeyes to be. This year’s Ohio State team is coming in a little under the radar but needless to say, I won’t be going that far out on a limb for Jim Tressel’s team against this year. Especially not against LSU.

The key for LSU will be finding a weakness in the nation’s best defense, a task that will prove tricky, particularly considering how bland the Tiger offense has looked at various points this year. Without question, the strength of the LSU offense lies with Jacob Hester and their ground game. I wonder how Les Miles will respond if Ohio State stuffs the run early and LSU has to take to the air against the nation’s top-ranked pass defense. Having Matt Flynn back in the lineup will help LSU changes things up on offense and use backup Ryan Perriloux strategically and not as an every down quarterback. LSU will have to find Vernon Gholston on every snap and will likely double team Gholston, who finished fourth in the country with 13 sacks.

Without question, this game will be won or lost for both teams when Ohio State has the ball. It will be the ability of junior Todd Boeckman to stay patient and poised in the pocket and make feet with his feet when he has to as he will likely see an exotic combination of blitz packages from a defense loaded to the gills with NFL-caliber talent. If you’re a fan of great offensive and defensive line play, this is the game for you because when Ohio State has the ball, the tempo of the game will be decided by the big guys up front. If Ohio State can control the tempo of the game and the line can open holes for Beanie Wells, the national championship trophy will be headed to Columbus but if the LSU line can confuse Ohio State into missing assignments and not account for blitzing defenders, Boeckman will turn the ball over and the Buckeyes will lose. I have to wonder what effect the departure of defensive coordinator Bo Pelini for Nebraska will have on his unit or whether it will be business as usual for this quick, ball hawking defense.

In the words of the President, “fool me once, shame on me, fool me.. you can’t get fooled again.” I’m going with Ohio State in this one. I question Les Miles’ decision making, especially in a close game and this LSU team has been living on the edge all year long. Todd Boeckman at QB for Ohio State scares me but he has weapons in Robieski and Hartline and one of the best young running backs in the country in Beanie Wells at his disposal. I’ve just seen LSU’s offense flounder so horribly against teams with much worse defenses than Ohio State’s to believe they are capable of moving the ball up and down the field on this Buckeye defense.

Gotta love, ESPN. Whereas most credible news organizations would address a story they reported and got wrong. The Worldwide Leader just ignores it and pretends like it didn’t happen.

The way Les Miles ends this press conference really made my day a great one..

So far, I am batting two-for-two on my picks today. Central Florida and Central Michigan both won pretty big but my loyalty to Boston College may cost me as Sean Glennon just threw a touchdown pass to put the Hokies on top with about seven minutes left in the game. We will see if Matt Ryan can break Hokie hearts two times in a single season.

Tennessee just scored quickly while sporting what I can only describe as dreamsicle-colored uniforms.

UPDATE - 3:34 Lightning will not strike twice for Boston College as Matt Ryan throws a heartbreaking interception deep in Virginia Tech territory with two minutes left. The Eagles got the ball back with 30 seconds left but Xavier Adibi picked off a batted ball and took it to the house for six. The Bottom Line on Championship Saturday, 2-1.

UPDATE - 6:41 Well I could be wrong but LSU looks like they have survived a pre-game full of rumors that their coach is leaving to win the SEC Championship. I wonder where, in the spectrum of hated athletes at Tennessee, Erik Ainge falls after basically losing the ballgame for the Vols tonight. Twice, Ainge failed to read the defenders before throwing the ball and twice the Tigers defense made him pay. For me, this loss goes back to what I believed early this season about Tennessee – they have absolutely zero big play possibilities on that offense, opting instead to nickel and dime their way down the field and tonight two of those plays really cost them the conference championship. Ainge just has to see Daryl Beckwith underneath on that last interception. That turnover is inexcusable. The Bottom Line on Championship Saturday, 3-1.

UPDATE - 7:45 If you like two teams just blowing each other up, I hope you are watching the Big 12 Championship right now. Missouri and Oklahoma have been trading blows for most of the first quarter and the winner of this game could turn out to be the team with the most starters still conscious. I like the way Oklahoma is playing on defense. Nothing that Missouri has tried on offense so far has been even remotely successful. We could be in for a good one. Oh and for the record, Missouri wide receiver Jeremy Maclin is as fast as any player I have seen this year. He is so explosive. If Mizzou wins this game, it will be on the legs of Jeremy Maclin.

UPDATE - 8:16 Oklahoma just came up huge on third and goal from the 2 and forced another Missouri field goal. Mizzou has gotten some questionable pass interference calls on third down on two scoring drive so far and this game really reinforces my belief that I could never be a head coach. When a referee throws a flag for defense pass interference well after the play (as was the case on both of those pass interference calls), I would likely strike said referee with the nearest blunt object. Apparently, this is not acceptable in the coaching profession, something about assault with a deadly weapon makes some athletic departments squeamish.

UPDATE - 8:22 Is it just me or does Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel look like Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger after a horrible beekeeping accident?

UPDATE - 9:44 Pitt has West Virginia on the ropes but the officials appear to be keeping West Virginia in the game. Two bad holding calls and a no-call on obvious pass interference call has Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt fuming. Pitt has outplayed West Virginia the game and it would be a shame to see them robbed of the upset because of poor officiating but so far that appears to be the case. Elsewhere, Oklahoma scored a big touchdown to take the lead again against Missouri.

UPDATE - 9:51 All Pitt needs is a first down to pull off an enormous upset after Pat White soars the ball over the head of his receiver on 4th and long. The officials continue to be atrocious after flagging a Pitt corner for unnecessary celebration for doing absolutely nothing. ESPN announcer Mike Patrick accurately said the officials were sucking the joy out of the game. Oklahoma goes up 14 after an interception by Oklahoma linebacker Curtis Lofton lead to a Sam Bradford touchdown pass. Chase Daniel is really beginning to show his frustration. I think the BCS may need to find two new teams for its championship when the night is over.

UPDATE - 9:56 See ya, West Virginia. Pitt has done it and the Mountaineers are out of the national championship after dropping to the Panthers, a 28-point underdog, at home.

UPDATE - 10:45 Adios, Mizzou. What Oklahoma proved tonight was that Missouri was a complete fraud as the number 1 team in the country and  that Chase Daniel never belonged in the Heisman conversation with McFadden and Tebow (I would argue that McFadden does not belong in that conversation either). Oklahoma hit him early and often and Daniel folded like a cheap card table. I will give Daniel a pass on the game-changing interception, he did throw behind tight end Martin Rucker but it is hard to blame a quarterback for an interception off a deflected pass. So where does that leave us now? Presumably, Ohio State is in but who is number 2? Is it Georgia? Is it the famous undefeated-in-regulation Tigers of Louisiana State? Is it the recently resurgent Trojans? I have no idea. My hunch is that we will see Georgia in there, given that they are number four in the BCS standings at this moment but with this system, it is anyone’s guess. I will agree with Kirk Herbstreit when he said that its a shame that Mizzou will not get into a BCS bowl and Kansas will given that the Jayhawks never had to play Oklahoma. I hope that Kansas and Hawaii get put in the same bowl so I can completely avoid having to watch both teams altogether. If all of the great games today are proof of anything, it is that nothing — and I mean nothing NFL execs — beats college football.

In honor of this weekend of weekends, where it appears the stars have aligned and I will not be leaving my couch at all Saturday, I’ve decided to pick all of this weekend’s conference championship games.

MAC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP - Miami (OH) at Central Michigan - 12:00

I’ll take the defending MAC Champion Chippewas and QB Dan LeFevour in this one. LeFevour recently won the MAC Offensive Player of the Year award after setting school records for completions, attempts, yards and total offense this season. Still, the game could be interested. Miami of Ohio does possess the conference’s best passing defense, best rushing and scoring defense. The question will be if the Redhawk offense, which ranks 10th in the conference in scoring, can put points on the board. I’ll take CMU.

CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP : TULSA AT UCF - 12:00 P.M.

Tulsa has one of the best offenses in the country and UCF has one of the best running backs in America. I’ll take UCF in this one for any number of reasons, not the first of which is that my girlfriend is a Knight. The game is being played in Orlando, at their new Bright House Networks Stadium on campus so for that reason alone, I’ve gotta go with George O’ Leary’s squad. Not to mention that last week, Tulsa gave up over 700 yards of total offense, 541 threw the air. This could be a shoot out and is definitely worth your time. I’ll take the formerly Golden Knights of Central Florida.

ACC Championship - Virginia Tech at Boston College - 1:00 p.m.

I’ve been on the BC bandwagon and I don’t intend to get off despite that they face off against a much better Virginia Tech team than the one the Eagles beat earlier this year in Blacksburg. I think the game will ultimately come down to how well Tyrod Taylor/Sean Glennon is able to lead the Virginia Tech offense against an underrated and fast Boston College defense. If VT is able to move the ball effectively, it could be lights out for BC’s BCS dreams but I don’t anticipate that being the case. I’ll take the Eagles in a close one.

SEC Championship - Tennessee at LSU - 4:00 p.m.

In what could be Les Miles’ last SEC game as the head coach of LSU, I’ll take the Bayou Bengals coming off a heartbreaker last week against Arkansas. Tennessee has been one of the most hideously inconsistent teams in the SEC and I don’t think that the UT offense has what it takes to hang with the hard-hitting, lightning-quick LSU defense. LSU had better get creative on offense and not rely on the Hester up the middle, Keiland Williams to the outside, Matt Flynn on QB Draw that we’ve seen too many times this year. They need to spread the field and keep the ball away from Tennessee freshman cornerback Eric Berry who makes his Atlanta homecoming Saturday. I’ll take LSU by at least 10. The Tigers are just thankful they’re not playing Georgia.

Big 12 Championship - Missouri at Oklahoma - 8:00 p.m.

There’s an awful lot riding on this game for Missouri. For Mizzou QB Chase Daniel, it’s his chance to snatch the Heisman Trophy away from Tim Tebow, who’s been sizing up a place on his mantel for it for weeks. A great performance in a win against Oklahoma and the award for the nation’s best college football player is his. Bigger than that is that Missouri is playing for the national championship Saturday night. Beat Oklahoma and they’re in. I was asked earlier today by our publisher who I liked in this one. I explained that I would have taken Oklahoma had it not been for the announcement earlier this week that Sooner running back DeMarco Murray is done for the year with a dislocated kneecaps. Murray was the team’s most consistent running back and best offensive player, save wideout Malcolm Kelly. The key for Oklahoma will be forcing turnovers and getting on top early. If Mizzou gets in an early hole, maybe 10 or 14 points, I’m not sure they can come back from that against a pretty tough Oklahoma defense. Sam Bradford’s performance is huge for the Sooners. If he gets careless and starts throwing Favre-ian interceptions, it’s over for Oklahoma and we are looking at a Missouri-West Virginia National Championship. I am going to take a flyer on Bob Stoops and the upset-minded Sooners.

(AP Photo/Tom Strattman)

Austin Starr never pays for another meal in Bloomington ever again

I’ll get more to the Old Oaken Bucket game here in a bit but Starr’s game-winning 49-yard field goal with 30 seconds left to beat Purdue will be enough to make him a permanent fixture in the history of this series and in the history of this program for some time to come. To be able to come back onto the field, having missed a 42-yarder that would have put the game out of reach and hit the game winning kick, a career long, is unspeakably clutch.

(AP Photo/John Raoux)

Tim Tebow is this year’s Heisman trophy winner

Say what you want about Florida’s three losses coming off their national championship last year, no player in college football has been as consistently great as Tim Tebow. When Oregon’s Dennis Dixon limped off the field in the first quarter against Arizona last week, Tebow became a virtual lock to strike the pose. Basically all he had to do this week was not suck against Florida Atlantic (a team Florida has no business playing this last in the season). Well Tebow threw for 338 and three touchdowns and ran for another. I don’t know what this kid’s pro career looks like, given his awkward mechanics and playing in an offense that no NFL team runs but his college career is looking pretty bright.

(AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Alabama fans think they have 32 million reasons why they should never lose to Louisiana-Monroe — at home

Well, I think the shine is officially off the apple down in Tuscaloosa after Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide dropped a home tilt against the mighty 4-6 Warhawks of Louisiana-Monroe. In Saban’s defense, in every preseason interview I saw he tried to temper expectations and warn Tide fans, frothing at the mouth for national recognition again, that this was a rebuilding process and that the team had a long way to go. All of that went out the window when they beat Arkansas (a team that has shown to be one of the SEC’s most disappointing after winning the SEC West last year) in a thriller in Tuscaloosa. I think this is a fitting loss for a man who’s karmic account balance is overdrawn and a program so willing to get back on top that they were willing to hire a snake like Saban.

(AP Photo/LM Otero)

The BCS picture is clear as mud

I can’t say I’m surprised that Oklahoma went down to Lubbock under the lights and fell to Mike Leach’s Texas Tech team. Year in and year out, Tech is one of the most explosive offense teams in America and Bob Stoops’ team just had no answer for Graham Harrell. But where does this leave the race for New Orleans and the BCS Championship? Oklahoma, it stands to reason, is out, Ohio State appears to be back in. Kansas moves to number 2 but has a tough game next week against Missouri, who have national championship hopes of their own. And then there’s LSU who is hoping that Tennessee can hang onto the SEC East so the Tigers can beat their brains out in Atlanta, instead of playing Georgia, America’s hottest team. And what about West Virginia? After losing to South Florida earlier in the year, Rich Rodriguez’s team has been consistently great. Stay tuned.

(AP Photo/Tony Ding)

Lloyd Carr is done in Ann Arbor

It’s been a heck of a run for Lloyd Carr as the head coach of Michigan but let’s face it, even if he would have beat the archrival Buckeyes (which he failed to do again, dropping his record against Jim Tressel to 1-6), Carr was on the way out. Ever since Carr’s Wolverines dropped their home opener to Appalachian State, Michigan fans had moved on. Carr had a great tenure in Ann Arbor and should be remembered, not for losing the greatest upset in college football history, but for being one of the greatest coaches in the history of one of college football’s great programs.

Les Miles better figure out a way to keep his team focused this week

With the Battle for the Golden Boot coming up this week against Arkansas in Baton Rouge, a potential trap game for LSU, it’s a bad week for Les Miles to be mentioned in connection to another head coaching job. It should come as no surprise to anyone that Michigan is giving a good, hard look at Les Miles to fill the coaching vacancy left by Lloyd Carr when he announces his retirement today. The real question will be how Miles deals with it and keeps it off the minds of his players going into a two-week stretch that will determine whether or not the Tigers play for the national championship. Miles has yet to flatly deny that he is interested in the vacancy saying that he is only focused on the job he has now and will not entertain any other offers right now. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Miles in maize and blue, and not purple and gold, by this spring.

1. Oregon - The SEC, for the past five years, has been the best conference in America and certainly the most competitive but this year the Pac-10 is better and no one has more impressive wins, in conference and out, than Oregon.

2. LSU - Any national championship matchup that doesn’t include Les Miles and the Bayou Bengals would be something of a disappointing. Their defense is swarming and stifling but their offense is a little stagnant and boring and it really shouldn’t be given their personnel. This team is far from the unbeatable juggernauts many thought them to be early in the year.

3. Oklahoma -  Malcolm Kelly, DeMarco Murray and an up-and-coming quarterback in Sam Bradford is enough of a reason to feel good about Bob Stoops’ Sooners. But you really have to wonder how Oklahoma would compete against an explosive, quickstrike offense like Oregon’s given that they gave up 450 yards of total offense last week… to Baylor. I fully expect the Sooners to completely obliterate the Jayhawks should Kansas make it to the Big 12 Championship game and have a tougher go of things if Chase Daniels and Mizzou makes it to Kansas City in December.

4. Kansas -  No quality wins, none, zero. It is really hard for me to include Mark Mangino’s undefeated Jayhawks in the top 5 but given that they are the nation’s only remaining undefeated team, I feel obligated. I don’t believe in this team, not yet. One could argue that the only thing that closely resembles a quality win was their win on the road last week against an unranked Oklahoma State team. I don’t see the Jayhawks getting past Missouri this week in the Border War and should they luck their way into the Big 12 Championship, they have to play Oklahoma, still very much a contender for the national championship. Forget about it, KU fans.

5. Georgia - Some people might think I’m crazy for catapulting the two-loss Bulldogs ahead of so many other one-loss teams but I think Georgia’s for real. A team that was somewhat struggling to find its identity at the beginning of the year, dropping two bad losses to South Carolina and Tennessee, has come together in a big way. Matthew Stafford has developed into a fine quarterback, a little interception prone but fine and Knowshon Moreno is one of college football’s best running backs. If I were LSU, I would much prefer to see Tennessee cruising into Atlanta than Mark Richt and the resurgent Bulldogs defending the Georgia Dome.

One of the things that I hate the most when reading blogs is those that are not updated frequently. And alas, I’ve become one of them. So I returned to my news reader to find more San Diego Comic-Con stories than you can shake a stick at and more Michael Vick news. Fun.

If you get bored, I’d highly recommend Kevin Smith’s Smodcast that he does with longtime friend and producer Scott Mosier. Really funny, insightful stuff on a variety of topics, the least of which appear to be movies. Here’s the link if you’re interested.

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No, seriously…

Who knew an exclamation point could be so expensive.

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Will the NHL return to ESPN next season? And by next season, we mean 2008-2009.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are suing Ticketmaster, claiming the ticket broker of being a *gasp* monopoly?!?! I hate buying anything through Ticketmaster. I think if I had all of my “convenience charges” back, I could finance an Web 2.0 start-up.

You know you’re in trouble when Michael Irvin comes to your defense.

The Titans are shutting down Pacman Jones’ dreams of becoming the next Superfly Jimmy Snuka.

Freddy Adu signs with Portuguese football club Benfica. Wanna know why the MLS is never going to be a successful and respected soccer league? Because it can’t hold onto talent like Adu.

T.J. “Who’s your momma?” thinks NFL commish Roger Goodell is being “mean” to Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman.

Fanhouse’s Big Ten preview.

• Most underrated players
• Impact freshmen
• Players with big shoes to fill

A rare Navy football story.

Eric Wright and Joe Thomas have agreed to contracts with the Browns. Brady Quinn continues to act like a moron.

Wisconsin AD, and former football coach, Barry Alvarez is in favor of a Big Ten championship game if the league expands to 12 teams.

Chicago Tribune columnist says Big 10 commish has some ‘splaining to do.

Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock calls out Priest Holmes.

LSU head coach Les Miles tries to downplay all of the stupid things he’s said this off-season.

Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge is in search of a go-to receiver. Erik, his name is Robert Meachem, he’s in New Orleans. Just thought I could help.

L.A. Times’ columnist T.J. Simers proves can make you an elitist jerk.

Mark Richt says his Georgia Bulldogs are not “too far away” from being a title contender. Check his office for a gas leak.

The AJC’s Tony Barnhart on the early Heisman race and the five things to expect in the SEC this year.

The AJC’s Jeff Schultz says Georgia is flying under the radar and could surprise some people this year.

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Well-rounded news…

The Consumerist is reporting that Best Buy has fired some Geek Squad personnel following newspaper articles about “agents” taking files from customer’s computer.

Select Best Buy stores open mini-Apple stores.

NBC wants the sometimes-funny Jimmy Fallon to replace Conan O’Brian as late night host.

Premiere’s 20 fresh faces of comedy.

A major investment group has called for the resignation of Whole Foods CEO John Mackey after it was discovered he was posting to a Yahoo! stock forum anonymously.

The Federal Trade Commission may block Whole Foods’ acquisition of rival Wild Oats. Seriously, consumers need two places where they can buy overpriced health food. Good lookin’ out, FTC.

The New York Times and NBC News will collaborate on their coverage of the 2008 Presidential Campaign.

A first look at the Lost videogame. Warning: You should secure your brain before you watch this! I almost lost mine. No pun intended.

A teaser trailer for the Dark Knight. Oh man. I don’t usually get excited about trailers, especially one that is 45 seconds long. But I’m a dork and I like Batman so this made me excited. 

New Cold War Kids video for “Hospital Beds”.

Kathy Griffin on her date with Andrew W.K.

Kevin Smith to write and direct episode of Heroes spin-off.

Some Lost news from Comic-Con.