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From the "Talks too much" studios, is you or is you ain't my constituency?
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There has been a ton of hand-wringing about the Tennessee collapse at Florida.
A majority of it has been deserved.
We get it. College football pays its bills with the passion - and the money - of its fan base.
Tennessee coach Butch Jones, left, and Florida coach Jim McElwain meet at midfield before Saturday's Southeastern Conference matchup at "The Swamp" in Gainesville. The Gators rallied past the Volunteers for their 11th straight win in the series.With that passion comes emotional overload. It's magnified of course by the immediacy of our instant-gratification culture. That extreme is exponentially greater because of the influence and antagonizing of other SEC fans.
That's the measure of the moment. It's also a big reason the SEC coaching fraternity is a well-paid bunch.
But, no matter how frustrated you are, now is the time to turn your attention to Arkansas, which could very well be the biggest moment in the career of Butch Jones. (Side note: Stewwie, we have to agree to disagree. You can say the players needed to make more plays in the Oklahoma loss, but the Florida loss is firmly on Butch's desk.)
Moving forward, Arkansas is a monster opportunity to redirect the bandwagon. It's also a King-Kong-sized chance to shove a wedge of doubt deep into the heart of Big Orange Nation.
Would this be a signature win? No, probably not. This is a 1-3 Arkansas team that's as confused and underwhelming as Tennessee.
But as we said with Florida; this is not about making a statement win as much as desperately needing to avoid a powerfully painful loss.
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Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck celebrates a touchdown pass against the Denver Broncos during the second half of an NFL divisional playoff football game, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015, in Denver. (AP Photo/Joe Mahoney) NFL
We thought this was interesting.
It's a list of the 20 or so players in the NFL that have the chance to make the most money this year.
We agree with a number of people on the list, but we are puzzled how Andrew Luck could possibly be left off that list.
We also know that of the names on that list, we believe Eric Berry to be the lone sure-fire Hall of Famer among them.
In fact, here's hoping that the Atlanta Falcons look to bring Berry back to the A-T-L.
It makes too much sense in a lot of ways. Berry is from Atlanta. Dude is amazingly athletic and can cover and tackle. Plus, he fits perfectly into a Dan Quinn system that desperately needs standout safety play.
Dan Quinn, you had us at hello. You bring Eric Berry home, and buddy, we're all in on Team Quinn.
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SMU, the NCAA and Bruce Pearl
OK, SMU was hit with a 2016 postseason ban and coach Larry Brown was suspended nine games for the upcoming season.
The main claims involved a SMU staffer doing the work in an online course for a prized recruit.
In the NCAA's eyes, this should be murder one. The most important thing - and in some ways the final thing - the NCAA should be concerned with is propping up the public's illusion of our student-athletes.
So in this instance, the NCAA should be in a position to drop the hammer.
Especially on Brown, who has been implicated in an NCAA matter at previous stops at Kansas and UCLA.
Brown in fact lied to the NCAA and helped divert the investigation to the point that he arguably helped in the cover-up.
And for his role in what should be the NCAA's most egregious offense, Brown got nine games.
For a much lesser offense, Bruce Pearl got a three-year show-cause penalty.
This, in our mind, is the biggest and most blatant failing of the NCAA. There is zero consistency among rulings and truth be told, there may never will be.
The NCAA is about as useful as VHS tapes and 8-tracks. This stuff is silly. And indefensible.
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This and that
- How important is home-field advantage in the NFC? Well, Seattle is nearly unbeatable at home and Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers is nearly perfect at home. This story tells us that Rodgers has thrown 486 passes at Lambeau Field since his last pick. During those 16 games, he's tossed 43 TD passes. Read that again.
Jon Gruden (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)- The baseball postseason field is almost set in stone, other than the AL West, which has three teams bunched. And if Texas had handled its BID-ness, that would be decide too.
- Thought this was interesting: According to the dude with the inside skinny on ESPN Jon Gruden is the highest paid ESPN on-air talent. That surprised us some what. Who in your opinion are the top five ESPN talents? (Well, other than ESPN 105.1 The Zone's David Paschall of course.)
- There are multiple reports that multiple Cleveland Browns want Johnny Manziel back on the field. Man, who could have possibly seen this coming? And who in a million years would ever expect Cleveland to become a soap opera?
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Today's question
Barry Williams is 61 today. Yes, the actor that played Greg Brady - and Johnny Bravo - is closing in on retirement.
The Bradys have to make the Rushmore of TV families right?
Who else do you nominate?
(P.S. Remember the mailbag.)