Edwin MacPhisto

Who the heck says "gangchant."

I agree with Porter on this one. On potential, Peterson is of course way up there. On actual tangible results from this year, the Pac 10's got him beat: Bush, LenDale White, Maurice Drew, and Jerome Harrison at least are all playing better than he is, 8-9 in the box notwithstanding. Peterson had about as good a year as Brian Calhoun, perhaps.

You know, I'm going to revise my statement from earlier--this isn't so much a good game as it is both teams trying their hardest to hand it to the other team. A&M has had a pile of gifts, and Texas has had 3 or 4 chances to absolutely put this away, and sloppy play is keeping either team from getting it done. Sloppy or not, though, still pretty fun to watch.

Without a doubt. And about that missed Texas extra point: I have a feeling A&M's pair of blown conversions are going to be bigger ghosts. Man, just kick those PAT's and they're about to take the lead, not be a point shy. Going for two is almost never a good idea outside of the fourth quarter.

I think, at this point, the flashbacks are only valuable for a small group of characters--namely Jack and Locke--and that's because their motivations and the things that form their dispositions on the island remain pretty insular. They're the axes around which a lot of the island's conflicts and dilemmas are formed. I've stated my preference before and I'm sticking by it. For the rest of the characters, a flashback is good the first, maybe second time an episode focuses on a character, and that's it. Considering the fact that the writers admit they don't know where a lot of the stuff on the show is going or what certain things mean, I'm sure the flashbacks will eventually be used to shoehorn in big plot revelations or character stuff that they've written themselves into a corner with on the island. If we ever see another Michael flashback, or another Jin and Sun flashback, or, hell, another Charlie or Hurley flashback, then we'll know the writers are merely stalling for time. And that ain't good writing. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It's called backstory, main character or not, and I'd hardly call that stalling for time. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Of course it's "backstory." It's not worthwhile backstory because any more flashbacks for those people are just going to be rehashing the same damn themes and thoughts we've already got established. Michael II and Jin/Sun II are great (or should I say, lousy) examples of this. Hurley II was great though I think he's pretty much done now, and Locke episodes are always great since his character is so puzzling. Once we know how everyone got to the island and their basic histories, we're set with few exceptions. But don't mind me--I've been harping on this all season.

Wait, ESPN is *not* home of cutting-edge sports analysis? You're like five-ten years behind on realizing just about everything. Go watch the game because it's a good football game and stop stressing over how well your team's biggest rival does.

So I watched some of the Backyard Brawl last night and I realized why I don't give much respect to WVU. They're just a gimmick team. They just run. That's it. It's like watching gay ol' Nebraska. Now, if you can put up 450 yards doing that, good on you. But when they finally have to play a balanced, stout defense--of which the Big East has exactly zero--they're going to get railed. I guess they belong in the top 15 just because they're a one-loss team and they did beat Louisville. I dunno. Although the talk of Louisville getting screwed is getting a bit tired, Cabbageboy's dead-on in assessing WVU's out-of-conference schedule as compared to USF's. Penn State probably would have beaten them worse than VT did.

YOU SHOWED HIM

I think, at this point, the flashbacks are only valuable for a small group of characters--namely Jack and Locke--and that's because their motivations and the things that form their dispositions on the island remain pretty insular. They're the axes around which a lot of the island's conflicts and dilemmas are formed. I've stated my preference before and I'm sticking by it. For the rest of the characters, a flashback is good the first, maybe second time an episode focuses on a character, and that's it. Considering the fact that the writers admit they don't know where a lot of the stuff on the show is going or what certain things mean, I'm sure the flashbacks will eventually be used to shoehorn in big plot revelations or character stuff that they've written themselves into a corner with on the island. If we ever see another Michael flashback, or another Jin and Sun flashback, or, hell, another Charlie or Hurley flashback, then we'll know the writers are merely stalling for time. And that ain't good writing.

FRIDAY Arizona State Colorado SATURDAY Maryland UAB Tennessee Iowa State Mississippi Memphis Louisiana-Monroe Florida State San Jose State Georgia Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Nebraska/Colorado game? 55 Tiebreak #2: How many yards passing will Florida's Chris Leak have against Florida State? 200

But it's all my degree is good for... Spics, wops, and paternity tests on Maury are better than Jenny Jones ones were anyway.

Sayid, Eko, and Locke vs. The Others. I'll take even money on that one. The first season is on sale at a lot of places--Best Buy, Target--for $30 this week, if anyone's looking to fill out the collection.

List your 6 favorite bands and I'll tell you if you'll ever acquire it.

Electric Circus in the signature. I remember that too. We all go through phases, though. I remember when you were straight-lovin' on Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, and now, not so much. I can't remember what the dumbest shit I've professed my love for is.

Lear Hamlet Much Ado Henry IV (part I) I also have a soft spot for Measure for Measure, which is fucked up in so many ways. There's a totally huge Popeye's on a corner about 12 blocks off the Mall in D.C. It's awesome.

And last place in the SEC East, don't you forget. But still, he's not going anywhere. He's already sacked the offensive coordinator and that's more than enough. A national championship buys you some time, as does coaching an SEC program to three 10-win seasons in the past 5 years (and 8 wins apiece in the years that weren't 10-winners). I mean, who the hell are you going to get besides Pete Carroll or maybe Bob Stoops--neither of whom are even close to being in play--that's likely to improve on that? Nebraska fired Frank Solich for doing way better than that and we've all seen how well that decision panned out.

They're all quite boring right now, I agree with that. Mos Def still has his first solo album, which is very good, and both he and Kweli have the excellent Black Star disc to their credit. Admittedly, that means the two of them have been boring for about five years, which is ancient history. As for Tribe, at least Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders are very good, and I would actually be pretty surprised if you didn't like those. Q-Tip's great, Phife sometimes is even better. They can't sit at the same table as Biggie, Wu-Tang, Outkast, etc., but when I'm looking for something a little less serious (but not quite as less serious as De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising), the Tribe'll do me just fine.

No way. You don't can an insanely successful coach for one bad season.

I find Common excruciatingly boring, by the way. He's absolutely the most dull of the type of guys with whom he's typically associated (Mos Def, Kweli, Tribe, etc.).

Lear's the best.

"Gone" is probably my favorite off Kanye's album. Like "Gold Digger" too, especially at parties. Also, today, the Wolf Parade song took over number 1.

Sure you can. Breakfast. I cooked up 5 pounds of potatoes o'brien, 2 pounds of bacon, and about three dozen eggs last Saturday for the UVA/VT game. It's impossible to fuck up. Do mimosas instead of beer and you can even get women to come. Also: BIASED FOR MOTHERFUCKS SAKE. ONE IS A NOUN THE OTHER IS AN ADJECTIVE JESUS GOD FUCK

"Galang" would be it but I'm not sure I can justify it since it was a single last year before Arular came out this year. So instead of M.I.A., it's probably Stephen Malkmus' "Loud Cloud Crowd." Wolf Parade's "I'll Believe in Anything" is making a late charge.

Actually I'd be shocked if Clemson fell past the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte (formerly the Continental Tire Bowl! go tires! go cars!). Charlotte really, really wanted them last year since Clemson is so close and travels so well, but had to settle for UNC after Clemson and South Carolina pulled out of bowl games post-brawl. Conventional ACC wisdom seems to be that Maryland/NC State are basically playing for the MPC Computers bid this weekend--Clemson, Georgia Tech, and Virginia have all been out there recently, and won't be sent/picked again. The way traveling reputations and bowl desires sorts out, it's also a possibility that Boston College could be the second consecutive 8-3, top-20 ACC team to get chosen by Boise, leaving the NC State/Maryland winner in the Emerald Bowl. FSU is the interesting case in this situation. The Peach would love to get them for Bowden/Spurrier, but is also interested in hometown Georgia Tech, who always brings a herd to the Peach. If FSU loses out and ends up 7-5, they might fall all the way to the Champs Sports Bowl, which would make Boston College almost a lock for Boise. Virginia, meanwhile, is aimed straight at the Music City Bowl and probably Northwestern.

Sunlandic Twins ain't bad. I think it's inconsistent, but "Forecast Fascist Future" and "So Begins Our Alabee" are perfecto.