The most aggravating part of the BCS National Championship Game?  Having to make a last minute decision on watching it coin flip to final horn or taking a thiry minute break to watch a new 30 Rock (I chose the former).

Is Tim Tebow the greatest college athlete ever?  It's a debate you will often hear on Friday.  And while it is easy to hate the guy, it's hard to find a legitimate reason.  Ryan suggested today that, should he have a successful NFL career, Tebow will become the most beloved player in the League.  This is something I have an argument with.  He's not interesting.  He's a great person.  He's a great football player.  But he's not good behind a microphone.  Peyton Manning is terrific on camera.  Tim Tebow isn't the type of guy that can host Saturday Night Live.  But he is a hell of a football player. 

I thought Oklahoma would take this thing tonight.  I had no statistical evidence to back it up.  It was just a hunch.  But apparently, Bob Stoops really is unable to translate regular season success to the postseason.  And now, he's probably on to the Broncos. 

Nonetheless, it was a great football game.  Fox has proven that is completely inept at broadcasting college football.  And Tim Tebow has cemented himself in future SEC conversation with the likes of Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson. 

I will offer Fox one compliment:  they know how long a game lasts.  If you set your DVR to record a game on ESPN, it will always cut the game short. On Fox, it got every minute. 

But a few memos to Fox:

- Make sure the broadcasters know what down it is.  At all times.  I can handle little mistakes, but knowing the down and distance is pretty important.

- We don't care what is going on with the band.  We just don't. 

- The OU Snap Clock was a bad idea. You learned it was a bad idea the first time you tried to use it and it didn't work.  There is no need to keep going to it in hopes that you prove something.

- 'Tom' is not spelled with an 'h.'  Anywhere in America, you pompous jerk.

Should this championship be split?  Maybe.  But who do you split it with?  There are three teams with a legitimate argument now - Florida, Utah, USC.  Texas lost its' argument with the Oklahoma loss.  If the thing is split, I tend to lean toward Utah.  People want to dismiss this team because of its' conference, but they were that good.  And to go unrewarded for a perfect season twice in five years is rough.  It'll never happen, though.

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So this is what recruiting season feels like?  I must admit, my dad has proven me wrong.  A few weeks before Tommy Tuberville's demise, my dad told me that his greatest fear with Auburn was that it was slipping behind.  And while I stand behind my conviction that Tommy should still be coaching, my father's theory is proving correct.  I still think Jay Jacobs made a mistake.  I still think his time is short.  But the staff that Coach Gene Chizik has assembled has worked harder in the last week than the prior staff did in three years.  Auburn was once in these battles.  They fought 'til the end for guys like Ernie Sims and Antonio Cromartie with Florida State.  They went out and landed guys like Carnell Williams.  But that just hasn't been there lately.  And in one week, this staff has secured visits from the nation's top prospect, its' second best dual-threat quarterback and one of the top running backs in the country.  It's probably too late for Auburn to make a serious splash, but why are these guys saying things like, 'Auburn had never really contacted me?' 

If Curtis Luper, Trooper Taylor and Guz Malzahn stay for another full year, next year's class will be impressive. 

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- The new season of Scrubs will be terrific.  Courtney Cox is the new Chief of Medicine.  J.D. has a new group of interns.  It really looks like it could be one of the best ever.  Here's to hoping that ABC properly promotes it and they squeeze a few more years out of the most underrated comedy on television.

- I got a copy of the Deluxe Edition reissue of Murmur today from work.  I haven't listened to it yet, but it includes a full length live show from 1984 (or so) in Toronto.  It looks pretty sweet.  Check it out.

- While I'm on R.E.M., there will be a Tribute show for the greatest American rock band ever at Carnegie Hall in March.  Darius Rucker, Guster, Glen Hansard and Ingrid Michaelson are playing the show, which makes me like them even more. 

- A good friend of mine, Zach Gooch, is playing the Exit/In in Nashville on Friday night.  Many great artists have come through those doors and I'm really proud of the guy.  It caps a great year in which he sat in with one of my favorite artists, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit.  If you are in the area, check him out.  And since I've mentioned Jason, he's coming back to Workplay in a couple of months.  I'm not sure if it is next month or March, but it is worth every cent you will pay.  Birmingham has some great shows coming up, with Jason, Ryan Adams, Umphrey's McGee and...umm...(shh...) Dave Matthews coming to town.

- Programming notes:  Neil Patrick Harris hosts Saturday Night Live this week and Norm MacDonald (the world's most underrated comedian) is on Million Dollar Password on Sunday.  Both are sure to be terrific. 

- I'm working most of the weekend, but the football lineup is still terrific.  Just because the college season is over, don't sleep on that Ravens/Titans matchup or the Eagles/Giants game.  I'm standing by my midseason prediction that you will see a Giants/Steelers Super Bowl and Pittsburgh will win.  I don't know why, but I really like this Steelers team, and I'm a big Mike Tomlin fan.

- Random Props!  Bartlett's Restaurant on Highway 160 here in Hayden is great.  I sort of got sick of eating food in a greasy bag, so I called in a pick up order to get a vegetable plate.  Inexpensive and great, I highly reccomend it to anyone in the Hayden/Corner metro area.

- Exile on Main Street makes me question how anyone could think the Rolling Stones aren't the greatest band on earth. 

I suppose that's all I have for tonight.  Enjoy your weekend, Birmingham.

[Ed's Note:  I also learned this year that when I type quickly, using my trusty hunt-and-peck method, I often omit prepositions.  I'm not going in and fixing it again.  But it's always the prepositions.  I just wanted to laugh at my own mistake and recognize that, upon proofreading, I caught it.  I'm just too lazy to do anything about it.]

You know, a lot of interesting things have happened in last week or so, and I haven't taken time to offer my unintersting opinion for bored friends and colleagues.  Gus Malzahn was hired (rad!), the Cowboys choked (boo!) and Andre Smith did something that literally took me sixteen seconds to piece together once the news broke (indifference!).  But I've been far too busy driving, taking time off for holidays and watching 2008 pass me by to take adequate time to type.

But because I don't know what tomorrow will bring (and certainly the new year), I thought I would take a moment over this Yuengling Black & Tan chilled by God's refrigerator, to offer my thoughts on the year that was, keeping things as awesomely vague as possible.

I learned a lot about myself this year.  By God's grace, I was granted two promising qualities I've never quite possessed:  patience and strength.  I've never been good at either one, but as this year dragged on, I learned that little things don't really matter.  I'll bet that guy that wrote Don't Sweat the Small Stuff made, like, a ton of money.

A small financial mistake, losing more football games than you win, having to replace the battery in your car - it just doesn't matter.  They're all asinine daily complications that we often stess too much over.  And life is far too short for it.  I'm pretty sure it took me medication to realize this, but I did, and that's what's important.

I learned this year that people who don't know me think I'm cocky.  But the people who know me best know that I will always be the first person to tell you I am completely full of it and laugh at my own mistakes.  Those people have seen me at emotional extremes.  We've shared laughs.  We've shared tears.  But they're always there for me (and, well, sometimes not), but they know me.  And to those people (who know who they are), I thank you.  From the absolute depths of my heart.  I love you, and I hope that I can provide you the comfort and the support when you need it most.

I learned this year that despite what Charles Barkley said just four years ago, a black man can be president of this country.  Believe it or not, Charles can be wrong sometimes, but I'm not sure anyone could have made that prediction four years ago.  And my proudest moment of this year is knowing that my generation will forever be linked with progress.  The next step.  The end of hate.

I learned this year that I have a highly addictive personality.  But harnessed properly, it can be used to my advantage.  Misused it can be trouble.

I learned this year that being cynical doesn't mean you have to be an asshole.  It just means you must laugh at your own flaws if you are going to while away your time pointing out everyone else's.

I learned this year that I have a much closer relationship with God than I ever realized.  Cynicism and religion typically don't go hand-in-hand, but everyone has to believe in something.  And my faith is strong.  But you'll never find me on a soap box telling you how to live your life because it would simply be hypocritical.  I sin every day.  I ask for forgiveness.  I wasn't one day "saved" and magically cured of my ability to sin.  But theology debates are for another day.

I learned this year that I don't care if you think it's stupid that I like Fall Out Boy.  Pete Wentz is a lyrical genius and Patrick Stump's voice is a broad brush with which he uses to paint those words.  So, if you would, please leave my copy of Folie a Deux in my locker.  I'll pick it up after fourth period so I can listen to it while I'm skipping lunch.

I've learned this year that is truly is ten degrees colder in Rogersville, Alabama than it is in Birmingham.  I left midday, and I watched as the thermometer in my 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee went from 18 to 28.  When I left my mom's house a week or so back, it was literally Arctic.  When I got home, I felt like throwing on some shorts and lounging by the kiddie pool drinking High Life.

I've learned this year, even more, that people who take college football too seriously are weird.  I love the game.  LOVE it.  And watching my alma mater lose seven games was tough.  But it's just a game.  My alma mater is much more important to me than the athletic teams it fields.  Professional sports?  It's all about winning and losing.  But in college?  Winning is great, but I'm much more proud of the place I spent the best four years of my life and met the love of it than I am of the hiring of Gus Malzahn.

I've remembered this year why I have a man-crush on Dave Rossi, thanks to our newest sister station Live 100.5.

I've learned this year that my patience in the business has begun to pay off.  I've learned that people really enjoy our show, and for that, I thank you as well.

I've learned this year that Alzheimer's could be the most horrific thing to watch a loved one battle.  Typing the sentence alone makes me want to cry, so I'll move on.

I've learned there is no way to get rich quick.

I've learned that Guitar Hero may be, like, the most awesome thing ever.

I've remembered why I used to watch Game Show Network all the time in college.

I've learned that Taco Bell has the planet's most expansive menu, but it's pretty much all meat and some sort of tortilla.

I've learned (just within the week) that the Pork Chop 'N Gravy Biscuit at Hardee's is everything you could imagine and more.  It sounds good.  It has everything you like in it (except bacon) and it delivers.  At a relatively inexpensive price.

I've learned how to properly stain a porch and lay flooring.  Who would've thought that, huh?

I've learned that the dump smells.  Really, really bad.

I've learned that age ain't nothing but a number.

I've learned that I do want kids.  I never thought I did, and I'm not saying that day is tomorrow, but as it turns out, I sort of like them.  And I kind of think they like me back.  And I think I'll be a pretty awesome dad.

I've learned that if a guy offers to let you ride in his tow truck it won't come without awkward conversation.

I've learned why I miss Auburn.

But most importantly, I've learned that I have done some things right.  I just hope that 2009 realizes that, too.

I'm still not happy.  Don't be fooled.  I think the decisions made by Jay Jacobs on Saturday were among the most asinine I have ever seen.  And regardless of how this thing turns out, I will stand by that belief.

I'm also beginning to understand why liquor stores make a ton of money near the holidays.

But I am gaining a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Chizik.  First, let's understand that the team Coach Chizik has inherited isn't a mess.  The situation is a mess, but the talent is on this team.  It isn't a total rebuilding project.  It's a rebuilding project for other reasons, but not the same reasons that Tommy Tuberville had in 1999. 

This has been a public relations trainwreck of epic porportions.  It's ugly.  And no one has made an attempt at proper damage control.  But the only man that can do that damage control properly?  Gene Chizik.  And he is absolutely busting his tail trying to maintain recruiting commitments until the dead period hits on Saturday.  There will be plenty of time for hiring a staff and smoothing things over in the media once he meets with every one of these commitments and makes sure they are still on board.  Tonight, he got off to a strong start, securing Eltoro Freeman and Nick Fairley.  Next up?  Lock down Phillip Lutzenkirchen and get Montez Robinson and Jonathan Atchison back on board.  Better yet?  Have Eltoro "The Bull" do your recruiting for you.  Jeffrey Lee's article at www.auburnsports.com was just what the doctor ordered. 

I'd retell my story of sitting next to Eltoro at the Georgia game, but I'm lazy.  Go back to that story in the blog.  He'll be something special.  I think he is Tray Blackmon without the nagging injuries and baggage.

The stories of Pat Dye's involvement in this thing are troubling.  But it is a fundamental double bind.  I can't remember the proper author to credit, but paraphrasing the line we had to memorize in Dr. Vilhaumme's class, "It's a fundamental bind between intimacy and occupancy.  It's like porcupines.  In the winter, they want to huddle close for warmth, but if they get too close, they prick one another."

Pretty much the same deal here.  You can't tell Coach Dye he doesn't belong here.  The man is Auburn.  And there is a younger generation that wants to get rid of him, but they'll never understand how much he did.  At the same time, when he gets too close to this thing, it's not good.  How do you solve it?  That is where Jay Gouge has to make his money.

But if he is bringing back the "good ol' boys?"  I'm okay with most of them.  Rodney Garner, Stacey Searls, Shane Wasden, Tracey Rocker, Joe Whitt Jr.?  I'm okay with all of those guys.  You should have kept James Willis.  And you should not hire Neil Callaway, Watson Brown or Pat Nix for OC.  Sign me up for the Greg Davis bandwagon.

And on the story that (again, not bragging) Dunaway and Brown took national?  Think before you speak on Charles Barkley.  The man should not be dismissed as ignorant for having an opinion.  I think he's a pretty damn wise man, in fact.  Now, I don't think he is right, here, but I understand his sentiment.  Without knowing Chizik's relationship with the program, the resumes don't match up.  But Turner Gill, himself, said this wasn't about race.  So give the story a rest, and cut Charles some slack.  Charles has given millions to Auburn and he promotes this university endlessly. And I'm not going to pretend I know what the world looks like through his eyes.

From a national perspective, it does look like a racial issue.  It does.  Because those people don't understand the progress of this state and this hire involves a school in this state.  Much as it did when Alabama chose Mike Shula over Sylvester Croom.  And, as Jacob said last night, there was a perfectly good reason for that.  The person hired at Alabama at that time was destined to fail.  And making Sylvester Croom the scapegoat would have only made the problem worse.  Here, Auburn went with a comfortable hire.  They chose familiarity.  They chose a man who will allow some of the ol' gang back.  As Ryan has said all week, the question isn't, "If Chizik had been black would he have been hired?"  The question is, "If Chizik had never been an assistant at Auburn would he have been hired?"

This is an important time in Auburn football history.  And for now, I am going to take a "wait and see" approach.  I'm impressed by Coach Chizik's work ethic on the recruiting trail thus far.  I want to see what surprises he has for me on that trail and I want to see what he makes of the staff.  He is a leader, and a great defensive mind.  Let's hope that the Iowa State debacle was his bad decision for taking a dead end job, and not Iowa State's for hiring a dead end coach.

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On an unrelated note, I've picked up three albums from the Amazon mp3 store recently.  The new Fall Out Boy record is solid, and I think, much like Charles Barkley, people are too quick to dismiss this band.  They make good music and are lyrically gifted.  The Killers record is solid, but I must ask - Was I the only guy who thought Sam's Town was their best effort?  It didn't fare well, but I loved it.  I guess it was sort of their Pinkerton.  I also picked up a random one, in the Duffy record.  I really love her appreciation and emulation of old school soul.  She has a terrific sound, and I love the record.

Holla.

Today we spoke for over twenty minutes with on of my childhood heroes, Charles Barkley.  Charles joined the show to address the issue of race in the hiring of Gene Chizik at Auburn.  It was an interview so important that it made Sportscenter (not that I'm bragging...just saying...). 

(You can hear the entire interview at www.dandbradio.com)

People want to dismiss everything Charles says about race or politics as asinine.  But people who do so are missing a man who knows what he's talking about.  Listen, you can discredit Charles all you want for his antics.  Throwing people out of windows, body-slamming Shaq, gambling.  Go ahead.  There's nothing that can defend that.  But the man knows what he is talking about and he is much smarter than he is given credit for when it comes to race and politics.

Charles is angry because, he feels, that Auburn chose Gene Chizik over Turner Gill because of the color of his skin.  As a white man, it is easy for you to sit there and say, "Ahhh...that's silly.  Charles doesn't know what he's talking about.  He's just being Charles." 

But is he wrong?  I don't know the answer to that question.  I know that Charles is dead on when he says that if those two men's resumes are lying beside each other, Gill's is better.  It is.  Turner Gill took the worst program in America to a conference title.  Gene Chizik took a bad BCS team to a winless conference record.  He won five games in two seasons at Iowa State.  Two of those wins were this season against South Dakota State and Kent State. 

Now, I also understand that Gene Chizik knows this program, he understands this family, and he knows how to recruit the South.  That isn't something that Turner Gill had going for him.  Gene Chizik would have been a great hire...three years ago.  And maybe Chizik is Doc Rivers.  I mean, remember when Doc Rivers was on the verge of being fired in Orlando (hell, maybe he was...I don't remember)?  Then the guy hits the lottery, inherits a terrific team and has now become just the fourth team in NBA history to win 23 of its' first 25 games. 

So maybe that is why he was hired.  Race is very generational.  I don't think that guys my age (I'm 26) think about it much, if at all.  It's never been a factor in my life.  But if you are going to try and tell me that Charles Barkley, a black man born in 1960's Birmingham, isn't affected by race, you are crazy.  I'm not going to pretend I can look at the world through that man's eyes.  And I respect him.  I respect everything he has done for my alma mater, I respect his career and more importantly, I respect his opinion.  I do.  I think the man is far smarter than people want to give him credit for.  Read his books.  Listen to what he's saying without waiting to laugh.  He's a good man.  In Who's Afraid of A Large Black Man? published just four years ago (I think), Charles interviewed Senator Barack Obama.  After the interview Charles said he thought he'd never live to see a black president.  We've already come that far.

As far as my thoughts on Gene Chizik?  I think outsiders are misunderstanding some of the Auburn family's anger.  I'm not angry with Coach Chizik.  It is impossible not to like the guy.  And he already has, like, the second hottest wife in the SEC ($1 to Layla Kiffin).  He's a great guy.  Auburn fans are mad at Jay Jacobs.  Jay Jacobs looks like an absolute buffoon right now, and he breathes through his mouth.  I hope he proves me wrong, but I fear he won't.  When I hear names like Neil Callaway being brought up for offensive coordinator, I can't help but wonder who is running the show.  I'm ready to give this man a chance, because there is nothing else that can be done now.

I hear guys like Cole Cubelic today tell me that it was really nice to hear Chizik talk about how he has an open door policy and wants all former players to be a part of this program.  I see guys like Carlos Rogers (who was busy losing to the Bengals yesterday) and Stan White.  I see guys like Antarrious Williams in his Letterman jacket at the airport.  Maybe there is something to that.  I hear Chizik say he starts recruiting today.  And I see his strong chin.  And I'm going to wait it out.  I'm not going to freak out.  I'm going to give it time.  On Saturday?  I was angry.  On Sunday?  I was depressed.  But we'll give this time.

I'm ready to be proven wrong, Jay Jacobs.  I hope you do it.

"Auburn didn't do anything to me to prove it wants to be a winner." - Raymond Cotton, Sr.

Nail.  Meet.  Head.

Do you remember where you were when the Auburn football program died?  I was in my car, on the way to Piggly Wiggly.  I was just going to grab some meat (I got some ground beef and Monroe Sausages, for the record) to throw on the grill for a lazy Saturday afternoon.  My phone rang, and the voice on the other end said, "So, Gene Chizik, huh?"

I said, "Yeah, I think he interviewed yesterday..."

"No," the other voice said, "he got the gig." 

I can't tell you how far my jaw dropped.  My checking account can't tell you how mad it is for the money it lost in booze related purchases over the last 48 hours in some sort of effort to pretend the news wasn't real. 

Anyone.  Anyone on the list would have been a better hire.  Jimbo Fisher doesn't look so bad now.  Gary Patterson looks brilliant.  Turner Gill looks too smart to put into words (and now he'll likely go to Iowa State - big winner? - the Cyclones.)

There is absolutely no way to defend this hire - on paper.  No way.  Jay Jacobs and Jay Gouge have effectively taken the Auburn football program hostage.  They paid $750,000 to a school to take a coach it wanted to fire anyway, and then more than doubled his salary.  It is absolutely baffling.

I'd love to eat crow on this one.  I hope I am wrong.  But I fear that Jay Jacobs just made the biggest mistake of his life.  And he was already on thin ice anyway.

You are going to run off one of the three best coaches in Auburn history and bring in a guy who is 5-19 lifetime?  A guy who, last season, beat South Dakota State and Kent State before dropping ten in a row?

It doesn't make sense.  And when I got that news, I was embarrassed for my alma mater. 

Nothing will ever rid me of my love for the place I spent the best four years of my life.  But my love for that place is much deeper than wins and losses on a football field.  It's late night deliveries from Willie's and finding someone old enough to buy stuff at Tiger Package.  It's eating at Veggies to Go and thinking, "Man, this is kinda like the food I ate at home."

It's Chicken Italians from Findleys and driving to every gas station in town to find a Birmingham News on Sunday morning.  It's the times at WEGL and the stories COMM majors have about failing Dr. Villhaume's class. 

I'm not going to give up on Auburn.  Because I do believe in it, and love it.  But I may have given up on this football program. 

The positive remarks I have seen tonight from former players are encouraging.  And Gene Chizik has said all the right things.  I don't blame him.  He's a good man, and I'll support him and root for him to make this work.  I just fear it won't.

1. The Lion King.  2. Forrest Gump.  3. Good Will Hunting 

Those, in no order, are movies that I know made me cry harder than The Notebook.  Yeah, I watched it.  And I didn't find it incredibly sad because the end was a little anticlimactic.  I must say, I knew the basic plot before I watched the film, so I wasn't incredibly surprised.  And I did shed a tear.  It was touching.  If you know me, you know that it hit a little close to home (my grandparents).  And that was tough to watch.  But there were a lot of other things going on there, and I thought it was a pretty strong flick.  Yeah, I'm the last person in America to watch it.  I also didn't watch Titanic until, like, a year and half after it had been released. 

Some of the other things going on hit a little close to home.  And that, also, was tough to watch.

Anyway, before I decided to put on my makeup and have my first period, I watched football on Saturday.  Neat.

1.  Alabama lost to Florida.  They didn't get spanked.  They played pretty well.  And I know it's disappointing for Alabama fans, but again, I ask you, where did you expect to be in August?  If I had told you the Sugar Bowl?  You'd have been thrilled.  It's a bit anticlimactic that you're playing Utah, but if the team remains focused, as I'm sure Coach Saban will maintain, this team should have one loss and a top three ranking to end the year.  Solid, if you ask me.

2. Turner Gill will interview with Auburn.  Of the names I've heard, this one excites me the most.  It's a brilliant hire, almost too smart for this Board.  The only fear I have about Gill, which I have had the entire time, is that this is nothing more than a stepping stone to Nebraska for him.  If that Nebraska job comes open in a couple of years, how long can we be promised Gill will stay?  It's almost a fear that makes me want to stay away.  If that job weren't looming, I'd hire him yesterday.

3. Oklahoma will beat Florida.  And the total will be over 100.  These two teams can score, but Oklahoma can score more.  It will be the most entertaining national title game in years.  Is it just me, or are all the other bowl games a little lackluster?

I remember the first time I met Coach Tuberville.  Nicole and I went to the Olde Auburn Ale House for a broadcast of Tiger Talk.  It was 2002, and we were both students.  It was amid the Jason Campbell/Daniel Cobb controversy.  At the time (although, hindsight is 50/50), Daniel Cobb looked better.  He did.  And I told Coach Tuberville that I agreed with his decision to keep Cobb as the starter. 

Coach Tuberville pulled me to the side.  He looked me in the eye, and he started a conversation.

"You know, I think he'll be good, and I think Jason will be good...but right now Daniel is just playing better..."

Frankly, I'm not sure how the conversation really went.  I just remember that this man, who had no reason, was treating some 20 year old kid like he was family. He posed for pictures with us, and he treated us like he had known us his whole life.  And every time I have spoken to the man since, as my career in this business has progressed, he has treated me the same way.

That's who he is.  He's a hell of a football coach, but he's a damn fine man.  And I'm sad today.  In 26 years, I've known just three coaches at my alma mater.  And Auburn could have asked for no better representative of its' family than Thomas Hawley Tuberville. 

Nicole and I again saw Coach Tuberville this spring in the Talladega garage area where he was test driving a car around the track.  And though his security team was trying to get him on his golf cart and hustle him away, he took time to speak to us both and pose for another picture.  Because that's who he is.

I had a lot of great memories of Coach Tuberville.  And only once was I ever on the "Fire Tommy" Bandwagon.  That moment came in the 2003 Georgia game.  The Nallsminger Experiment.  I had proposed to Nic just 24 hour prior, and we drove up to Athens for the game.  Facing a first-and-goal situation, I leaned to hear and said, "Well, we have Carnell Williams, Ronnie Brown, Brandon Jacobs and Tre Smith in the backfield.  In theory, we should run the ball four times and score.  But what will actually happen?  We'll line up in a five wide set and throw it deep."  Sure enough, on the next play, five receivers lined up, the interception was thrown, and it was returned 100 yards for a score.  At that moment, I gave up.

And apparently, so did Bobby Lowder, Byron Franklin and David Housel.  But when the jets took the air and the groundswell of support came about, you knew things would improve.  "Go Crazy, Cadillac!  Go Crazy!"  happens, and the next fews years are a blur. 

As this somber day comes to a close, I'm not going to dwell on the times that Auburn got blasted by Georgia and Arkansas when they shouldn't have been.  I'm going to think about the times when Tommy came down from his office and hung out with myself, Ryan and Jim alone in the Rane Room and treated us like family.  I'm not going to think about the time he flirted with other schools as leverage.  I'm going to think about the time the man gave us our best season in school history and still has no jewelry to show for it. 

I fear Jay Jacobs may have made the biggest mistake in his life.  And I fear the wrong man was fired today.  I hope Auburn can honor this man the way he deserves, and I hope this can end well tomorrow.  But I fear it won't. 

A caller to tonight's show asked a very interesting question:

What have you ever done in your life that took eleven hours?

Nothing.  The answer is nothing.  There is literally nothing I can think of that takes eleven hours to do.  In eleven hours, I could drive to Canada.  In eleven hours, I could watch the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy.  In eleven hours, I could likely fly to Japan (and probably gain and hour...or something).  There is almost nothing that takes eleven hours.

But there they were - the Auburn beat writers - a very fortunate group that is granted access to almost every part of the program they cover - waiting on doors to open down the hall.  And waiting.  And waiting.  And when it was all over, the man whom they were waiting on basically shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know."

How can you talk football with someone for eleven hours and have no resolution?  For nearly two days. 

It just doesn't make sense.  It's asinine.  And I'm tired of it.

I'm not tired of Tommy Tuberville.  I think the man deserves another year, and I stand by it.  I'm tired of this annual closed door week where days are spent talking about the program.  How does the conversation go?

TT: Well, I suppose we need to make some changes.  I reckon I'll find us a good offensive coordinator.

JG: Come on, Tommy...we need you to get rid of the staff.

TT: Not gonna do it.

JG: Come on.

TT: Nope.

JG: Come on......

TT: Nah.

Then what happens?  They throw a shoulder on the smoker, exchange rub recipes and play Uno?  Are they having a wicked cool RBI Baseball tournament up there?  And why are we breaking for lunch?  After four years of this annual debacle, can't we just pack one?  Or get the shindig catered?  I'll bet a Momma's Love tastes just as good in the Rane Room as it does on Magnolia.

I'm just sick of this.  I'm sick of people asking me about rumors as if I haven't heard them.  I'm sick of having to speculate and offer opinions that I don't have.  I'm sick of being asked, "So, you think he's gonna stay?"

I don't know.  I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.  Or Thursday.  Or Friday.  It's just frickin' old, man.  And when this is over, I know I do want answers on what's going on in those rooms. 

It almost makes me think the wrong person is on the hot seat.  If the man is staying, just say he is staying.  If he's not, just say so.  Don't drag us through this post Thanksgiving roundtable discussion every year.

Eleven hours.  Do you realize a local broadcast radio day is about that long?  Are they taking calls?  Do they have guests?  Commercial breaks?  Does Jay Gouge do live endorsements?  Do they do a remote tomorrow from Anders?

Eleven hours, man.  Eleven hours with more to come.

What is there to say?  Did I expect Saturday's result?  Yes.  In fact, I jokingly said during the Mississippi State/Ole Miss game on Friday, "I hope we don't see this repeated tomorrow."  But I think I knew it would be.  This team, this year, just wasn't very good.  They were plagued with defensive injuries.  They had a gaping hole at quarterback.  And their offensive line play regressed.  Their two best efforts of the season were losses to LSU and Georgia.  They pulled a quarterback who had a 4-2 record as a starter for a guy who ended the season 1-5, with the victory coming over Tennessee-Martin.  It was just a mess.  And it's one of the years you just want to forget about.  But it doesn't mean things can't be fixed.

1.  There are no radio stations between Montgomey and Mobile.  None.  When you hit the "Scan" button, I don't think it stops.  When it does, you come up with an occassional country/western station, an occassional urban station, and I think there was one station that labeled itself as Top 40.  I swear, the Top 40 station had not changed its' imaging since 1986, and likely, its' playlist.  I actually heard Gloria Estefan's "Rhythm is Gonna Get You," and "Forever Young" by Rod Stewart.  It was so bad, I began listening to a financial advisor on WWL out of New Orleans for a while.  He was sort of like Dave Ramsay, only not. 

2. Somewhere around Andalusia, the rain stops smelling like wet cement and begins smelling like ocean water.  It's a weird observation, I know, but when you drive in the dark for 4 hours with not one hint of quit in the rain, it's also easy to put together.

3.  The Boiling Pot makes what may be the finest Po Boy I've ever had.  There were more shrimp piled on that plate than on an all-you-can-eat buffet.  Tasty.

4.  People are going to say that Sylvester Croom wasn't given time.  And maybe he wasn't.  But how can people in this state point a finger at Mississippi State fans for wanting more results?  The man had been given five years and all he had to show for it was a Liberty Bowl.  Now, as an outsider, it's easy to look at that program and say, "Well, what do they expect at Mississippi State?"  But that is you and me.  No fan wants to lose.  And during his tenure, those fans have endured many more bad years than good ones.  And as those fans look across the state, much like this one, the new guy in town appears to be putting things together quickly.

5.  Derek Dooley will be the next coach at Mississippi State.  You heard it here first.  Write it down. 

6.  Monday should be interesting.  Within the next couple of days, several other positions are going to come open.  What happens?  I expect the nation's best job to be among those in South Bend.  Where will the other dominos fall?  I think Auburn is much better off not jumping into that contest right now, but time will tell.