Arkstfan

Time for my anti-Microsoft rant. According to PCMag since Microsoft bought the company that makes the Gator spyware and adware they have been disabling Microsoft AntiSpyware's ability to detect and remove that spyware and adware. If you use the Microsoft program, download a free one like Yahoo's as extra protection. In fact, not a good idea to rely on just one anyway. Of course if you buy a Mac it's not an issue.

Not true. The WAC has two bowl ties. Boise and Hawaii. The Fresno to the Liberty agreement this year was a function of two things. #1 The Liberty wanted to lock in a ranked team (which Tech blew to hell). #2 The Liberty's contract with the MWC ended last year and their contract with the SEC doesn't start until next year. No team other than Hawaii plays in the Hawaii Bowl and comes anywhere close to breaking even. Fresno didn't get national attention this year because they are in the WAC. They got it because they traveled to the #6 team in the nation and lost by 3. They beat a team headed to the GMAC Bowl by 30 points. They lost to the #1 team in the nation by 8 points the second closest game they played all year. Don't think that the college football establishment respects the WAC. The bottom four teams in the WAC (SJSU, USU, Idaho, NMSU) went 7-37 against I-A competition and had one I-A win outside that group of four teams, USU's home win over 2-9 UNLV. That group includes two teams that finished tied for last in the Sun Belt last year. Just above them in the standings was Hawaii at 5-7. Four of those wins came from (big shock) Idaho, USU, SJSU, and NMSU. Their non-conference win came at home over 5-7 San Diego State. At the top of the WAC, La.Tech lost to Kansas and FAU played Kansas a closer game. Five of their 7 wins came over the bottom five WAC teams. One game over the last place team in the Sun Belt. They had Fresno for their sole win over a winning team. Nevada lost to 4-7 Washington State by 34. Beat 2-9 UNLV by 8. Lost to 6-5 Colorado State by 21. Went 5-0 against the WAC's bottom five. Beat La.Tech and Fresno. Lost by 35 to Nevada. Boise lost handily to Georgia (played them 2 points better than ULM but UGA had a larger halftime lead against Boise). Lost to 5-6 Oregon State. Crushed a Bowling Green that finished tied for second in their division in the MAC. Beat a 6-5 Portland State (I-AA) that finished 4th in the Big Sky by 7 points. The WAC has two pretty good teams, two average teams and 5 teams that pretty well stink. It is marginally better than the Belt simply because of Fresno and Boise.

I've seen it when a school can't keep players eligible and lose a bunch to quitting and transfers.

The last word I had heard was that Tech would go to Hawaii IF Oregon makes the BCS leaving the Pac-10 short in Las Vegas and that Nevada would go to Las Vegas freeing up the Hawaii bowl for Tech. That's the only Tech to a bowl game scenario I've heard, there might be others.

Do you really want to be in a league worlds better than the Sun Belt given not just this year but the number of close games UNT has had in the Belt since 2001?

Plus 1 is the extra BCS game. If the Orange Bowl is hosting the BCS title game the plus 1 will be played a week before that in the same stadium. If I understand the process correctly, the title game will technically be the plus 1 game and the earlier game will still be the Orange Bowl. This creates an extra BCS game to create more room for a non-autobid league to get in the BCS. The large piece of the revenue from the game will go to the non-autobid leagues regardless of whether they play in the BCS or not. In the event a non-autobid league does make the BCS then that team's conference will get a larger share of the money. Now instead of having to be in the top 6 to make the BCS the non-autobids need to finish in the top 12. The new deal puts the Sun Belt on the same payout footing as the rest of the non-autobid leagues (league didn't exist when current deal was cut so we got scraps) and basically doubles what the other non-autobid leagues get. Originally the plus 1 idea was touted as a playoff game to pit two bowl winners but that idea was rejected. The new plus 1 came up because the BCS leagues had agreed to increase access to the non-BCS but the BCS bowls didn't want another bowl in the title rotation other than their group. The other bowls weren't interested in bidding unless they were in the title rotation. The whole compromise was on the verge of falling apart and some guy named Wright Waters suggested creating a new bowl that rotated through the BCS bowl sites. The brilliance of the idea is this. Each of the four BCS bowls have very large local purchase (and scalper) bases. When the title game rotates to town you will have to purchase tickets to both games to get title game tickets (though participating teams will only purchase tickets to their game). That insure thousands and thousands of tickets sold even if it is FAU vs. Buffalo.

There will be two more within 5 years. We are guaranteed one with the Plus 1 game. I expect at least one more to be added because the number of bowl eligible teams will increase with the 12 game schedule and allowing one I-AA game a year.

Thought everyone knew that. Glad someone else has a college football history degree.

My guess, for what it is worth is that if UCF wins the CUSA title game that GMAC and Ft. Worth will end up with UTEP and USM (your guess as good as mine as to which goes where) and Hawaii and New Orleans end up with Memphis and Tulsa (again your guess as good as mine as to who goes where). Houston stays home. Now if CUSA successfully places team in a non-CUSA bowl, then Houston goes to the New Orleans. If Tulsa wins the title game, I think Liberty might snag Memphis and then it gets weird.

World of difference between being a Sun Belt freak and not wanting to run a program into a financial hole. Let's not twist La.Tech's position. La.Tech did not, does not want to be in a conference with ULM. I'll come back to that in a second. La.Tech leapt at a chance to join the WAC because they were joining Tulsa, SMU, and Rice. They are gone. Go to their board. Some time back Dewayne from Minden shucked the corn off the cob and plainly explained that in two years, Tech would no longer be able to afford WAC membership unless there was a dramatic infusion of new revenue into the program and the conference. Now why does Tech not want to be with ULM? First they are about 30 minutes apart and recruit the same areas. While Monroe is no garden spot it is still more attractive than Ruston. Being in the same league playing every year against ULM makes it rougher for them. The schools have met 43 times. Tech has only lost to ULM 13 times, but five of those losses came during the six years they were in the Southland together. For some reason Tech seems concerned about being in the same conference with them.

CUSA really, really wants the New Orleans Bowl to take Houston. Given that Houston took about 500 to Cajun Field this year for the Tulane game (counting the band, but to be fair part of I-10 was closed) and given that they took an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 to Lafayette for the ULL game in 2003, the bowl wants NOTHING to do with them. My sense is that the bowl's preference is 1. Memphis, 2. USM, 3. Tulsa. My sense is that they do not believe there is any chance that UTEP or UCF will be available for the game.

Normally I'd never enjoy a La.Tech win but this one... is SWEET. The frickin Liberty Bowl has refused to release ANY CUSA team from consideration. CUSA has six eligible teams and it is VERY obvious they aren't going to take Houston or USM and a slim chance they are considering UTEP. The GMAC has the second pick of CUSA but cannot invite or talk to any team not released. If CUSA would just release those three if GMAC was ready to pick one of them they could issue the invite and Hawaii, Ft.Worth and New Orleans could start fighting for the other two or start thinking about options. Instead CUSA has jacked around the other bowls. Well Liberty Bowl... YOU JUST GOT JACKED!

I caught it.

The one Tuesday and several Thursdays have been bad enough. I've been told that the league has been offered a few shots at a Wednesday night ESPN game but so far none of the Bible Belt uh Sun Belt teams approached have been willing to break that barrier.

Maybe but two of 'em is going to bowls now. At least we had the decency to lose up there rather than at home and did manage to do better than get 44 yards on 22 carries. Heck we at least SCORED on Army. I'm still pretty giddy. This all happened about 2 years sooner than I expected. I really didn't expect to be in the conference hunt until 2007.

You are kidding me. I thought teams that lost to Army weren't worthy of going to bowls. That makes two now.

You mean OUR best guess?

Sounds to me like the Board doesn't care who gets hired for any coaching position in any sport except football, but that football is important enough that they want input.

Yes, it will be at Ford Stadium. They come to Jonesboro in 2007 (rumor is it might end up being in Little Rock).

There has not ever been a serious effort to cut the number of bowls. Think about it who wants fewer bowls? Coaches? No they want more shots. AD's? No they know the value of a bowl to fund-raising and ticket sales. Presidents? No they like the exposure and the chance to entertain donors. Players? No they want to play. Conference commissioners? No they want all their eligible teams playing. Fans? Some until their bowl eligible team gets left at home. The bowls? Some would like it to reduce competition but they also fear cutting bowls would make a playoff easier ending their show. So to get anything passed in the NCAA you need the support of AD's, conference commissioners and presidents. Those three groups have no incentive to cut bowls so why would they? We will go up to 30 bowls within five years. One will be the plus 1 bowl and some other site will get one. With a I-AA counting every year and 12 games the number of bowl eligible teams is going to increase.

It means a bot from one of those services is searching and cataloging the site.

My secretary used to work for a law firm that represented FWPOA and she knew him. Said he was a sweet kid. I had forwarded the post here to her and she was very upset and called down.

Dennys in North Little Rock closed. Oddly enough a few weeks later the La Quinta (NEXT DOOR) became a Baymont and the old Baymont across the highway became a La Quinta. No Dennys but the new La Quinta (old Baymont) is between Waffle House and IHOP.

The school has shown zip interest in the idea. No one mentions you at TG except for the few dozen posts about that SOB that banned them.

You bet other schools come into Texas. I think ULL had 22 Texans, ULM had 15 and ASU had 13 and many of them have been huge contributors for us.